Monitor For Editing Scanned Photos

[ian moore]

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I am starting to photoshop edit a lot of scanned photos,slides and prints. To date,I am just using my daughters Sony Vaio,with a 14" display. I am starting to sell some photos and want to take this up a bit more seriously.

 

I have quickly realised that I need a much larger monitor display to effectively use photoshop.

 

Any recommendations on a suitable system?

 

Ian.

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[luigi bertolotti]

The question is : do you prefer to use a Portable or a Desktop PC ? I use a portable with a 17" Monitor (HP Pavilion) and viewing is good (suppose Sony are slightly better, and they have also a portable with 20", I think);, but if you can accept to use a desktop... lot of choice in the over 20" area... recently, I had the opportunity to use Photoshop on a HP Workstation (XW4400) with a 24" HP Monitor (seems to me that it is named LP2465) : I found it fantastic... much superior to the Samsung 21" I use sometime.

[sandymc]

If its a laptop you're after, the new generation MacBook Pros with the LED backlit screen are miles head of anything else I've seen. The only LCD screens I've ever seen that are better than my 21 inch calibrated CRT display. Even if you ditch Mac OS entirely and just run bootcamp/Windows, it may still be worthwhile......

 

Sandy

[luigi bertolotti]

Ian... I think Sandy's advice is probably better than mine... when writing, I forgot at all that there is a MAC WORLD .... I never used Macs, so I thought automatically to Win Pc... but anytime I look at some Mac gear with some photo environment on it... well I always think that if one day would happen that I DEDICATE a workstation to pictures... would be a Mac, no doubt.

[ian moore]

Thanks Luigi and Sandy for the advice.

 

Any problems using Adobe CS2 or Nikon Scan 4 on a Mac?. I am only used to Win PCs.

 

Ian.

[dfarkas]

The problem with laptop screens is that even the LED-lit ones are still far inferior to desktop LCDs. Laptops use TN panels which are 6-bit. They do not accurately display the full range of color or tonality. But... as far as laptop displays go, I do agree that the MacBook Pro screens are some of the best around.

 

The very best monitors for color accuracy are the EIZO ColorEdge series. They feature 10 or 12 bit look up tablees, are hardware (rather than software) calibrated, have totally uniform backlight illumination, and can display the full Adobe RGB color space. If you've ever had the pleasure of working on one, it puts even the Apple Cinema Displays to shame.

 

David

[francofile]

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Thanks Luigi and Sandy for the advice.

 

Any problems using Adobe CS2 or Nikon Scan 4 on a Mac?. I am only used to Win PCs.

 

Ian.

 

Nikon Scan 4 works on both PC and Mac - I have used it on both.

It is worth downloading the latest version from Nikon if you are going to use it ( it is free).

 

However, VueScan is so much better! It is worth the few dollars extra to get the pro version.

 

Good luck

 

Andrew

[valtof]

The very best monitors for color accuracy are the EIZO ColorEdge series.

David

 

I agree with this, especially the only screens I know where blacks are really black and whites really white.

I have my 21' since 2002, it works almost everyday all day long and so far so good,

as the first day...

My best investment ever in the computer field where things never last more than 2 years...

Highly recommended then.

"Quality lasts, price gets forgotten"

 

Cheers

[rob_x2004]

Budget for Eizo then great, but,

 

In my world the inexpensive Viewsonic VP series produce a consistent image without any highlight or colour balance, so while they are only comparatively cheep and nasty you do know what you are doing and where you are at during editin editing. It might not be the most staggering display but you need consistency when you are editing.

 

The new generation iMac screen is a fu@#!#$ disaster for editing, incredibly inconsistent across teh viewing screen with colour casts and intensity changes. The i20 is much worse than the i24. Once you have done your editing elsewhere and you bring your images in, then they really leap to life. You can see apple has aimed it at the gaming and ponces set. Fun to use but, for play stuff.

 

I havent seen the current MacbookPros they are brand new models? New screen or same as previous gen? I wouldnt buy one sight unseen based on the reputation of the previous model without pretty thoroughly checking them out.

 

Anyone have the absolutely new MacBook/MacBookPro, not last years model? Theres nothing useful on the apple site, just waffle and selective specs. David?

[rob_x2004]

I recall on oneof hte Apple forums that one of the graphics blokes at some office that had Cinema displays runing pretty constantly only got a couple of years out of the screens before seeing deterioration in quality. These were used in a full time work environment. The ones I have seen on teh showroom floor look great, but not staggering.

[hlockwood]

Thanks Luigi and Sandy for the advice.

 

Any problems using Adobe CS2 or Nikon Scan 4 on a Mac?. I am only used to Win PCs.

 

Ian.

 

I use CS2 and NS 4 on my 12" G4 Powerbook, with a Samsung 20" CRT. No problems whatsoever.

 

Harry

[ian moore]

Is it possible to simply buy a high quality monitor (EIZO or HP say) and then comnnect it to my Sony Vaio laptop for editing purposes?

 

Ian.

[rob_x2004]

Open all your photoshop dockers on your laptop and do your work there and see the result on hte second screen. Will your laptop drive photoshop properly when you get into editing though?

[sandymc]

Anyone have the absolutely new MacBook/MacBookPro, not last years model? Theres nothing useful on the apple site, just waffle and selective specs. David?

 

I have the absolutely new MacBook Pro. It's a different screen to the previous generation. That's the one I was referring to above - I previously had Sony, Acer's, etc, and as I said, this is the first Laptop screen that outperforms by desktop CRT....

 

Sandy

[sandymc]

Is it possible to simply buy a high quality monitor (EIZO or HP say) and then comnnect it to my Sony Vaio laptop for editing purposes?

 

Ian.

 

Yes, but make sure you can connect directly via DVI, not via the DVI to VGA adapter - the adapter loses you quality massively.

 

Sandy

[ian moore]

Thanks gfor all the advice. I think the EIZO monitors seem to be the best but expensive and perhaps too technical!!

 

The MacBook Pro seems to get great reviews but I am more interested in a desktop. The 24" iMac again is highly rated.

 

Any views?

 

As a Windows person,is there any problem using Photoshop/Nikon Scan (maybe Siverfast in the future) on a 24" iMac? Do you simply load the software as normal,plug in the Nikon scanner and away you go.

 

Does a Mac operate the same way as a Win based desktop?

 

Ian.

[stunsworth]

Ian, you'd need to get a Mac version of Photoshop. Adobe will change your PC version for a Mac one and its not that expensive, but you'd have to de-activate the windows version, so couldn't sell it on or use it on another PC.

 

The interfaces between the two are similar, though not identical.

[dfarkas]

Thanks gfor all the advice. I think the EIZO monitors seem to be the best but expensive and perhaps too technical!!

 

 

Acually, calibrating the Eizo is the easiest procedure I've ever done for a monitor. Just start the Eizo software, place a GretagMacbeth Eye-One Display 2 on the screen, click next, and about one minute later you have a perfect display. No need to adjust brightness, contrast, color balance, etc. The software controls the monitor directly. Super easy, and not technical at all.

 

Yeah, Eizos are a bit costly. The 21" widescreen is about $1100, the 24" is about $1600. They also come with a 5-year warranty, the best out there. So maybe the total ROI is worth it.

 

David

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[ian moore]

David,

 

I assumne that the normal editing/scanningprogrammes work with the EIZO screens- photoshop CS2,Silverfast,Nikon Scan,etc.

 

 

Ian,

[rob_x2004]

The 24" iMac again is highly rated.

 

 

By whom? You obviously havent seen one. They are aimed at teh video and gamers market and for this they might be good, not serious editing. I dont even bother trying to edit on the i20 and I have had it replaced once and now also looked at numerous store displays. Suggest you make yourself aware of the inconsistency of the view with regard to colour cast and intensity. The 24 is better than the 20 I think but that certainly doesnt make it good. Sure, use the thing for viewing your images afer you edit them but to edit? Can only suggest you have a real good look for yourself.