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Cheap(ish) monitor for photo editing?

P

powpow

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 19, 2004
98
0
Looking for a monitor that's compatible with my 2009 MacBook unibody.

I've decided that the screen is too small and washed out for good photo editing, so I'm looking for something in the 22-24 inch range with good colors and sharp text.

Ideally it would be in the $200-300 range.

Thanks!
 
For photo editing, you will want a panel with 8-bit (or better) pixel to render full 16.7 million colors. Cheap TN and e-IPS based panels are 6-bit that can only render 262,144 colors (and resort to dithering to simulate more colors).

HP ZR22w is perhaps one of the most frequently recommended monitors that can be purchased under $300. It is available in larger sizes as well.
 
I previously owned the HP ZR24w 24 inch monitor which is an IPS display. It was a great monitor although I ended up selling and am awaiting a 24 or 27 inch ACD.
 
If your not planing on calibrateing the monitor, make sure you go with one that has accurate colors out of the box. In reviews look for charts that have uncalibrated deltaE's listed. You want something that's close to or under 3.

And honestly, if it comes down to it, I'd rather have a calibrated TN panel than a uncalibrated IPS.

P.S. For calibration the Sypder3Express is nice and doesn't cost much (about $67 from Amazon)
 
Between 22'' and 24'' I would suggest you to go with 24". It's wider and the price is almost the same!
I got 24-Inch Viewsonic VX2453MH-LED Widescreen Monitor and love it! It has Very small response time of 2 ms.
I can suggest you to have a look here for monitors reviews!
 
I agree with Shaun. I've also owned a HP ZR24w and actually like it better than the similarly priced Dell model.
 
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