Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

27" - 30" monitor suggestions?

R

rawdawg

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 7, 2009
550
111
Brooklyn
Hi there,
I currently have a 24" Dell connected via DVI. I own an Eye1 Display LT calibrator which always frustrated me because with my Dell it never seemed to give consistent results. Even after back to back calibrations you could clearly see different results. Further, because I'm connected DVI I presume, I was never able to control contrast during the calibration process.

I need to upgrade and will use my dell as a 2nd monitor. I want a 27" or possible 30" if it's affordable enough. I would like to not spend more than $1000.

What are other professionals using these days?
 
L

Lagmonster

macrumors 6502
Sep 22, 2007
286
1
Something to consider care the Catleap panels: I am not sure it's "pro" but they do use the same panel as Apple. They are "A-" panels which means you are not 100% guaranteed any dead pixels but you can read about other peoples experiences.

You can get 3 of them for the price of a single Apple display. Worth it? Maybe.
 
Prodo123

Prodo123

macrumors 68020
Nov 18, 2010
2,326
10
If you have a Mac, the Apple Thunderbolt Display or Cinema Display is the way to go. Large gamut, 27" screen. With the refurb pricing, you can easily get one for around $800 to $900.
Or if you want a near-100% AdobeRGB gamut display then you could get either the Dell U2711 or the U3011.
 
B

blanka

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2012
1,551
4
Prodo123 said:
If you have a Mac, the Apple Thunderbolt Display or Cinema Display is the way to go. Large gamut, 27" screen.
Click to expand...
Well, not so large. It does not cover sRGB 100%.

If you're budget is 1000$, sell the calibrator for 200$ and buy a NEC PA271W.
It is the last monitor you need (until it stops working, but you get 5 years warranty to earn it back).
It is SO PERFECTLY calibrated in factory (both to sRGB and AdobeRGB thanks to a true 3D lut) you can just pick the standard profiles as monitor profile and be under 2dE for many years to come, it auto-adjusts to ambient light and backlight un-evenness, it shows video frame rates right, it does KVM switching for 2 computers, it has great ergonomic settings.

It is basically the Dell U2711 or TBDP when you look at the panel, but the electronics around it make it a totally different league. Oh, and the 30 inch version is just as nice!


Do you work in sRGB? Web stuff: remember that it is impossible to get sRGB look right on an AdobeRGB monitor without 3D lut. So if you buy the Dell U2711, set OSX and the Dell in AdobeRGB, not in sRGB.
 
Prodo123

Prodo123

macrumors 68020
Nov 18, 2010
2,326
10
blanka said:
Well, not so large. It does not cover sRGB 100%.

If you're budget is 1000$, sell the calibrator for 200$ and buy a NEC PA271W.
It is the last monitor you need (until it stops working, but you get 5 years warranty to earn it back).
It is SO PERFECTLY calibrated in factory (both to sRGB and AdobeRGB thanks to a true 3D lut) you can just pick the standard profiles as monitor profile and be under 2dE for many years to come, it auto-adjusts to ambient light and backlight un-evenness, it shows video frame rates right, it does KVM switching for 2 computers, it has great ergonomic settings.

It is basically the Dell U2711 or TBDP when you look at the panel, but the electronics around it make it a totally different league. Oh, and the 30 inch version is just as nice!


Do you work in sRGB? Web stuff: remember that it is impossible to get sRGB look right on an AdobeRGB monitor without 3D lut. So if you buy the Dell U2711, set OSX and the Dell in AdobeRGB, not in sRGB.
Click to expand...
What in the WORLD are you talking about? All computer monitors that aren't supremely crappy have 100% sRGB coverage. THe ATD has 85-90% Adobe RGB coverage as well as 100% sRGB coverage. So yes, it's very large.
 
dimme

dimme

macrumors 68040
Feb 14, 2007
3,029
27,672
SF, CA
I think the definition of large depends on your usage. I work in pre press and we only use ezio displays, which are 100% adobe rgb, however if you work is only going to be displayed on the web the much smaller apple displays can work fine. For print it is really worth spending the extra $$$ for a ezio on nec. At home I use a Dell U2410 which is just about 100% adobe RGB. The color gamient is excellent but the eveness is not nearly as good as a ezio.
 
B

blanka

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2012
1,551
4
Prodo123 said:
What in the WORLD are you talking about? All computer monitors that aren't supremely crappy have 100% sRGB coverage.
Click to expand...
They HAD. the new white-LED models are often only giving 85-90% of sRGB. Which is quite flat. The ATB is more like just a little above sRGB instead of close to AdobeRGB. Which makes it a little hard to use. It is clearly wider gamut than the previous CCFL generation that was nearly spot-on sRGB, but it lacks to be used in an AdobeRGB workflow. Meat nor fish.
 
Last edited:
Prodo123

Prodo123

macrumors 68020
Nov 18, 2010
2,326
10
blanka said:
They HAD. the new white-LED models are often only giving 85-90% of sRGB. Which is quite flat. The ATB is more like just a little above sRGB instead of close to AdobeRGB. Which makes it a little hard to use. It is clearly wider gamut than the previous CCFL generation that was nearly spot-on sRGB, but it lacks to be used in an AdobeRGB workflow. Meat nor fish.
Click to expand...

You are confusing Adobe RGB and sRGB...
There is no way that you can have more gamut of a larger color space and have less gamut of a smaller color space. It's basic logic.
100% sRGB coverage with white LEDs corresponds to ~65% Adobe RGB coverage. As long as you have more than 65%, it is assumed that you have more than 100% sRGB coverage.

http://www.computermonitorinfo.com/Apple-27-inch-Thunderbolt-Display-Review/Performance.htm
This shows the (somewhat inaccurate) gamut marks of the Thunderbolt Display. It exceeds the sRGB space, and the discrepancy in the blues is within the margin of error. And since Apple indicates that there has been no shift in gamut from the Cinema Display, which had 85% Adobe RGB, it correlates with preexisting data saying that the ATD has >100% sRGB.
 
B

blanka

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2012
1,551
4
I mean, it is like 70-75% Adobe RGB, slightly larger gamut than sRGB instead of being close to 100% AdobeRGB.
So you can't run OSX in a default colour space, as both are too far off.
The old CD was about 100% sRGB, so if you like an easy workflow, you could put the OS on sRGB and go...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom