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Headshot · Jul 11, 2005, 11:43 PM

I am about to pop for 23" Display, and thought I'd check around to see if there is a (less fashionable, but) better perfoming LCD for my buck.

I'm a photographer, and am moving from CRT to LCD because almost every average user n America seems to have made the move to LCDs and I just want to master my work as closely as possible to what everyone else is viewing.

I'll be picking up a Spider or something to calibrate, and I use Imageprint RIP programs to output to my 2200.

Any takes?
Thanks!
-matt

GSixZero · Jul 12, 2005, 12:21 AM

Check out the Dell LCDs. The 24" Dell is a good choice, and costs about or below $1000 after coupons that can be often found.

Headshot · Jul 12, 2005, 12:49 AM

Boy the price sounds nice, I'd have to swallow my pride to have anything Dell on my system though.
I'm most concerned about color accuracey and fidelity. I just wonder if there are better performers out there. Viewsonic is supposed to be an historically good performer for Graphic Arts etc.

art_director · Jul 12, 2005, 08:34 AM

I'd reccommend the Apple or Viewsonic monitors. If you're a photographer the monitor is not the place you should be looking to cut corners.

sray · Jul 12, 2005, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by GSixZero

Check out the Dell LCDs. The 24" Dell is a good choice, and costs about or below $1000 after coupons that can be often found.

I strongly recommend against the DELL 24". I am also a photographer and I also purchased the Dell LCD first. I was shocked to see that it's impossible to reduce the brightness level to an acceptable setting so that I can run my hardware calibration tool. After a lot of struggling with the overly bright lcd, I was forced to admit defeat and I am now using Apple LCDs again.

The dell's are great for office use; fairly useless for photography.

Btw, I also use the Spider for calibration and I'm also using ImagePrint for my Epson 4000.

zerostar · Jul 12, 2005, 09:22 AM

What is funny is that most people are like WOW this LCD is so bright, must be 100% better than Apple's LCDs... I am always turning the brightness down even on the Apple LCDs to get true color accuracy and representation. I find the Apple LCDs to be the best in terms of that, if I was really concerned Id still be using Lacie Blues but my eyes take the LCD mush better.

Headshot · Jul 12, 2005, 09:49 AM

Well, most likely Apple it is,

I believe LaCie & Viewsonic are one & the same, no?

How's that 4000 treating you? That would be a huge luxury for me, not much demand for prints that size. It would be great for my own art, maybe to sell.

sray · Jul 12, 2005, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by Headshot

How's that 4000 treating you? That would be a huge luxury for me, not much demand for prints that size. It would be great for my own art, maybe to sell.

I've had the Epson 4000 for over a year now. No complaints. It's a true workhorse. I can set it to print a 100 + pictures using the ImagePrint RIP and it neatly prints and cuts the images as it goes along. My only complaint is that it does not support a 4x6 or 5x7 roll paper (actually, nothing smaller than a 8x10). But I do most of my printing on rolls of 16" Lustre paper. It paid for itself in the first few months (dozen weddings or so) and now I basically have a free printer. Ink carts at 110ml last a long time (compared to the 10 or 11ml carts on the 2200).

Unlike the newly released Epson 4800, the 4000 has no need for swapping matte and photo glossy black carts either. That being said, the 4000 is huge, noisy (large exhaust fans), hogs the desk, and not cheap enough for the average photo enthusiast.

iT4c0 · Jul 13, 2005, 12:53 AM

How about formac?
They just released new line of LCDs
check them out at www.formac.com

mitchell_pgh · Jul 13, 2005, 04:55 PM

IMHO, I would go dual 20" vs a 23", but that's just me.

I'm a dual screen junkie.

loki74 · Jul 13, 2005, 08:10 PM

I'm using a Sony SDM P234 23" LCD, it works great with the Mac, and it costed a wee bit less then the ACD.

Dual monitors is cool, but if you do that make sure you get a very very thin bezel! (am I being captain obvious here...?)

ManOfSteal · Jul 13, 2005, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by iT4c0

How about formac?
They just released new line of LCDs
check them out at www.formac.com

Formac refuses to go wide-screen...

Damn!

spatterson · Jul 14, 2005, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

IMHO, I would go dual 20" vs a 23", but that's just me.

I'm a dual screen junkie.

Yeah but the 23" has HD, correct? Is there a quality diffrence?

mitchell_pgh · Jul 14, 2005, 06:16 PM

Originally Posted by spatterson

Yeah but the 23" has HD, correct? Is there a quality diffrence?

1920x1080 is HD, but that only really matters if you plan on watching HD on your screen.

I use dual screens and it's WONDERFUL for designing. Work on one screen and have pallets etc. on the other.