monitor

[blackdog]

What brand, type (LCD vs. CRT), profile (widescreen vs. standard), and size monitors do all of you use? I am in the market for a new one, and am lookng very hard at 21"-24" LCD monitors. The EIZO Nanao's are a bit out of my price range. The Dell 24" wide screen would be also stretching my budget a little (as would the 24" standard screen Samsung), but my birthday is coming up and.... Unfortunately, I do like to play games, but my first love is photoediting. I would appreciate your opinions.

[jwhitten]

I have a 17" ViewSonic and i really like it. I have used larger screens, but I find that 19" is really about as large as I want on my desktop because my eyes and neck begin to tire from going back and forth with a wider screen. I think a reasonably sized monitor with superb color and high resolution is the best choice.

And it is not a bad idea to spend some of your budget on a really good video card with a lot of memory.

I'm sure you will receive a lot of opinions on the subject.

Joe

[sandygb]

I got a new Dell XPS desktop system for Christmas and chose the Dell 21" widescreen flat panel monitor (or maybe it is measured at 20", don't recall now). The screen resolution is 1680 x 1050. I was afraid that images might be skewed on the widescreen, but they look great and I have so much more viewable room which makes a big difference in Elements. I can have lots more photos and scrapbook layouts open at the same time and manuver with a lot less scrolling around. I am happy that I chose this monitor. The 24" widescreen was considerably more ($400 to $500 more, I think) and my son-in-law talked me out of that size. Value-wise, the 20" was the better buy. It was not that much more than the standard 19". My only complaint is the text size is smaller than I am used to at this resolution, but it's just a minor inconvenience compared to the benefits.

Sandy

[Wendy]

Hi there ...

I have the 20 inch Apple Cinema Screen and think that its good having that size of screen to work with ... but I really wouldn't like to go any larger than that :)

Wendy

[gez]

Keep in mind that size 17-19-20-21 inch is not the only thing that you should be looking at. There are inexpensive panels in every size. Like in most other areas the higher priced versions cost more for a reason. If you are a Canon user you know why there's a coma in the price of most "L" series lenses. So, compare the brightness and sharpness ratings of the different models that tickle your fancy. I just up graded from a ViewSonic 19 to a Samsung 204T. The size difference is not that great. But, WOW the brightness and sharpness are much better on the Samsung. My wife (who usually walks around in a fog) even noticed it and commented. Bottom line I guess IMHO a big screen that's dull and cloudy shouldn't be what you are looking for.

[jwhitten]

My only complaint is the text size is smaller than I am used to at this resolution, but it's just a minor inconvenience compared to the benefits.

Sandy


Sandy,

You can set your fonts to a larger size:
Open the Control Panel then dbl-click the "Display" icon. Next, choose the Settings tab at the top, far right of the display properties window. Then click the "Advanced" button at the bottom. Click the "General" tab in this window and in the "DPI" setting drop-down box, you can choose "large size", or even a custom size. Your resolution will remain the same, but all of your fonts will appear larger.

Joe

[Carbone]

I have an Apple Cinema Display 20", but if I could have got a 23", I would have. 30" inches would not have fit on my computer or desk, though :)

Ray

[blackdog]

Keep in mind that size 17-19-20-21 inch is not the only thing that you should be looking at. There are inexpensive panels in every size. Like in most other areas the higher priced versions cost more for a reason. If you are a Canon user you know why there's a coma in the price of most "L" series lenses. So, compare the brightness and sharpness ratings of the different models that tickle your fancy. I just up graded from a ViewSonic 19 to a Samsung 204T. The size difference is not that great. But, WOW the brightness and sharpness are much better on the Samsung. My wife (who usually walks around in a fog) even noticed it and commented. Bottom line I guess IMHO a big screen that's dull and cloudy shouldn't be what you are looking for.

Your wife walks around in a fog too? Welcome to the club. Speaking of "L" series lens, I tried a few of them out before purchase, and I really can't justify the extra cost. The Samsung 204T is one of the monitors I am considering. Would you have gone wide screen if the price had been right? I am drooling over the 244T, but not at almost $1000 more. Did you consider the Samsung 214T?

[gez]

Esther was in the room when I wrote that post, those are her words. She usually just dosen't notice things like that. I'm very happy with the 204T. Price was an issue. I was more into a quality display then a BIG one. It fell nicely into my requirement vs. budget, want/willing to spend. I wouldn't spend the necessary cash on a quality, BIG display. MY theory---a HUGE display won't improve my photography. If I learn how to use it, a quality lens will. Too many times in the past I've skimped and not bought "the best" or what I really wanted on the first purchase. I feel it's cost effective not to have to upgrade down the road.