tom_thumbnail Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 I have a 19" CRT that's about to bite the dust and needs replacing. I see there is a whole new breed of 22" widescreen LCD's out there and NewEgg has a bunch of them. I think I'll like this size because the resolution is only 1600 x 1050 with a dot pitch around .282". My old eyes don't like higher resolution screens like my 20.1" Dell 2001 LCD at 1600x1200 and .25 dot pitch because the letters are too small. Can anyone comment on which of these 22" LCDs would be particularly good for Digital Darkroom use? http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=20&name=LCD-Monitors (I wasn't able to provide a working link specifically to the 22" monitors. From the linked page, on the menu on the left, click on "+More" under "Screen Size" and select 22".) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalirony Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Hmm, may I recommend a 21" LCD with the resolution you want?<br><br>I'd recommend a Samsung SyncMaster 215TW (review: <a href="http://www.trustedreviews.com/displays/review/2006/06/26/Samsung-SyncMaster-215TW-21in-Monitor/p1" target="_blank">http://www.trustedreviews.com/displays/review/2006/06/26/Samsung-SyncMaster-215TW-21in-Monitor/p1</a>) the pixel pitch is quite large which makes for comfortable viewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sim Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Another vote for the Samsung 215TW; I've been very happy with mine for the past ~six months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 i like my 2 23inch Apple Cinema Display, use them for professional photo retouching everyday. I also have a Samsung SyncMaster 225bw hook on my laptop and love it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelbrochstein Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Lacie has a new 26" monitor (the 526) and (no coincidence!) NEC has an almost identical model (LCD2690WUXIBKSV - that's a mouthful!). I believe they have all you are looking for and more and are both designed for critical color work (i.e. in Photoshop). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdwhalen1 Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Michael, the NEC is identical because NEC makes the 526 for Lacie. And then Lacie charges an extra 200-400 with one year less warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_thumbnail Posted June 10, 2007 Author Share Posted June 10, 2007 The 21" Samsung 215TW has a dot pitch of .270. It is really easier for me to read text with the .282 22"ers. I also see this display sells for $490 whereas most of the 22"s I say at NewEgg cost from $230 to $340. Why does the Samsung cost more? I see it has speakers. I don't really need them. I see it has television video imputs S, component and composite. I didn't really think I needed them, but I suppose it could be useful for watching TV sometime maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalirony Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 "Why does the Samsung cost more?"<br><br>Because the image quality is much better. I was in pretty much the same situation that you are in now last December. I was looking at the cheaper 22 inchers myself (and a few 20 and 21 inchers as well) and after much deliberation decided to spend the extra money, and after seeing the difference myself now am very happy that I did.<br><br>My monitor is calibrated with the Gretag Macbeth Eye One Match system and the accuracy and gamut of the monitor is much better than the cheap 22 inch lcds that I have seen. Look out for monitors using 6bit panels, as I found quite a few cheaper monitors to use, they are cheaper but they cannot display as many colours, and really are not suitable for colour critical work.<br><br>The only caveat is that I haven't done much comparing in the last 3 months so maybe someone has produced a decent monitor at a cheaper price since then, however I think that if it was as good they would charge as much.<br><br>I don't use the speakers or the alternative inputs either so I can't comment on those.<br><br>I must point out that the colours displayed of the Samsung on its default settings aren't that good for photo editing, too much saturation, and the colour balance seems a little off, but after calibration it is a fantastically accurate screen. There are better monitors at similar sizes, but they cost more than the Samsung, like the NEC SpectraView series and Eizo ColorEdge series.<br><br>If editing images or a similar colour critical task is your main purpose for using the monitor then you can't go far wrong with the Samsung, you will be happy that you spent the extra cash. If photo editing is a secondary, or tertiary consideration then you might be better off looking elsewhere. In the end the decision rests with you and what you priorities are.<br><br>BTW; if you think the Sammy is expensive check out the prices of the NEC SpectraView Reference 21 or Eizo ColorEdge CG220, ouch!<br><br>Good luck with your search :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_thumbnail Posted June 11, 2007 Author Share Posted June 11, 2007 The Lacie 526 at over $2000 is not really what I had in mind. I could probably stretch my budget to the $600 vicinity if I saw a compelling advantage in a monitor in that price range, but that's about all I can justify. The NEC 2690 at $1600 is out of my league too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_thumbnail Posted June 11, 2007 Author Share Posted June 11, 2007 I could probably get by OK with the Samsung 215 .270 dot pitch. That falls in between the .250 I have now on my Dell 2001 and the .282 of the usual 22"ers. After studying this a little more I see most of the 22" use a TN 6 bit panel and that is why they have such attractive prices. I have come to see it would behove me to move up a step. I see the gretagmacbeth eye-one software costs $249. Is it very important to use that or could the money be just as well or better spent towards a better monitor? Doesn't Samsung have some kind of calibrating software that comes with it? Or is that not adequate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_boyd Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Hi Tom- Spending more money on a good LCD monitor for digital darkroom work would be wasted without some sort of a monitor calibration system. The out-of-box settings on the samsung 215tw are not good for photo editing, and if you want your prints to match your screen, you will need something to help you calibrate it. LCDs are different to calibrate than CRTs. I've had a 215tw for 6 months and it is very nice - but I have an eye-one to calibrate it and I even over-ride the eye-one's recommendation on contrast to reduce it further. Try to get a 215tw from Newegg for $469 and wait for a $30 rebate offer from samsung (which they actually pay!), and if the eye-one is too expensive, look at the pantone huey $80. More info on LCD panels: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&enterthread=y It's tough to think of a better way to improve your digital darkroom than investing in monitor calibration. regards, paul boyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalirony Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Hi Tom, I have to say that ever since I got my first set of prints delivered after using a properly calibrated monitor I was converted to a dedicated believer in calibration. The effort saved and disappointment avoided makes life so much easier that I would never again to any but the most basic of editing (cropping, resizing, etc.) on a monitor which wasn't calibrated. I haven't used the Panotone Huey but if you can get one for $80.00, then I'd personally (my $0.02, you may disagree) do without a few beers and sandwiches for a few weeks to get one. Even if it is only 75% as accurate as the Gretag Macbeth system, the time, ink and whatever costs it will save you would make it more than worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_thumbnail Posted June 13, 2007 Author Share Posted June 13, 2007 It sounds like calibration is just as important as the monitor. I'll look into getting that. In the meantime, I found a cheap used CRT on craigslist that will hold me over and keep me up for now. I even saw a large EIZO CRT, model FZ-something (couldn't make it out from the picture, I inquired), for sale for $50, but I think it may be a couple hour drive away. Does anyone think that's worth going out of my way to get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalirony Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 If the monitor is a good one and you have the room for it and the time to get it, why not. It will probably only be a stop gap, but then you could afford a calibration system (Huey for the monitor or Eye One Photo for monitor and printer) to use now and upgrade the monitor if you need to when you have more cash. Just remember that any [professional] CRT is probably going to be a bit old now and although it may last a long time it is unlikely to do so. More likely to die on you when you least expect it. Research the monitor and see it it was rated highly before you make the effort of going to get it, and make sure that they can demonstrate it working at the resolution you want to use it at, otherwise it isn't worth the hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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