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iMac displays..

R

rogan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 13, 2009
122
1
After alot of research on iMacs as i'm going to be buying a 2nd hand one soon,

I'm a bit confused after alot of things said here and there and would like a final matter, i think i got the gist but confirmation would be nice..

2008 model iMac

20" is the only iMac to be given the TN panel? (i will stear clear if so)
the 24" of the same gen DID have an IPS panel so that one's good?

then the next set of releases

the C2D 21.5" iMac did it get given the IPS panel? or given a TN?

Thanks
 
great thanks

looks like im on the hunt for a 21.5 or a 24 then :D
 
didnt quite realise the price gap...

now im back to maybe having to consider the 20"...

now, do you know what the display in the late 2009 Macbook Pro (unibody 13") is like compared to the 20"

is it an IPS display like the 24" or will it be similar quality to that of the 20" ?
 
rogan said:
didnt quite realise the price gap...

now im back to maybe having to consider the 20"...

now, do you know what the display in the late 2009 Macbook Pro (unibody 13") is like compared to the 20"

is it an IPS display like the 24" or will it be similar quality to that of the 20" ?
Click to expand...

None of the laptops are IPS, they are TN panels so the color and brightness will change when not viewing straight on. There are other considerations as well. The 20" iMac was only 6-bits of color and the 24" had better color but had trouble turning down brightness (as I understand it making it a pain for photo editing/printing). All late 2009 MBP's had better color than previous MBPs since apple increase the sRGB color gamut about 60%.

So these panels are not apple and apple comparison - okay they are since they are all apple products :) Photographers like myself need good control over what they see in order to standardize the look and have prints match what they see. I use a 2010 MBP which has great sRGB color gamut (sRGB color space is all most people need, especially for web posting). I hook my MBP up to a high end wide gamut monitor. That monitor and my MBP are color calibrated - that is a subject in itself which I won't bore you with. However, my external monitor lets me use multiple calibrations so I use one for everyday work and another profile for print work - which is darker. If your prints are darker than what you see then your monitor is too bright and vice versa.

So depending on what you will be doing the monitor can be crucial. However, for most work and most people what is available from Apple is just fine - except the glare on the iMacs :(

One other thing is that the 27" iMac has more resolution than the previous iMacs. That means that fonts and web image and you tube videos will be smaller on the larger monitor. For us older folks this can be a real eye soar. I had a 27" iMac and it made my eyes screen with pain after a short time. I tried increasing the font size for Safari but that often made the web pages load with overlapping frames on some sites. In the end I sold it and bought what I use now. I would be considered the exception to the rule regarding high resolution but if you are older and have presbyoia then this is real concern
 
Last edited:
So, if the quality of my late 09 MBP is fantastic too me, a 20" iMac from 2009 will also be fine?
 
rogan said:
So, if the quality of my late 09 MBP is fantastic too me, a 20" iMac from 2009 will also be fine?
Click to expand...

They are two completely different panels. The late 2009 MBP and iMac's have great color. I do not think the earlier 20" iMac's were as good but I am not sure so you will have to google that topic.
 
Depending on what you are doing you will be fine, like regular internet browsing, movies... As a photographer I need to understand and be able to manage color. When it is managed properly that means that other people with good, calibrated monitors, will see exactly what I see, and prints come out exactly as they appear. It took me years to understand and have the right setup to make matching prints. My NEC monitor is a top of the line, like LaCie and Eizo's, and they let me use 12 or 14-bits of color separation (most have 8-bits and some, like many laptops and possibly the old 20" iMac have only 6-bits/channel). That plus have a wide gamut lets me see and work in color spaces beyond the normal sRGB, and also get plenty of shadow detail...

Anyway, for 98% of computer users these things get you where you need to go. My regular normal gamut MBP is gorgeous. Of course part of that is the glass that helps with color - pros do not want to see colors enhanced, they want to see what is actually there and that is all high end monitors (like NEC, LaCie (which actually use NEC panels) and Eizo, are all anti-glare. Anyway, I'll stop rambling now :)
 
I do not think the 20" iMac is an IPS panel - see the specs here that would mean limited viewing angles. I also think, but am not sure, that this iMac is only 6-bits of color instead of 8. Keep in mind Apple does not like to give out that type of info. For the price point on the Samsung I suspect it is not anything special either but possibly better than the iMac since it is much newer.

The reviews from Amazon on the Sansung are pretty good - it does tilt unlike an iMac :) for the price you really can't go wrong - plus with an external monitor you can always replace unlike a monitor built into a iMac.

Depending on what you are doing you may not need anything special. If you know you do need that then you will have to pay much more for a monitor like I did.

Perhaps a 13" MBP with an external will get you were you want to go. The latest 13" MBP's have far more power
 
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