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Dell 2407WFP vs Apple Cinema display 23"


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Would like to get one of the above but wondering which is the best choice for

photoediting. In any case the Dell it's a bit bigger (24" instead 23") and looks

a bit better (contrast ratio of 1000:1 instead of 700:1 of the Apple monitor and

luminance of 450 instead of 400 of the Cinema Display). Over here in Europe the

Dell is priced 800 Euro while the apple cinema display is 1149 Euro. Why this

huge difference?

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Hi Michele, Not to disparage Apple's fine products but one almost always pays a bit more for their computers and peripherals - especially compared to a company like Dell. Incidentally, you might also want to look at Eizo's products - not so much for price, but they have at least one monitor that's very digital-darkroom oriented. Perhaps this is a bit unfair of me having never owned an Apple (except for an Ipod) but if it were me, I'd lean towards the Dell if the Eizo is too expensive. I have owned quite a bit of Dell equipment and have had positive experiences. Good luck!
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You know the old adage of you get what you pay for... Eizo if you're serious about accurate color (http://www.eizo.com/products/graphics/ce240w/index.asp), the Apple would be my second choice over the cheaper (and cheaply built) Dell. Having used both, there is just no comparison. The Apple has better on screen quality, better built; metal vs cheap plastic; sealed enclosure vs open to dust; USB & Firewire vs USB only; slim vs bulky; SWOP certified vs. not; etc.. You have to rely on your monitor day and day out and stare at it for hours at a time. Odds are it will outlast 2 or 3 systems upgrades, so it's a long term investment.
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You don't say what computer you will use with the display. If you have an Apple then by all means go with the Cinema display. If however you would use it with a PC, then you should carefully read the Apple user forum. Certain very basic controls do NOT work with the Apple Cinema display if operated from a PC.
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You don't need the high luminance anyway. 120 cd is about the max you should use for an

LCD. What really matters is the colour of the lamp that is lighting the LCD panel. Most are

way too blue, resulting in a native white colour temperature that is useless for proper

profiling without changing it. And profiling to native white would be preferred if you want

to make use of the full LCD colour gamut. A lot of modern LCD's are a mess for that

reason. They push up the output of light at the cost of the correct native white colour.

 

So my advice is: try to find out the colour temperature of the lamps in the monitors on

your list and choose the one with native white closest to 6000K. You can use a colour

temperature meter (Minolta Color Meter IIIF) or a calibration device (GretagMacbeth Eye-

One) to determine this value. You might even find that a somewhat older Cinema Display

is better in this respect than a modern one.

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One word: 10bit. Read on it.

 

I have 2 Dells (2005 and 2407WFP) and one Sharp (LL-T1820B). The Sharp is 10-bit and we bought it specifically for photo editing. Believe me - even with proper calibration (Monaco) Dell does not even come close to Sharp. Because Apple is also 10bit, it is very close in

color rendering to Sharp, so my advice is - go Apple.

 

Dells are good monitors - for video or gaming or office work. Bit no 8-bit LCD monitor is suitable for photo editing.

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  • 3 months later...
Michael, haven't made a choice yet. Had the opportunity to put my hands on the apple cinema display in a computer shop few days ago and it hasn't impressed me. There are also rumors about Apple upgrading its monitor line soon ... so, just holding up a bit more.
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