I've been editing some of my photos rather laboriously on my 15" or really
14" monitor....Garbage....Now I've gone into various shops for input into
choice monitors for this type of editing. I'm new and don't know much yet
but I know when the salesman knows less and is simply pushing a sale. What
should I look for in a monitor and yes size is a consideration? I mostly
edit family photos and such. In the end the fiscal position will decide
however I would a start at what to look for. Also what about video cards are
there specifics, I'm not working on very big files 20mb...and everything
loads fast enough?

Thanks,
Pete

> I've been editing some of my photos rather laboriously on my 15" or really
> 14" monitor....Garbage....Now I've gone into various shops for input into
> choice monitors for this type of editing. I'm new and don't know much yet
> but I know when the salesman knows less and is simply pushing a sale. What
> should I look for in a monitor and yes size is a consideration? I mostly
> edit family photos and such. In the end the fiscal position will decide
> however I would a start at what to look for. Also what about video cards
are
> there specifics, I'm not working on very big files 20mb...and everything
> loads fast enough?
>
> Thanks,
> Pete
>

Bigger is better (obviously), so long as you don't sacrifice quality.
Trinitron tube flat screens are decent. Most manufacturers have different
product lines at different price levels. That is: just because it's a
"insert manufacturer name" doesn't make it good. You could be looking at
their low end line. Pick 2 or 3 manufacturers & check their web sites. Once
you've narrowed your choice you can shop for the best price.
A good Photoshop use video card doesn't require the same level as a good
gamers card, 3D not being an issue, and so is less expensive. Matrox is
highly rated, but many will suffice.

Peter wrote:

> I've been editing some of my photos rather laboriously on my 15" or really
> 14" monitor....Garbage....Now I've gone into various shops for input into
> choice monitors for this type of editing. I'm new and don't know much yet
> but I know when the salesman knows less and is simply pushing a sale. What
> should I look for in a monitor and yes size is a consideration? I mostly
> edit family photos and such. In the end the fiscal position will decide
> however I would a start at what to look for. Also what about video cards a
re
> there specifics, I'm not working on very big files 20mb...and everything
> loads fast enough?
>
> Thanks,
> Pete

Depends on what you are happy with and what you will use it for, at
least a 17" monitor is recommended but if you can afford a larger one
then go for it.

Stuart

On Thu, 20 May 2004 15:02:46 -0400, "Peter" <pete_stj@msn.com> wrote:

>I've been editing some of my photos rather laboriously on my 15" or really
>14" monitor....Garbage....Now I've gone into various shops for input into
>choice monitors for this type of editing. I'm new and don't know much yet
>but I know when the salesman knows less and is simply pushing a sale. What
>should I look for in a monitor and yes size is a consideration? I mostly
>edit family photos and such. In the end the fiscal position will decide
>however I would a start at what to look for. Also what about video cards ar
e
>there specifics, I'm not working on very big files 20mb...and everything
>loads fast enough?

If you are going to buy a CRT monitor targeting for home use, check
image linearity (does a box of 200x200 pixels measure the same in each
corner and in the center of the screen, ignore comments about you
using a ruler on the monitor), options for setting color temperature
and monitor gamma should be available in the OSD. Checking colors in a
store is almost imossible due to lighting and environment colors, so
you should be able to adjust the device later.

For a LCD device get a pure white screen and reduce brightness to
medium values. Then look at the monitor from a few steps distance to
see if the white is evenly distributed (backlight quality). Color
correction for consumer type LCDs is usually very limited.

If you don't play high speed 3D games, any graphics adapter will do.
1280x1024x32bit will be available on anything that has 8 MB or more
and you shouldn't use a higher resolution on a 17" CRT. For perfect
image quality on a CRT (analog connection) I recommend Matrox.

Michael

On Fri, 21 May 2004 09:02:00 GMT, xalinai_Two@xalinai.de (Xalinai)
wrote:

>On Thu, 20 May 2004 15:02:46 -0400, "Peter" <pete_stj@msn.com> wrote:
> 
>
>If you are going to buy a CRT monitor targeting for home use, check
>image linearity (does a box of 200x200 pixels measure the same in each
>corner and in the center of the screen, ignore comments about you
>using a ruler on the monitor), options for setting color temperature
>and monitor gamma should be available in the OSD. Checking colors in a
>store is almost imossible due to lighting and environment colors, so
>you should be able to adjust the device later.
>
>For a LCD device get a pure white screen and reduce brightness to
>medium values. Then look at the monitor from a few steps distance to
>see if the white is evenly distributed (backlight quality). Color
>correction for consumer type LCDs is usually very limited.
>
>If you don't play high speed 3D games, any graphics adapter will do.
>1280x1024x32bit will be available on anything that has 8 MB or more
>and you shouldn't use a higher resolution on a 17" CRT. For perfect
>image quality on a CRT (analog connection) I recommend Matrox.
>
>Michael

Forgot to mention: Take the monitor you have seen and tested. Don't
take a different, boxed device without unpacking and testing.

Michael

I'd go with a Viewsonic, P (professional) or G (graphics) series. These are
designed for use by graphic and CAD professionals and are very different fro
m
the ones you see at CompUSA or BestBuy.
The best deal is to get a refurbished one direct from Viewsonic. I've bought
two of these and have had no problems with them.
They've got a good deal on a G monitor.
http://store.viewsonic.com/html/ibe...11744&item=1884
Check refresh rates. The higher the refresh rate at the resolution you use, 
the
better.
Hook it up to a Matrox video card, a P650 for under $175 or a P750. You may 
be
able to save some money by buying refurbed from Matrox.
If you've got room, save the old monitor and run a dual setup.


laurak@madmousergraphics.com
http://www.madmousergraphics.com
web design, print design, photography

Do these Viewsonic monitors support adjusting the rgb channels
separately? My experience is that monitors that do not can't be
calibrated with devices such as Colorvision Spyders.

LauraK wrote:
>
> I'd go with a Viewsonic, P (professional) or G (graphics) series. These ar
e
> designed for use by graphic and CAD professionals and are very different f
rom
> the ones you see at CompUSA or BestBuy.
> The best deal is to get a refurbished one direct from Viewsonic. I've boug
ht
> two of these and have had no problems with them.
> They've got a good deal on a G monitor.
> http://store.viewsonic.com/html/ibe...sergraphics.com
> web design, print design, photography

rrt5387@att.net wrote:

> Do these Viewsonic monitors support adjusting the rgb channels
> separately?

My VP201s does.

> My experience is that monitors that do not can't be calibrated
> with devices such as Colorvision Spyders.

I have a Monitor Spyder from Colorvision with PreCAL and OptiCAL
but PreCAL isn't compatible with TFT monitors. That's why I only
use OptiCAL on my TFT and it's easy to see, that it neutralizes
the colors when the profile is loaded during Windows startup, so
my TFT is set to it's factory setting and OptiCAL takes care of
the rest.

As far as I know, OptiCAL builds the needed correction into the
profile which is loaded into the LUT of the graphic card during
startup. If the profile is made correctly, it should give you
neutral colors when it's loaded.

--
Regards
Madsen

"Thomas G. Madsen" wrote:
>
> rrt5387@att.net wrote:
> 
>
> My VP201s does.
> 
>
> I have a Monitor Spyder from Colorvision with PreCAL and OptiCAL
> but PreCAL isn't compatible with TFT monitors. That's why I only
> use OptiCAL on my TFT and it's easy to see, that it neutralizes
> the colors when the profile is loaded during Windows startup, so
> my TFT is set to it's factory setting and OptiCAL takes care of
> the rest.
>
> As far as I know, OptiCAL builds the needed correction into the
> profile which is loaded into the LUT of the graphic card during
> startup. If the profile is made correctly, it should give you
> neutral colors when it's loaded.

What does TFT stand for? When using OptiCAL, I was under the impression
that PreCAL can only be used on monitors with individual rgb gain
controls, which my monitor does not support. Should I use PreCAL in this
case?

rrt5387@att.net wrote:

> What does TFT stand for?

Thin Film Transistor.
<http://whatis.techtarget.com/defini...i214176,00.html>.
<http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/L/LCD.html>

> When using OptiCAL, I was under the impression that PreCAL can
> only be used on monitors with individual rgb gain controls,
> which my monitor does not support. Should I use PreCAL in this
> case?

Not if you CRT monitor doesn't have individual RGB gain control.

From the OptiCAL User Guide:
| Note: PreCAL should only be used with CRT monitors that
| support individual RGB gain gun control. PreCAL should not be
| utilized on LCD monitors because it has not been modified to
| work with LCD screens

--
Regards
Madsen