Beginner Help I need a monitor

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Tilly112

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Tilly
Edit My Images
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I need a monitor for editing my photo, I’m so over overwhelmed by all the information online. I have a budget of around £300 please help me
 
Well I can’t say I recommend this one as I haven’t got one (yet), but the BenQ PD2700Q https://www.scan.co.uk/products/27-...00-4ms-20m1-350cd-m2-mini-displayporthdmi-usb is one which I’m tempted by to replace my ageing Dell 23” which came with a Desktop package about 8 years ago. I know that there is the BenQ SW2700PT which is well regarded too but that’s around twice the price and I could put that extra £300 to something else right now. I would be interested to hear if anyone out there has any feedback, good or bad, on the PD2700Q.
 
£300 budget is one thing. But we need to know what kind of size you want for that. After that, think of panels. For photo editing an IPS is a MUST. This is your absolute priority.

For anything bigger than 24" you're going to want a 1440p resolution. Typically you will find 2560x1440

Then you need to ask yourself what connectivity you want, do you want it to have a USB hub or speakers for example?


I would recommend either the BenQ mentioned above of Iiyama do a 27" Prolite for about that money which will server you just as well. They both use the same panel so it comes down to connectivity.

A good thing to do is to go on Amazon and type in monitor and the size you want "monitor 27 inch IPS" and then use the filters on the left hand side to drill it down. So select the resolution, preferred sizes, features (do you want to wall mount, as an example), and the list of options suddenly becomes much much smaller and managable.
 
Phate Brutus mk1 said:
£300 budget is one thing. But we need to know what kind of size you want for that. After that, think of panels. For photo editing an IPS is a MUST. This is your absolute priority.

For anything bigger than 24" you're going to want a 1440p resolution. Typically you will find 2560x1440

Then you need to ask yourself what connectivity you want, do you want it to have a USB hub or speakers for example?


I would recommend either the BenQ mentioned above of Iiyama do a 27" Prolite for about that money which will server you just as well. They both use the same panel so it comes down to connectivity.

A good thing to do is to go on Amazon and type in monitor and the size you want "monitor 27 inch IPS" and then use the filters on the left hand side to drill it down. So select the resolution, preferred sizes, features (do you want to wall mount, as an example), and the list of options suddenly becomes much much smaller and managable.
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My budget has dropped a bit (life happened) so it’s around £200 now. Ideal size would be 24in.. I ordered a Benq but it didn’t have a ips panel it was vg so that’s going back definitely want an ips Monitor like you say it’s a must. So what kinda resolution am I looking out for 24 inch monitor?
 
Tilly112 said:
My budget has dropped a bit (life happened) so it’s around £200 now. Ideal size would be 24in.. I ordered a Benq but it didn’t have a ips panel it was vg so that’s going back definitely want an ips Monitor like you say it’s a must. So what kinda resolution am I looking out for 24 inch monitor?
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1080p (so 1920x1080) is a bit soft for me at 24in. You want 1440p, so 2560x1440

I use that on my 24in monitors at work and its perfect.
 
I should add. Ultimately, this is just all my opinion. I personally cannot stand buying cheap and buying twice, it just goes against all economical sense IMO. A monitor, at the end of the day, will give you a display. Which is what you need. Any monitor can achieve this.

If your budget allows and you can find an IPS with that resolution then thats what I would advise anyone to go for.

Seriously check out the IIyamas, great value for money those ones.
 
Tilly112 said:
I need a monitor for editing my photo, I’m so over overwhelmed by all the information online. I have a budget of around £300 please help me
Click to expand...

The only thing you need to worry about is the monitor size because you have to consider how far away is your monitor is going to be and how much room you have on your desktop. This is the most important thing to do first. Same as you would with a television set. No point in buying a big oversized television for the kitchen counter, and no point in buying a portable television set for the living room. You need to think about the size of the monitor on your desktop space and your comfy viewing distance.

If you can, get a cardboard, cut out a monitor size piece, a 24" (assuming if you opt for a widescreen one) is somewhere around 22" x 13" (more or less), then hold the cardboard up at where you want your monitor to be, sit at your desk, and image if it feels too small or too big or just right size for you.

In my option, too many of the specifications is meaningless. Screen resolutions of 1920x1080? Really? Most people can actually use Windows's screen resolutions settings to adjust the resolutions size. 50Hz vs 60Hz? The difference may be noticeable to some people, but not everyone's eyesight works the same, for some, like me, 50 or 60 makes no difference.

The only important specifications is just to make sure that the monitor's ports matches the computer's ports. For example, if your computer have DisplayPort, make sure the monitor got DisplayPort, if your computer use DVI then make sure your monitor have a DVI port. Sometimes a monitor may have different ports so you can use the one that matches what the computer got.

On the back of my monitor, I got the options of DisplayPort, DVI-D, and VGA, and since my computer's graphic card have DisplayPort, I therefore use the DisplayPort cables.

Here's what is considered to be important steps...
1. Monitor size: Too small or too big for your desktop area? Do the same as you would with a television set, decide based on viewing distance and room.
2. Type of connections to computer: Find out what kind of output your computer got, then get a monitor that takes what computer offers.
 
-markie- said:
This is a useful guide:
https://thedigitalcamera.net/best-monitor-for-photo-editing-and-photography/

For your budget you might be best going 2nd hand.

Although, i believe some of these monitors may come calibrated from the factory. If you were to do a reset, would this be a factory reset prior to calibration or reset to the calibrated settings - i'm not sure?
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Reset to factory setting, so you start again.

It's not like a reset to the last time you calibrated the settings. It goes all the way back to factory settings before the user's calibrated settings.
 
Major Eazy said:
Reset to factory setting, so you start again.

It's not like a reset to the last time you calibrated the settings. It goes all the way back to factory settings before the user's calibrated settings.
Click to expand...
Erm, but it's not a user calibrated setting, it's a factory calibration i was referring to

For example:
Do they do runs of these? i.e. they calibrate a handful of monitors then run a production of these.

Or

Do they factory calibrate every monitor that comes off the production line.

(not being difficult here, i'd like to know as i'm considering getting a 2nd hadn Dell P2415Q which i know are calibrated at the factory, but a bit weary if a reset takes it before calibration - you never know what someone has done to the screen since owning).
 
-markie- said:
Erm, but it's not a user calibrated setting, it's a factory calibration i was referring to

For example:
Do they do runs of these? i.e. they calibrate a handful of monitors then run a production of these.

Or

Do they factory calibrate every monitor that comes off the production line.

(not being difficult here, i'd like to know as i'm considering getting a 2nd hadn Dell P2415Q which i know are calibrated at the factory, but a bit weary if a reset takes it before calibration - you never know what someone has done to the screen since owning).
Click to expand...



Well, as far as I know based on what I saw on a television documentary programmes, typically it goes like this...

Make them in a production line (call it Model-A), but they are not fully finished, usually just the screen, chips, power supply, and buttons, but no outer cover. (Image C-P3O in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.)

Test every one of them, and likely to calibrate every one of them to the same standard setting, which is applied to all models in the same production line.

Monitors that passed the test and correctly calibrated will then be finished off in the production line. (Usually just putting on the outer case.)

People buy a monitor, all of the same brand new production line monitors are at the same calibrate settings, over time each person re-calibrate to their liking.

If someone decided to sell or give away the monitor, and you buy it, then reset it to factory setting. It will be reset to the same standard calibrate settings as at that time of the testing and calibration stage.

Company decided to make a new model, call it Model-B. Then they start making them in production line (same as they would with Model-A)

But when it comes to testing stage, I can't be sure if they calibrate them to same standard setting. It is likely that Model-B will have its own standard setting which could be a little different to that of Model-A. Maybe because Model-B's LEDs are new and better than Model-A's LEDs.

If you buy three monitors, all are Model-A, they all will look the same. If you buy two Model-A and one Model-B, then either Model-B will look same or different.

But I don't think each different monitors in the same production run (ie Model-A Series Number 001, Model-A Series Number 002 etc) have their own calibrate settings.

(That would be like saying in a car production line, one car is set to a maximum speed of 95mph, yet, the next car in line, which is same model, is allowed to be modified to have a maximum speed of 100mph.)
 
For £200 you're going to be lucky to find a good photo monitor.

You need to keep saving and not be underwhelmed with your initial purchase.


However, saying that I've used a cheap 19" widescreen Dell monitor for over 5 years before I recently upgraded to a 21.5" iMac. I've had some prints done too and never noticed a colour shift and I've never calibrated a screen.


You'll do fine with whatever you have.
 
ancient_mariner said:
OK, definitively, if you have £200 this is the one to get - I have owned this model for the last 4 years:

https://www.pcworldbusiness.co.uk/buy-rent/P236760P?

Or here

https://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260047
Click to expand...

Okay so I got this Asus VC239H delivered today I thought I’d get this based on some reviews then buy a calibration tool and now after reading your comments I’m now not sure what to do again? Do I keep this and get the tool or get the Dell U2412M and then get the tool later?
 
Tilly112 said:
Okay so I got this Asus VC239H delivered today I thought I’d get this based on some reviews then buy a calibration tool and now after reading your comments I’m now not sure what to do again? Do I keep this and get the tool or get the Dell U2412M and then get the tool later?
Click to expand...

This may be of interest: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3907880

I don't know what you paid for the monitor and how much you need to save money. *Personally* I find a 16:10 screen much better in pretty much every use except watching movies than a 16:9 (I have one at work) and the Dell is also a very pleasing monitor to use.
 
ancient_mariner said:
This may be of interest: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3907880

I don't know what you paid for the monitor and how much you need to save money. *Personally* I find a 16:10 screen much better in pretty much every use except watching movies than a 16:9 (I have one at work) and the Dell is also a very pleasing monitor to use.
Click to expand...

I think I’m going to return the Asus Monitor and get the Dell U2412M as iv seen it pop up a few times with people Recommending it, it’s also better to buy once and know I have something I can use then keeping spending our money.. if only I had a good £4000 spare.. thank you
 
So I have my monitor and I’m finally happy [emoji4] any tips on setting it up? Like with colour etc? Or will I need to get a Spyder 4?
 
Initially I'd be inclined to set it as neutral as possible (i.e. no boosted colours etc, I actually have mine in multimedia because it gave more neutral colours and lower contrast). If you have an image in print that you can compare with whats on screen in the typical lighting you have then that can be helpful. It may also help to use one of the monitor checking sites that take you through a series of screens with tonal ranges etc and offer advice on adjusting various aspects to make it look sensible. This page is helpful, and I've previously used each of the linked pages in the 'calibrate using online tools' section to help me set up my screen: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-calibrate-your-monitor/

Glad you like it and I hope it serves you well. :)
 
When the monitor is on a black screen it flickers is there a reason for this?
 
I've never noticed mine flicker on standby. Could there be a source of radio frequency interference nearby, or could the cable used to connect it to a computer be damaged/faulty? Does it flicker when disconnected too? Does it flicker when you're using it?

Might be worth contacting the supplier 'just in case'.

Have a look here:
https://www.dell.com/community/Moni...he-Dell-Display-Manager-software/td-p/4421053
 
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ancient_mariner said:
I've never noticed mine flicker on standby. Could there be a source of radio frequency interference nearby, or could the cable used to connect it to a computer be damaged/faulty? Does it flicker when disconnected too? Does it flicker when you're using it?

Might be worth contacting the supplier 'just in case'.

Have a look here:
https://www.dell.com/community/Moni...he-Dell-Display-Manager-software/td-p/4421053
Click to expand...

I ran it in safe mode and it does not flicker when the black screen appears on when it’s on and there’s a lack screen.. I currently have it connected using the vga cable I may try connecting it using HDMI.. i can’t notice the flicker any other time other then when it is on a black screen for example light room
 
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