martin_howard1

<p>IPS or PVA panels are preferred to TN panels for photo editing.<br>

Also look at the HP LP2475w & Dell U2410, both use a LG H-IPS panel.</p>

<p>Different monitors will display images slightly differently, as well as this the interconnect used can make a difference, DVI produces slightly crisper images than VGA.<br>

If the monitor is not displaying in it's native resolution then it will produce slightly blurry images.<br>

Sharpen your images to suit a monitor displaying it's native resolution.</p>

<p>A ND Grad filter will help tame bright skies.<br>

You could try bracketing WB, although really I find it easier to set in PS when I can see the details on my monitor. <br>

Some people like WB cards/widgets, I find these OK for controlled lighting situations (i.e. in a studio or under artificial lighting) however their use in rapidly dimming light outside is questionable.</p>

<p>I disagree with Mark and would advocate exposing to the right to make full use of the dynamic range of the sensor. Adjustments can then be made in post processing to adjust colour intensity to taste. This would include tweaking the WB to achieve the desired 'warmth'.<br>

I normally leave my camera set to neutral or standard (Canon terminology) and adjust everything in PS.<br>

I agree about the time of day though, the golden hours become more accesssible once winter approaches!</p>

<p>I would go for it, you will always be able to use the calibrator later when you can afford a nice monitor. If anything cheaper monitors benefit a lot from calibration as they are often shipped with hideous defaults that emphasize brightness and contrast over colour accuracy.</p>

<p>The Dell 2408 is yesterdays news, the new Dell U2410 & HP's LP2475w both use the LG H-IPS panel.<br>

Both better choices in the $600 market segment.</p>

<p>As Colin said - use the counter weight that is mounted on the cable, drape the Spyder 3 cable over the top of your monitor with the weight at the rear, you may need to tilt the monitor back slightly to ensure the spyder sits flat against the screen.</p>

<p>No you have got it right, set the aperture to ensure sharpness throughout the scene and then set the shutter speed to achieve the desired exposure.<br>

or<br>

Shoot a normal exposure and then adjust in post processing to taste.</p>

 

<p><a href="http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/spyder2express.html">This review</a> of the Spyder 2 considers some of the workarounds that were applicable to enable dual monitor calibration (which is not supported by the Spyder 2 Xpress).<br>

You might be able to assign separate profiles using the color management panel in Vista.<br>

The more expensive versions of the Spyder can calibrate dual monitors no problem on Vista.</p>

 

<p>Check what colour space the image is saved in, Internet Explorer assumes images are sRGB and will translate them as such, leading to differences when displayed from the original image.</p>

<p>I've been using a HP LP2475w for around 6 months now, for the price it is a fantastic monitor, after calibrating it with a Spyder 3 pro the colours are good. Sat next to my older Samsung TN LCD the differences are night and day.<br>

As for the Wide vs normal gamut issue, for the most part it does not bother me, I use firefox which is colour space aware and all my photo work is doen using PS so again it does not affect that.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I use both DPP and Bridge/PS CS4 depending on the shots in question.<br>

DPP has the advantage of automatic lens distortion correction, useful for ironing out barrell distortion and Chromatic Aberration, I also find the noise removal tools in DPP to be better than CS4.<br>

The main drawback of DPP is its inability to convert to ProPhoto colour space, when I need the extra latitude I will usually bypass DPP and convert straight into CS4.<br>

I've never bothered with DNG's. I prefer to keep my RAW files as CR2's</p>

<p>Check the images are saving in sRGB rather than AdobeRGB, ProPhoto RGB etc</p>

<p>Should read Dell 220<strong>9</strong> WFP</p>

<p>Best Entry Level - Dell Ultrasharp 2208WFP - 22" e-IPS</p>

<p>Best Midrange - HP LP2475w - 24" H-IPS<br>

2nd Place - Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP - 24" s-PVA</p>

<p>Best High End - Take your pick from the NEC's, Eizo's etc</p>

<p>I''ve used <a href="http://www.peak-imaging.co.uk/">Peak Imaging</a> for everything from 7x5's to 30"x20" board mounted canvases</p>

<p>Photoshop.</p>

<p>I have found the southwest of Ireland to be one of the most photogenic places I have visited, Cork & Kerry in particular have some fantastic scenery.<br>

Assuming you are hiring a car, then a trip around the various peninsulas is a must.</p>

<p>velociraptors are a bit old hat now, Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 drives offer similar performance for a lot less money, and less noise and heat</p>

<p>JPEG will limit you to 8bit per pixel images, as opposed to 16bpp in TIFF or PSD format, that may or may not be important to your method of working.</p>

<p>I use my Spyder 3 Pro to calibrate both my standard gamut and wide gamut monitors, quick and easy to use.</p>

<p>Unless you plan to over clock the system (in which case you would be much better off building the system yourself to get the best components) then there will be no noticeable difference.<br>

Ensuring the RAM is running in Tri-channel mode is more important with an i7 system (i7 has been available for some time btw)<br>

6Gb or 12GB of RAM on an i7 system with a 64bit OS will be plenty for Photoshop CS4 running native 64bit.</p>

 

<p>I would guess that the integrated graphics on your PC does not support resolutions higher than 1600 x 1200.<br>

The <a href="http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00069442&lc=en&dlc=da&cc=dk&lang=da&product=424215">HP support page </a> reveals the motherboard in your PC has a AGP graphics card expansions slot.<br>

This limits you to AGP cards, I would recommend <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161237">this one</a></p>

<p>The lab I use recommend 254ppi, although once you get past 18x12 this can be reduced</p>

<p>My experience with Hahnemuhle pearl are mixed, it does give exceptional quality, but the surface is damaged very easily with the ink flaking off if scratched or creased slightly. This is from printing on a R800</p>