Who is pleased with Dell Ultrasharp ?

I am desperately in need of a new monitor. I recently called my lab and they

said they use Dell. I am a bit confused by the different posts on Photo.net.

There are many references to things I don't understand like - DVI. Sorry, I am

only a bit technically challenged. I use Windows and PhotoShop CS2. I will be

editing wedding photography and photojournalism. I also scan black and white

negatives. I do a bit of printing but any proofbooks or large orders I use a

lab. I am looking for a LCD under $500.00. Is 22" large enough? I had test

prints done on my current monitor and they were perfect with no corrections done

in PhotoShop. The monitor is not calibrated. So, my question is simply this. Who

is using a Dell Ultrasharp and what size would you recommend? I understand from

previous posts that the contrast needs to be dialed down. What else should I be

looking for? Thanks

Of course you want to calibrate anything you get, but I've got a 24" Ultrasharp and I'm very pleased with it....I'm sure I'll have another when this one gives up.

Same as Chris.

I have a lowly Dell Ultrasharp 19". It works fine for me. DVI is the digital connection to the computer as opposed to the analog connection. Each one has a cable and you use one or the other. You can't control contrast, etc. fully unless you use the analog cable. You should definitely use some kind of monitor calibration as most LCDs, and Ultrasharps, are bright. One of the first things you do when you calibrate it is turn down the brightness a lot. Up to you how big you want it. I'd get it as big as you can afford, but don't go overboard.

If you have DVI and analog inputs on the same monitor, it's always been the case for me that the DVI input is crisper and with better colors. Contrast etc must be controlled via software and drivers (most good video cards include this) instead of via the controls on the monitor itself.

 

I have the 30" Ultrasharp and am very happy.

No probs with my Dell 24" ultrasharp.

Thanks for the responses and explanations. I now have some direction. By the way I thought this question was going to be posted under monitors or digital. Not sure how it got here. Anyway, Photo.net is great.

The video cards that come in Dell systems and plain vanilla cards don't have the software to control contrast, etc. Better check on that before you buy figuring you can use the DVI input.

<i>The video cards that come in Dell systems and plain vanilla cards don't have the software to control contrast, etc.</i><p>

 

Most of the basic nVidia cards come with the NVidia Displays cdev which allows control of brightness, contrast, gamma, etc. I assume the same is true of ATI chipset cards. There's one in my Mac, but I have the monitor (a 19" Ultrasharp) hardware profiled. I do prefer the 20" (1600x1200) to the 19" (1280x960).

I have a Dell 24" and while it's an OK monitor for many purposes (it has lots of inputs and USB

ports - great features), I'm not particularly pleased with it for photo editing. I have the

brightness all the way down to 0 and it is still much too bright. It can still be calibrated

(Gretag Eye 1), but wasting your lookup table's entries and dynamic range simply to dim

excessive brightness is a poor "solution." Much much better to deal with brightness turning

down backlighting rather than to compress lookup table dynamic range. I also have a large

Apple ACD and it's a MUCH better display in that area.

Ok, do I understand correctly that I should use the DVI input but that I need to buy a nVidia card to control contrast for the Dell Ultrasharp. The nVidia card is compatible with this monitor? I don't know what ATI or Gretag Eye 1 means. I don't own a MAC. Much of the terminology is new to me. I would like to buy something soon but I don't want to deal with too many hassles once I've made my purchase.If anyone has heard of something better than the Dell Ultrasharp please let me know. I realize that there are many threads about monitors but I get lost with all the terms thrown around. Thanks again for all the responses.

Look me up and read my post about the Samsung 244T.

 

Charles (Ray) Hinton