Apple Cinema 30"?

I need more room on my screen. I want to separate the image from the editing

software in Capture One and Photoshop. I assme that's possible on a big monitor

with a good graphics card. (I'm running Windows XP). I would love to hear from

current users of the Apple 30 -- how do you like it? What graphics card do you

recommend for a PC? Do you find the space usable for image editing?

You might want to check some of the Apple forums - I was ready to buy a 23" Apple Cinema for my windows system. Then I heard over and over again that on a windows based system there were a lot of limitations - lie not being able to adjust the brightness, which is pretty fundamental! There were other issues. Even the CompUSA guy adviced me against the Apple. Do your homework before you spend that kind of money!

I can't answer anything about using the Cinema Display 23 or 30 on a Win XP platform (I run

Mac OS X), but for me the 23" is large enough to provide plenty of room for editing alongside

my images. The 20" was a bit tight, the 30" would be spectacular but would overpower my

desk... never mind my budget! ;-)

 

I'm extremely pleased with the G5 and 23" monitor. They make an excellent, productive

image-processing workstation.

 

Godfrey

I considered the 23" Cinema display when I was shopping for a monitor a few months ago. After some research, I determined that it wouldn't be a good choice for my use (on an XP Pro box). I got a LaCie 321 (21") and have been quite satisfied with it.

 

Right now, I'm augmenting the 321 with a small tube on the side. At some point, I'll probably replace the tube a larger, inexpensive LCD.

I use a 30" Apple Cinema Display and it works wonderfully for image editing. I'm also using a Monaco Optix XR Pro for calibration.

 

Please disregard the comment above about not being able to set the brightness. The LCD has two dedicated buttons on the side for adjusting brightness.

 

In particular, I can tell you that the calibration with the Monaco devices work nicely too.

 

If you can afford it, the productivity returns pay for the screen itself. I was so used to spend more time shuffling editing windows around than actually doing any work.

Shourya,

 

Are you using a PC? If so, with what card?

 

The issue you mention (shuffling windows around the screen) is just what I find myself doing too often when I'd rather edit.

I agree with Godfrey. I bought a G5 with a 23" cinema monitor and find it's more than

adequate for my work, handling up to 1 to 2 8x10 images side by side with the menus and

stuff around it. If you're serious though, you can always add a second smaller monitor for the

applications menus. The 30" monitor is really nice but far too large for my needs. I've read

and heard from some local photographers the cinema monitors hold their color calibration

when new for about 1-2 years but then should be calibrated.

I'm running the Dell 24" LCD. Love it. It's set to display 1920x1200 pixels. The Apple 30" will break your bank!

The Apple monitors tend to have most adjustments made in software and AFAIK all the options are not supported on the PC. This was the main reason that I didn't even consider Apple when I bought a new monitor. You should check this thing closely before buying. An alternative could be the Dell 30", but I don't know how good it is. You should also check if you can get away with a smaller resolution, as that would give more options and they would be cheaper.

 

To run the monitor, you need a dual DVI link graphics adapter. Nvidia has been touting this feature, at least in some more expensive models, a Google or surfing Apple's site should clarify the options.

Isn't a Dell 30" cheaper? And it also includes a multicard reader...

Gib: The way you describe your problem, it would seem that a secondary monitor would be the cheapest solution.

 

I have a 21" main monitor for the actual image, and a 19" secondary monitor where I keep all the controls and the navigation window. This dual monitor setup is very convinient.

 

If your current graphics cards supports this (usually those physically having two outputs do, easy to check), you would most likely be able to implement the solution for free as it is easy to find a "good enough" secondary monitor for free.

I second Olli's suggestion.

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That is how I work on photos at home (Mac based) and on chip design systems (Windows/Unix based) at work: a smaller monitor for the controls, editing and navigaton and a second reasonably large monitor with nothing but the image/graphic on it.

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&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp ...Tom M