Monitor recommendations...?

[Jakfrost]

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Since I'm going back to shooting raw and hopefully enjoying the new possibilities of post processing the images, I'm thinking it might be time to upgrade my screen. I'm using a 2012 Mac Mini with 16Gb of ram and a third party 38" (AOC) monitor at the present time. I may upgrade to the new M1 Mini later this year. 

But in the mean time I would like to consider a new (27"/24") monitor that is comparable with Mac OS and allows straight forward colour calibration...Right now I'm looking at the Apple store offers like the LG 5K 27", or perhaps even 2 LG 4K 24" versions for the same price as the 5K 27" one. The new Mini will certainly run both monitors with ease...

Any thoughts? 

Jim 

[jaapv]

I am very happy with a Eizo CS2420 in a twin screen setup. The CG2420 is somewhat higher specified and self-calibrating, but very expensive. I find the Eizo colours the best I know. The M1 Mac Mini  will run them over HDMI using the Apple adapter.

[Gerbs]

NEC PA271Q, with SpectraView II calibration, works nicely for me, on a PC. Probably works for Mac too.

[darylgo]

Here's what Lloyd Chambers says, perhaps this will help.

https://diglloyd.com/blog/2022/20220127_1210-deals-NECPA243W.html

[Jeff S]

As suggested here , and every other time this question arises, Eizo and NEC remain great choices. My 2009 NEC 24” (with built-in Spectraview calibration software) finally is wearing down, so I’ll be considering another NEC, or an Eizo…as soon as I also determine a replacement for my 2010 upgraded Mac tower.
 

Jeff

[darylgo]

9 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

As suggested here , and every other time this question arises, Eizo and NEC remain great choices. My 2009 NEC 24” (with built-in Spectraview calibration software) finally is wearing down, so I’ll be considering another NEC, or an Eizo…as soon as I also determine a replacement for my 2010 upgraded Mac tower.
 

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

What is wearing down on your NEC, I have one that is slightly newer and want to be prepared?

 

[Jeff S]

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35 minutes ago, darylgo said:

Hi Jeff,

What is wearing down on your NEC, I have one that is slightly newer and want to be prepared?

 

Just sheer number of hours used has caused it to not set or hold calibration as closely to established standards as well as it once did.  It still works fine otherwise and serves my editing/printing needs but, like me, is showing its age.  I have no complaints after 13 years of regular use.

Jeff

[darylgo]

34 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Just sheer number of hours used has caused it to not set or hold calibration as closely to established standards as well as it once did.  It still works fine otherwise and serves my editing/printing needs but, like me, is showing its age.  I have no complaints after 13 years of regular use.

Jeff

Thanks, I looked to see how old my monitor dates to and it was reviewed in 2008, so mine is in the same age range after all.  I don't notice any issues because I haven't printed in over 5 years and haven't calibrated in two years.  The last calibration was pretty close to it's previous settings hence the thought (probably erroneous) that it wasn't that critical without a printing need.  Alas, I want to clean and unclog the heads on my Epson 4880 (another dinosaur) and resume printing, so calibration will be critical.  

[Jeff S]

19 minutes ago, darylgo said:

Thanks, I looked to see how old my monitor dates to and it was reviewed in 2008, so mine is in the same age range after all.  I don't notice any issues because I haven't printed in over 5 years and haven't calibrated in two years.  The last calibration was pretty close to it's previous settings hence the thought (probably erroneous) that it wasn't that critical without a printing need.  Alas, I want to clean and unclog the heads on my Epson 4880 (another dinosaur) and resume printing, so calibration will be critical.  

I always print, and also use the screen for basic computer functions, so it’s gotten a good workout over the years.  ImagePrint is always in soft-proof mode, and I know my papers well, so getting a new screen isn’t urgent, but it’s time to plan.  
 

Hope you’ve been running your Epson occasionally, or at least cleared the lines, to avoid clogging.  At least it’s not a 4900.. that was extremely clog prone.

Jeff

[zeitz]

I will always have an Eizo Color Guard / Color Edge monitor because there is an Eizo value-added dealer in my city.  NEC graphics monitors seem to be equivalent.  BenQ monitors get good press, but I have never actually seen one of them.  My Eizo CX271 is about 7 or 8 years old.  I have started thinking about an upgrade to a 4K Eizo monitor.

I have one of the last high end Intel MacMinis with 64gb of RAM so that I can use a breakout box with a real graphics card, which in my case is an AMD Radeon WX8200.  I am hoping that the new Apple Silicon  high end Mac Mini or a new downsized MacPro cube will allow the use of a real graphics card.  (Of course Apple will never allow us to use an Nvidia Quardro card.)  I would recommend waiting on an upgrade to your old Mac Mini until the new Apple midrange computers and the new MacPro are introduced.  Attached is a comparison of graphics performance.  I am about to delve into the world of DaVinci Resolve for video.

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[darylgo]

54 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

I always print, and also use the screen for basic computer functions, so it’s gotten a good workout over the years.  ImagePrint is always in soft-proof mode, and I know my papers well, so getting a new screen isn’t urgent, but it’s time to plan.  
 

Hope you’ve been running your Epson occasionally, or at least cleared the lines, to avoid clogging.  At least it’s not a 4900.. that was extremely clog prone.

Jeff

It's been several years since I printed, the heads are undoubtedly clogged.  I previously unclogged them so I am hoping they will unclog again.  

[jaapv]

On 1/31/2022 at 7:48 PM, Gerbs said:

Probably works for Mac too

Last time I looked it refused to start under Mac M1/Monterey.

[philipus]

Another vote for Eizo. I am using the CG247X which is a self-calibrating monitor that is simply outstanding. I combine it with the Eizo EV2430 which I use vertically for word processing and reading. Eizo's Color Navigator is solid and really easy to use to manage profiles, for editing, printing etc. I find the self-calibration well worth the extra cost. Fire and forget, sort of.

One thing to consider is resolution. My monitor is a classic full HD monitor. I deliberately avoided buying a 4K monitor because Photoshop CS6, which is what I use, doesn't play well interface-wise on such resolutions. 4K seems like a gimmick to me when it comes to editing. I will zoom in to 100% as necessary when editing but otherwise full HD is sufficient for image viewing.

About Quadro cards, yes it's really sad that Apple and Nvidia don't get along. I just wanted to point out that it is possible to run them using the Nvidia web drivers. Those drivers might not work with all of the current Quadro cards, possibly, but I'm running an older 8GB model, the M4000, in my Mac Pro 2008 which is running a patched version of High Sierra at the moment. It's very solid and sufficiently capable for my needs which involve editing 300MB film scans.

[Jakfrost]

Thanks for all the replies, just so you know...as a newbie to the site I of course tried the 'search' function but consistently came up with 'no results, try another search..." so here I am, and again, thanks for the time to answer, all valuable info! 

Checking for Eizo in my part of the world, Canada...

Jim 

 

[Jeff S]

2 hours ago, Jakfrost said:

..as a newbie to the site I of course tried the 'search' function but consistently came up with 'no results, try another search..." 

 

Or one can try a Google search and start with ‘Leica forum (enter subject)’.  For monitors, one could enter ‘computer monitor recommendations’ best monitor’, etc.   This will bring up links such as…

 

And various other discussions… 

 

Jeff

[tommonego@gmail.com]

I have a 24 inch BenQ and like it. The only gripe is the BenQ software doesn't like my Color Munki. I profile it with the Color Munki software, but that doesn't drop the, "your monitor needs to be calibrated" nag.  

[hirohhhh]

Apple XDR Pro? I print quite often and I don't have to recalibrate this monitor. Also, it comes with pre-set profile for printing, which is quite good, so even using that one, most of us will be good to go. It's also worth mentioning that the monitor is beautiful, like nothing else I've ever had before, or seen. It's pricey though, and it took me a while to swallow that price, but now I'm happy I made this decision and I think it will serve me for a long time. I already have it two years and it feels like I bought it yesterday.

[PhotoCruiser]

I have actually 3 displays in 3 countries...
1 Benq PD3200U 4k
1 ASUS ProArt 278QV QHD
1 Dell 27 4K (from approx 2015)

Both worked first under Windows and now with a M1 MacBook 13 under MacOS 12.3

The best of the pack is the BenQ and I would buy it again, but 32"" make you turn your eyes or head too much, I consider 27" is the right size for one monitor use.
 Advantage is that several windows can be placed on one monitor and one monitor is cheaper than two smaller ones.

The second best ist the ASUS ProArt, only problem is a kind of grainy picture, probably the Pixel Pitch of 0.233mm (the BenQ has 0.1845mm)
This Monitor has also a wired resolution of 2566x1440 and that may contribute to the grainy picture. 

The Dell was then a nice monitor but today outdated.

As above written, I would buy again a BenQ as the price/quality is still reasonable,
if I would like to fork out a real huge amount then probably the Apple XDR.
Never again a less than 4K Monitor, for quality reason and I often edit 4K Videos.

However, Enzo and NEC or Epson photographic Monitors are high priced professional quality monitors, still worth a thought.

I used earlier the Spyder, but its not working anymore under 64Bit MacOS so I switched over to a i1 Studio and I feel it does the trick as well.

Chris