Glossy vs Antiglare? Is one the photographer's standard?

<p>Hello,<br>

I finally decided to break down and get a Mac. I am looking at the MacBook Pro laptop, as I want to be able to use it on-location for tethered shooting. My current computer (Dell Precision M65) has an extremely dim display. My images look AWFUL on my computer. When I pulled up my flickr site at the Mac store, I was blown away. So...the only question I have left to ponder is: should I get the antiglare or the glossy screen? I love the glossy screen honestly, but I have heard from many people that the "gold standard" for professional photography is the antiglare. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>I never heard that about glossy. In fact, I got the glossy screen because I felt it had more clarity to it than the anti-glare--I know others with each type and all make due just fine. But I don't think you will find the laptop monitor the end all, but when shooting on location, it gives you the information you need to make decisions. I wouldn't use my MacBook Pro screen for critical work (mine is about 3-4 years old now and I believe the new ones might be slightly better). Anyway, I prefer the glossy and don't find it an issue on location as long as you hood it from the direct sun--otherwise it will be fairly dark as any monitor would be for that matter.</p>

<p>A good tool to have if you are working on location is a hood to go around the laptop. Iuse the Thinktank Photo Pixel Sunscreen v2. http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/pixel-sunscreen-v2.aspx. it runs $69.00 . it also offers a degree of privacy. I like the idea of the anti-glare screen but common sense tells me that the best way to reduce of avoid glare is to keep the light causing the glare from hitting the screen in the first place.</p>

<p>BTW I am also in the market for a new Mac Book Pro as well. Which model are you looking at? I am thinking I am going to go with the 15 inch 2.2GHZ model and install 16GB RAM in it. </p>

<h2> </h2>

<p>Brandon, you will love the MacBook Pro laptop; I got one about a week ago. I elected to go with the matte screen, based primarily on many comments from photographers on this and other sites. The bottom line is (was) that both are excellent, but those times with you have a brighter light source coming over your shoulder, the matte would prove to be a better choice. That's something that's harder to control in the field and when you're traveling. [bTW, I'm not sure I'd label this screen as "anti-glare" in the same way that glass is considered anti-grlare. I've never liked the reduced sharpness of anti-glare glass; I don't see reduced sharpness on this matte screen.]</p>

<p>This MacBook Pro will replace my older laptop plus my desktop Mac Pro. I will keep my Apple Cinema display (not sure of the exact brand title) and use it for main editing when I'm home. I may keep my mouse keyboard as well for home use.</p>

<p>You can get a substantial discount from Apple if you're an NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) member. The NAPP discounts I've received have paid for the $99 annual membership many times over, plus you will receive a great educational magazine every other month covering PS and Lightroom.</p>

<p>Normal advice is to go for the matte screen, but personally I prefer the glossy. For the same reason that I wouldn't use the standard non-reflective glass for pictures hung in a gallery. Matte screens don't actually remove bright reflections on the screen, they just distribute them more or less evenly across the whole of the screen. The effect if to radically reduce contrast on the screen, and means that you can't 'see' into shadows.</p>

<p>For me the more effective solution is just to turn the laptop screen to an angle where the reflections don't annoy too much. With a matt screen that is pretty much impossible unless you're in a darkened room.</p>

 

>>> Glossy vs Antiglare? Is one the photographer's standard?

 

No, no standard. It's personal preference. From processing lots of photos everyday, I prefer glossy.

 

BTW, the new MBPs are great. I've had a new 13" i7 for about a month now and it is extremely fast. Tons faster

than my 4 year old 15" MBP. Running Lightroom 3 on my 15" was always trying. On my new 13" it's a pleasure. And the battery seems to last forever - unlike my older 15" MBP where 2-3

hours is the max.

<p>Ellis: I will have to get that hood you speak of. I am going to go with the 2.3GHz 15 inch. I didn't know it was compatable with 16GB RAM??? Is it? The highest amount I can build it to on the apple.com site is 8GB. <br>

Stephen: Thanks for the info. I am a full-time student, so I get the Apple student discount. I'm not sure if I can use it in conjunction with NAPP, but I'll have to look into it.<br>

Simon: I think I prefer glossy as well. I'll have to look at both side by side at the Apple store. </p>

<p>That is what I did, I compared them in a Mac store, I opened the stores Aperture libraries next to each other. I got the glossy, and every laptop since has been the glossy.</p>

<p>I get my RAM from Other World Computing , http://eshop.macsales.com<br>

RAM options are listed on http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3_1333MHz_SDRAM</p>

<p>Having just double checked the price I will likely go with 8GB not 16!<br>

Lloyd Cambers runs an excellent site about fining tuning the performance of any Mac : http://macperformanceguide.com/index_topics.html<br>

He reviews the new Mac Book Pros @ http://macperformanceguide.com/Reviews-MacBookProFeb2011.htmlhttp://macperformanceguide.com/Reviews-MacBookProFeb2011.html</p>

 

<p>Hi Brandon,</p>

<p>When I bought my 15in MBP 3 years ago, the matte screen was standard...and I special ordered the glossy screen. And I'm very happy that I did. When light hits a matte screen it just washes out the image. When light hits the glossy screen you just reposition the screen or your head till the reflection goes away.</p>

<p>That said, none of the MBP screens are all that good for photoshop as the image changes brightness as you move your head. But this is true of all the laptop screens I've seen, and the MBP screen shows a nice image. FWIW, I think the iPad image looks even better :) And it's glossy!</p>

<p>I have calibrated my MBP screen with an i1 display probe, and it helps the color accuracy quite a bit.</p>

<p>And lastly, the Macbook Air screens look particularly poor, probably due to their thinness.</p>

<p>I used to rail at the glossy mac monitors. But I looked at them and got one and now I prefer glossy. I just work where there's no huge glare.</p>

<p><em>the "gold standard" for professional photography is the antiglare...</em></p>

<p>the gold standard is a high end monitor, glossy or not dont really have to do anything.. of course, most user (me included) prefered to work with a matte screen for many reason. BUT i also have a Imac 27inch at home, glossy screen, and if you can control the light entering the room, or dont put it in front of a window all should be good. it is a matter of preference more than anything i suppose.</p>

<p>For a laptop, i would choose the matte option, or if its faster, the glossy one and get a antiglare film that cost 35$.. easy to install and a big difference for a laptop user.</p>

<p>Go matt. I’ve ponyed up the extra money for matt on my Macbook Pro and glad I did. Especially when using a laptop where you don’t necessarily have control over the ambient lighting in which you are viewing the display, the Matt is less troublesome.</p>

<p>Two years ago I set up my PC with a pair of anti-glare monitors. They looked good in the store but when photo editing I feel like every image is on mat paper. This works fine for some images but has the opposite effect on others. This week I am upgrading to gloss monitors...</p>