Piltdown1952

I have a MacBook Pro with 15" Retina screen. The screen is smaller than I would like for processing photos in Lightroom and I would like to buy an add-on monitor rather than buying a desktop set-up as the MacBook is good for everything else. It has USB-3 ports and a HDMI port. Operating system is OS 10.13.6. I would like a 27" screen and would love to stay under $400 if possible. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

I have the same MacBook Pro and I purchased a BenQ 2700 during one of the sales that pop up regularly. It is a fantastic screen. As a plus, it comes with a surround that blocks out peripheral light.

Piltdown1952

Thanks!

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Labor Day is just around the corner, monitors and peripherals will be discounted. Look for a 27" monitor w/ HDMI inputs. If you can find a wide/narrow, which lets you have 2 applications side by side (Lightroom and Photoshop) it will improve your workflow.

Piltdown1952

Thanks!

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

Have the same MacBook Pro with 15" retina screen and have it hooked up to an Asus 24" monitor calibrated srgb but am looking at the Benq SW2700PT as well. Bigger is almost always better and the Benq gets very good reviews as a reasonably priced photo monitor. BTW, really like the MacBook. I have a Manfroto backpack with a slot for the Macbook. I take it on shoots, download images and do some initial editing in Lightroom, which allows me to judge the quality of my shots before I leave the scene.

dglueck Loc: Rochester, NY

HP 27 ENVY, 27" 4k UHD. I got mine on sale for $400. USB-C, HDMI.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Lg ultra wide. I have the 34” version at work and the 29” version at home. Toughest part was finding the right adaptor for hdmi that gave me 60hz (not 30hz) at the correct resolution. Watch out for that. My adaptor is an anker brand.

Piltdown1952

Thanks!

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

I have a MBP on order and have been looking at adapters for the BenQ monitor (SW271 is my choice) I will get later. What is the issue with 30 Hz? I know the screen on the monitor refreshes at 60 but does it flicker at 30 or is this about video? Other? I'm struggling with this. I, too, have Anker on my list.

Thanks!

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

As a graphic designer, when my mouse would scroll across the screen, it seemed choppy. There was also an issue with how black text was being rendered. The text instead of being all black appeared as though it was blue red and black. It was really apparent in small text (like email and websites). It was giving me eye strain towards the end of the day. We went though several adaptors before we found the best solution. Our LG monitors were FireWire and we were running our network, backup drives, keyboard and trackball through it. I want to switch to the OWC 13 port hub but it’s too expensive for the powers that be, so we’re testing different (cheaper) adaptor and cable combos. We’ve gone through about 10 different cable/adaptor combos. We found an hdmi to usb-c cable and hdmi to usb-c adaptor that works well. Now we’re on the lookout for a cheaper hub. It’s a dongle hell right now for our company (setting up 12 new MacBook pros). Other than that, the new machines are blazing fast.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

The more I think of it, I’ll probably just buy the owc adaptor myself. It’s a proven device and a much cleaner way of connecting devices.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

Thanks for the warning on that.

I'm still trying to get some details from them by the Sanho Hyperdrives look good and are well reviewed by Matt Granger (see his video). I'm looking at the 8-in-2 for my best option. I haven't made up my mind yet but I like not having a lot of individual dongles. $120.