New Monitor: My NEC Multisync LED monitor which I have used for almost ten years is starting to act a little wonky so I suspect it is getting ready to say bye-bye. In the past...

BlackRipleyDog

My NEC Multisync LED monitor which I have used for almost ten years is starting to act a little wonky so I suspect it is getting ready to say bye-bye.
In the past photo-editing monitors were pretty specialized and calibration (which I do with a Spyder 3) on a regular basis pretty kept output consistent but it came at a steep price. My NEC ran me over $500.
Dell monitors are very reasonably priced and I was wondering if anyone has anything to say about them as an alternative. The NEC is a 21" model. I could probably accommodate up 32". Not really interested in curved monitors. I am a heavy Photoshop user and I print; a lot. Windows 7 platform. Not doing video at this time so 4k would be wasted.
Thanks

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

I just purchased an LG 27": https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1224162-REG/lg_27ud68_p_27_widescreen_led.html

It's an excellent monitor that has an sRGB color gamut, it's an IPS screen so it will retain it's color and has a much better field of view.

BlackRipleyDog

WayneT wrote:

I just purchased an LG 27": https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1224162-REG/lg_27ud68_p_27_widescreen_led.html

It's an excellent monitor that has an sRGB color gamut, it's an IPS screen so it will retain it's color and has a much better field of view.

Thanks, I will take a look.

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

Dell monitors are available in many price ranges. You get what you pay for!You are running an outdated program (W7) calibrated with a older version of a Spyder. Why not spec things out for the next generation so you don't buy obsolete items? I suppose you are running PS 6 from the disk version?

BlackRipleyDog

romanticf16 wrote:

Dell monitors are available in many price ranges. You get what you pay for!You are running an outdated program (W7) calibrated with a older version of a Spyder. Why not spec things out for the next generation so you don't buy obsolete items? I suppose you are running PS 6 from the disk version?

Yeah Win 7 is sunsetting in '20 if I am not mistaken. My Spyder 3 is not supported with Win10. I have been hesitant to jump to 10 and it wasn't due to a lack of effort on Microsoft's part. Their upgrade efforts got a little heavy-handed for a while there. So I have been waiting for 10 to mature a little more. I upgraded my Canon scanner toward that end. I use the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan for $10 a month.
My system is a Dell Precision tower running dual Xeon processors, 36 GB of ram, 3 internal SSD's and a gaggle of external NAS and Passport drives for redundancy's sake.
The video card is a PNY GeForce GT 430 with 2gig onboard DDR3 driving the NEC as my primary and a Samsung for housekeeping. So all in all I think I am well positioned to make that transition to 10 when the time comes. I just heard conflicting stories about 10's proclivities and playing nice with Adobe.

MichaelH Loc: NorCal via Lansing, MI

With the awesome specs on your Dell Workstation I am surprised that you would balk at the price of a good monitor. It will tend to outlast your PC by a wide margin. Your NEC lasted 10 years and in that time you will have given Adobe $1000 for the use of the Photo Suite. And unless you need something Win 10 has that Win 7 doesn't I would not make that change.

BlackRipleyDog

MichaelH wrote:

With the awesome specs on your Dell Workstation I am surprised that you would balk at the price of a good monitor. It will tend to outlast your PC by a wide margin. Your NEC lasted 10 years and in that time you will have given Adobe $1000 for the use of the Photo Suite. And unless you need something Win 10 has that Win 7 doesn't I would not make that change.

Oh, make no mistake. I am not balking. It is just that Dell was not the first choice for serious photo-editing for many years. I bit the bullet when I bought the NEC. Looking at the Dell site, there are a couple of possibilities. A 25" Ultrasharp that has impressive color space specs is on sale for $500. I was just seeing if anyone had any experience with the Dell line for photo-editing. I am prepared to run out the clock on Win7 anyway.

BlackRipleyDog

MichaelH wrote:

With the awesome specs on your Dell Workstation I am surprised that you would balk at the price of a good monitor. It will tend to outlast your PC by a wide margin. Your NEC lasted 10 years and in that time you will have given Adobe $1000 for the use of the Photo Suite. And unless you need something Win 10 has that Win 7 doesn't I would not make that change.

I moved from PS CS 3 two years ago to the Photography subscription plan which also introduced me to Lightroom. And it is a business expense just like my broadband and cell.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

BlackRipleyDog wrote:

My NEC Multisync LED monitor which I have used for... (show quote)

All displays drift over time. Buy a new display profile it, and re-profile it a month later and you will see what I mean.

If you get a Dell, make sure you check what profiling tool you need to get. Or just get the Xrite i1 Display Pro (colorimeter) or the i1 Pro (more expensive spectrophotometer). Many of the higher end Dells (and other screens) have a programmable LUT (color Look Up Table) which means you can't get a good profile with a Spyder device. If you can justify it, at the minimum, get an 8 bit display with a 12 or 14 bit LUT, which will give you a wide gamut output capability with Photoshop. You will get the best editing experience with wide gamut support. You will need a 10 bit capable display card - Nvidia Quadro or ATI Fire Pro. Well worth the investment. No point in restricting yourself to 8 bit sRGB support when you can have 10 bit AdobeRGB support (or better), for around $500. I use a pair of Dell 2413s with a Quadro K2200Q and it is stunning.

BlackRipleyDog

Gene51 wrote:

All displays drift over time. Buy a new display pr... (show quote)

Now, that is more like it. Thanks. I have been putting off getting another Spyder so maybe the Xrite should be a consideration.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

BlackRipleyDog wrote:

My NEC Multisync LED monitor which I have used for... (show quote)

500 is actually pretty cheap for a monitor!

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

I use an lg ultrawide 34 at work and it's smaller sibling 29" at home. LOVE them. Get the IPS version.

http://www.lg.com/us/ultrawide-monitors

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

BlackRipleyDog wrote:

My NEC Multisync LED monitor which I have used for... (show quote)

Some info -

https://digital-photography-school.com/choose-right-monitor-photo-editing/
https://photographylife.com/best-monitor-for-photography

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

BlackRipleyDog wrote:

Oh, make no mistake. I am not balking. It is just that Dell was not the first choice for serious photo-editing for many years. I bit the bullet when I bought the NEC. Looking at the Dell site, there are a couple of possibilities. A 25" Ultrasharp that has impressive color space specs is on sale for $500. I was just seeing if anyone had any experience with the Dell line for photo-editing. I am prepared to run out the clock on Win7 anyway.

I use a Dell U2713HM for my editing it was $900 when I bought it great color and a calibrate with ColorMunki

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

I use an LG 34" Ultra-Wide ips monitor and I haven't looked back, it is a great monitor, I got it for far less than $500 brand new.