Best Monitors for Photo Editing : Is it REALLY that important?

Is the monitor really that important?

The quick answer: YES, absolutely.

IF YOU CAN’T SEE THE COLOR AND TONAL DIFFERENCES on your monitor, then you can’t make good post-processing decisions and adjustments to your digital negatives. It’s that simple. You can’t adjust your curves to give your print smooth tonal transitions or to distinguish subtle shadow detail if you can’t see those transitions and details to begin with.  In order to make optimal adjustments to your digital negatives, you must be able to see as much of your color gamut as possible and the color must be accurate and reliable.

Monitor Technology : IPS vs. TN

TN stands for Twisted Nematic, which is by far the most popular and wide-spread screen technology. If you have a standard or even higher-end “gaming” LCD monitor for your PC, this is what you have (the same is not true for some Macs). TN screens initially gained popularity because of their low energy consumption, but also because of their quick response time, which is important in reducing ghosting and producing smooth motion for gaming and video. Most TN monitors these days advertise response times of 2-6ms , though they are not always measured in the same way, so comparison is difficult. They are also very bright and are being made with increasingly high resolution, so they appeal to most average consumers. They’re also the cheapest monitors on the market.

More importantly for photographers, though, is that TN monitors use 6-bit color technology, and therefore can’t display the full 24-bit color range (16.7 million colors) that video cards can produce (and that the monitor manufacturers usually claim they can produce). Instead, they attempt to simulate the full range of colors by interpolation of other colors, which they do with limited success. Many TN monitors (non-LED) display less than 30% of the NTSC color gamut, and the color that they do display is only accurate when viewed head-on, so the appearance of color shifts when viewed from and angle is dramatic, and problematic around the edges in any circumstances. Improvements are continually being made in TN technology, but they have a long way to go.

IPS panel monitors, on the other hand, have a different set of advantages and disadvantages. IPS stands for In-Plane Switching, although modern IPS panels actually make use of a variety of improved technologies, such as S-IPS,  H-IPS,  AS-IPS, and E-IPS. Engineering details aside, the main advantages to IPS panels is that they are truly 8-bit technology (or 10-bit), with many IPS monitors producing 125% or more of the number of colors in the NTSC gamut. Second, the colors do not shift when viewed from different angles; most remain accurate well past 170 degrees. But of course, there are disadvantages as well, though they are also improving. Initially, the IPS technology was much slower than TN, with response rates of 20-50ms. This made it unusable for video and gaming. S-IPS and a variety of “turbo” technologies have now improved that rate, and 14ms and faster speeds are common, making them very suitable for video, though still somewhat less desirable for gaming.

IPS monitors have been much more expensive as well, though the gap is beginning to narrow.  Even a year ago, the most common IPS monitors (Mac Cinema Displays) cost three times as much as similarly sized TN screens, but now 23″ IPS monitors can be found for as little as $300. Professional graphic arts monitors using IPS and other less common technologies still cost thousands of dollars, though.

S-PVA is another excellent but less common technology. Like IPS, S-PVA panels use at least 8-bit technology, have very good gamut coverage, and colors do not shift when viewed off angle.

Which Monitor Should I Get?

The answer, of course, depends on your budget. You can spend anywhere from $300 to $3000 or more.  In this case, however, it is a safe bet that even the cheapest options will be dramatically better than what you’re currently using (if you’re using a standard TN desktop workstation screen).

On the low end of the price spectrum, Viewsonic has recently begun producing 23″ and 26″ IPS wide-screen monitors that are very competitively priced. The 23″ model (VP2365wb) runs about $299, while the 26″ model (VP2655wb) is about $942. Each maintain consistent color even when viewed from a 178 degree angle. The 23″ model was designated a “best buy” in one of the PC magazines this month due to its great performance and reasonable price, and the larger screen is even better if you can afford it. They don’t provide specific gamut details, but I’ve never seen bad numbers for an IPS monitor, and those who have switched (even from Macs) have been very happy with them.

In about the same price range, the NEC EA231WMi is another good option that uses an eIPS panel. It covers 96% of the sRGB color space, and is well built. Street Price is about $340.

Only a little more expensive is the HP ZR24w, a 24″ display that costs around $399. Reports are that once it is calibrated, it has extremely accurate color… even more accurate than monitors that cost twice as much.

If you can afford to spend a bit more money, the options open up tremendously, and the potential for enhanced performance also increases.

The new DELL U2410 is an an impressive monitor for the price. At only $540, it provides 100% sRGB coverage and 96% of AdobeRGB, with 12-bit internal processing… not to mention built in card readers, USB ports, etc.  Early production models of this monitor had some dithering problems that have since been corrected with updated firmware, so they should not be a problem. Because this is a true extended-gamut monitor, operating systems prior to Windows 7 (that don’t manage your color) will make this monitor difficult to use.

Another very popular option is the Apple 24″ Cinema Display. Apple Cinema Displays have been  standard workhorses of the graphic art trade for years, and they’re one of the reasons that Macs have kept such a strong hold on the industry. They’re more expensive than some similarly performing models (around $880 for a 24″), but have a reputation for quality. Some people have reported problems with reflections on the glossy screen surface.

If high performance is more important to you than sticking to a tight budget, there are a few monitors that fit the bill.

The HP DreamColor LP2480zx is probably the nicest monitor that I’ve ever had the opportunity to use. It is a 10-bit monitor, covering a full 100% of the AdobeRGB color space. The difference between this monitor and the Apple Cinema Display that I’m more familiar with is clear from the first moment that I used it; I could actually see more in photos than I had previously realized was there. This does come at a price, though… about $1850.

Similarly, the Eizo ColorEdge CG241W (and related monitors such as the CG243W, etc.) is a stellar performer. If you’d like to read a full comparison between an older Eizo monitor and an Apple Cinema Display, let me direct your attention to the Luminous Landscape article that first drew my attention to Eizo monitors, here: The Eizo ColorEdge CG301W vs. The Apple 30″ Cinemadisplay. Again, the performance comes at a cost… especially if you opt for the 30 inch versions of these monitors, but even at 24″, the cost is substantial at $1900.

There are, of course, numerous other excellent monitors out there. In fact, I haven’t even mentioned the offerings from major companies like Samsung (though I left them out on purpose) and LaCie. I’ve listed some additional monitors in the table below, but I hope that everyone reading this will add their experience and input as well. I hope that this helps!

[Since there are more monitors than I can reasonably test myself, I've listed monitors with which I've had personal experience, for which I've heard good recommendations from reliable sources, or about which I've read multiple convincingly good reviews. If your favorite monitor has been left out, feel free to email me or reply to this thread with relevant info. -JMG]

Brand and Model	Price	Panel Technology	Display Size (measured diagonally) and Aspect Ratio	Native Resolution	Pixel Pitch	Display Colors	Color vs NTSC (CIE 1976)	sRGB Gamut Coverage	Adobe RGB 1998 Gamut	Response Time (gray to gray)	Contrast Ratio (fixed)	Viewing Angle
Hewlett-Packard ZR24w	$399	S-IPS (H2-IPS)	24" , 16:10	1920x1200	.270 mm	16.7 million (8-bit)	83%	97%		7ms	1000:1	178°
Hewlett-Packard DreamColor LP2480zx	$1847	IPS	24" , 16:10	1920x1200	.270 mm	1.07 billion (10-bit)	133%	100%	100%	6ms	1000:1	178°
Hewlett-Packard ZR30w	$1300	S-IPS	30" , 16:10	2560 x 1600	.2505 mm	1.07 billion (10-bit)	102%	100%	99%	7ms	1000:1	178°
Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP	$699		24" ,	1920x1200	.270 mm	16.7 million (8-bit)	110%			6ms	1300:1	178°
Apple LED Cinema Display	$849	IPS	24"	1920x1200	.270 mm	16.7 million (8-bit)	Not Provided	Not Provided	Not Provided	14ms	1000:1	178°
ViewSonic VP2365wb	$299	IPS	23" , 16:9	1920x1080		16.7 million (8-bit)				14ms*	1000:1	178°
ViewSonic VP2655wb	$915	IPS	26" ,	1920x1200			118%			5ms	1000:1	178°
LaCie 724	$2,070	S-PVA	24" , 16:10	1920x1200	.270 mm	16.7 million (8-bit)	125%		123%	6ms	1000:1	178°
LaCie 526	$1509	H-IPS	25.5" , 16:10	1920x1200	.287 mm	16.7 million (8-bit)	102%		97%	8ms	1000:1	178°
Eizo FlexScan SX2462W		IPS	24.1"	1920x1200	.270 mm	1.07 billion (10-bit)	102%		98%	5ms	850:1	178°
Eizo ColorEdge CG245W		IPS	24"	1920x1200	.270 mm	1.07 billion (10-bit)	102%	100%	98%	5ms	850:1	178°
Eizo ColorEdge CG303W		IPS	30"	2560 x 1600	.2505 mm	1.07 billion (10-bit)	102%	100%	98%	5ms	850:1	178°
NEC LCD2490WUXi2	$824	IPS	24" , 16:10	1920x1200	.270 mm	16.7 million (8-bit)			76%	8ms	850:1	178°
NEC PA241W-BK	$1041	IPS	24"	1920x1200	.270 mm	1.07 billion (10-bit)	102% Size	100% Coverage 144% Size	98.1% Coverage 107% Size	8ms	1000:1	178°
NEC PA271W	$1350	IPS	27"	2560 x 1440	.23 mm	1.07 billion (10-bit)	102% Size	100% Coverage 145% Size	97.1% Coverage 107% Size	7ms	1000:1	178°

Additional Necessities

If you’re going to spend the money to get a good quality display, you’ll also need a color calibration system for it. In fact, this is true no matter what monitor you’re using… but it would be especially wasteful not to calibrate a high quality display. These can be quite inexpensive, and there are a variety of choices. Most high-end monitors are bundled with a colorimeter already. The Spyder models range in price from about $85 to a couple hundred, as do the models from X-rite, like the ColorMunki ($500) and Eye-One LT ($150).

It also makes sense to create color profiles for your camera using something like an X-Rite Color checker. It can dramatically improve the color accuracy of your photos, and is quite simple (see the videos here).

Additionally, you should keep in mind that some of these monitors use 10-bit or higher technology, and require specific graphics cards, and in some cases, the DisplayPort connector must be used rather than the standard digital output or HDMI. If you expect to use 10-bit or higher display technology, check with the monitor manufacturer to see what graphics cards are supported.

GHTime Code(s): 24a9c 9213e