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druber · Jul 5, 2006, 10:34 AM

Hi,
A friend of mine is a professional photographer who's being dragged into digital. His clients want to call and ask for a print from his archive and have it emailed to him that day. He really needs a computer setup at home for quick jobs like this and for doing work prints, etc.

Money is definitely a concern: pro doesn't mean rich. He's only working with stills, so a Core Duo Mac Mini with a lot of ram is a pretty easy pick. The big issue is a monitor. I just don't see CRTs out there any more except for the lowest-end intro stuff. Do decent CRTs still exist, and are they worth pursuing?

Apple's iMacs aren't priced staggeringly higher than their Minis. Are their LCDs dependable enough for this kind of work, too? He mostly does black-and-white, but there's color work thrown in there too. He's working with designers who can sure do their own tweaking. He doesn't want to be led astray by what he sees on-screen, more than he needs perfect color-correction. The iMac's dvi-out for a second, non-mirrored display is sure nice for possible future expansion.

I know this isn't a new question, but the market keeps changing. I'd be very glad to hear your opinions.

quietjim · Jul 6, 2006, 10:16 PM

I edit a magazine and do photo editing with a PowerBook and a 23" Apple Cinema display. It's a great setup for photoshop work: you can put the picture on the big screen and keep the controls and palettes on the little one. What he does need to do is to invest in a device to calibrate his screen and printer.

iMOTOR · Jul 7, 2006, 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by druber

Are their LCDs dependable enough for this kind of work, too?

Of course they are. There are a few lcds that meet the Apple cinema display in image quality, I have not seen any though, that exceed it, not even Formac.

Westbo · Jul 7, 2006, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by druber

Hi,
A friend of mine is a professional photographer who's being dragged into digital. His clients want to call and ask for a print from his archive and have it emailed to him that day. He really needs a computer setup at home for quick jobs like this and for doing work prints, etc.

Money is definitely a concern: pro doesn't mean rich. He's only working with stills, so a Core Duo Mac Mini with a lot of ram is a pretty easy pick. The big issue is a monitor. I just don't see CRTs out there any more except for the lowest-end intro stuff. Do decent CRTs still exist, and are they worth pursuing?

Apple's iMacs aren't priced staggeringly higher than their Minis. Are their LCDs dependable enough for this kind of work, too? He mostly does black-and-white, but there's color work thrown in there too. He's working with designers who can sure do their own tweaking. He doesn't want to be led astray by what he sees on-screen, more than he needs perfect color-correction. The iMac's dvi-out for a second, non-mirrored display is sure nice for possible future expansion.

I know this isn't a new question, but the market keeps changing. I'd be very glad to hear your opinions.

There are decent CRTs out there. I googled "CRT Monitors" and got the following:

http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

This is probably a good place to start. Good luck. W2

th3ph17 · Jul 7, 2006, 11:50 AM

if he is scannning in prints, slides, negatives, etc....then the weak link between his analog photography skills and the digital files he needs to send out will be the Scanner, not the monitor.

neither an LCD or CRT is going to show everything perfect, and he will have to learn and adapt to that...you use a monitor to view a best guess of what a print will be like--unless you are working with images for online or on screen viewing.