[bside123]

Hi y'all!

Would like some input here... if possible. I'm getting ready to purchase another monitor, particularly with photos in mind. I've been primarily using a 24" Mac Cinema Display that is a few years old. It's been okay, and the troublesome glossy screen hasn't been too much of a problem BECAUSE of the room placement. I read a thread here on AC recently that criticized the new Mac Thunderbolt Displays, and at least one person ditched it for the NEC. I went to an Apple store in STL recently to audition the Thunderbolt and non-Thunderbolt displays and was not significantly impressed. The images don't look "natural' to me. All of the photo images looked "pumped up," as if they were enhanced... or someone pushed the loudness button!

After some research and reading reviews, here are the four monitors I am considering:

NEC MultiSync PA271W-BK 27" at B&H Photo for $859 Free Shipping
Samsung Series 9 S27B970D 27" at B&H for $999 Free Shipping
Dell U2713HM 27" Widescreen LED Backlit LCD Monitor at B&H for $604 Free Shipping
Dell U2713H 27" Widescreen LED Backlit LCD Monitor at B&H for $698 Free Shipping

At this point, I am leaning towards the last one on the list, the Dell U2713H, as it seems like the most bang-for-the-buck. Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks and best regards. 

[mav52]

I've been using a NEC MultiSync PA241w for years with Spectraview II and love it, NO issues at all....

[Doublej]

Don't know much about monitors others than like TVs they need to be calibrated. There are a bunch of free programs to help you do it by eyeball or you can buy a color calibration kit which includes something you temporarily attach to your monitor to get the colors optimal.

Monoprice had a 27" display which was cheap and I thought got good reviews but it looks like it has been replaced with a new model and is backordered. The product id on the old one is 10509 and the new one is 9579. Price is under $400.

I would search the web for reviews from photo sites to see what they have to say about various brands/models. This is one of those cases where I would put a lot of faith in the experts.

[jupiterboy]

Get the widest gamut, and then calibrate. That is the only way.

[bside123]

Hi guys. Thanks for the input so far.

Yep... I'm hip to calibration and other specs. I was hoping for some additional input from real world, hands' on users. All of the monitors mentioned have wide gamut, good color coverage, good brightness, etc. Good reviews too!

Thanks again and best regards.

[jupiterboy]

I kept a calibrated CRT until a few years ago. I have not found a LCD solution that I have the same confidence in. I think there are some new technologies on the horizon that will offer as good or better performance. Most of my work is for print and it involves using specialized art printers and color houses that specialize, so I seldom even do a CMYK conversion any more.

[SET Man]

Hi y'all!
.....The images don't look "natural' to me. All of the photo images looked "pumped up," as if they were enhanced... or someone pushed the loudness button!
....

Hey!

    I agreed with DoubleJ, like looking TVs at the store, they are all set to stand out and attract customers with highly saturated color, high brightness and etc.

   So, with all screens, you need to calibrate it once you get it home to match your need. You can do it manually with Mac.

    I wish I have space and money for an Apple 27" right now. Meanwhile I'm doing all my digital photo works on my mid 2012 13" MacBook Pro. Before that I was doing all on my old 12" PowerBook G4 from 2004 until late last year. 

   Anyway, keep us posted on your search.

Take care,
Buddy

[Steven Stone]

I've been using NEC Multisync LCD monitors for years. I've had or use 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, and 26" sizes. They all calibrate well and hold their calibration with only minor adjustments needed. Lots availalble on the second-hand market if you are on a budget or want multiple monitors.

[dB Cooper]

    I wish I have space and money for an Apple 27" right now. Meanwhile I'm doing all my digital photo works on my mid 2012 13" MacBook Pro. Before that I was doing all on my old 12" PowerBook G4 from 2004 until late last year. 

I'm not so sure... I strongly prefer matte/antiglare monitors for photo work, especially if the final destination of the image is a print on paper. IMO the matte monitor gives you a more accurate preview of how that print will look. A friend who is a photographer has a 27" imac (with essentially the same display panel that is in the cinema display) told me "My monitor is better than anything I can get on a print". What good is that? I want to know what the print will look like. So I agree with bside123.

[SET Man]

I'm not so sure... I strongly prefer matte/antiglare monitors for photo work, especially if the final destination of the image is a print on paper. IMO the matte monitor gives you a more accurate preview of how that print will look. A friend who is a photographer has a 27" imac (with essentially the same display panel that is in the cinema display) told me "My monitor is better than anything I can get on a print". What good is that? I want to know what the print will look like. So I agree with bside123.

Hey!

     I agreed with you on the antiglare monitor. I believe some of the new iMac have antiglare screen. I actually do part time photography work and at the studio we have a calibrated 24" Cinema in a darken out corner for that reason.

    As for printing. I don't print much these days. But luckily my local lab is pretty good and the print matched my monitor perfectly..... sadly this lab got smaller lately, I hope that they will survive and don't go out of business.

    Anyway, hope bside123 will keep us posted on the new monitor compare to the old one.

Take care,
Buddy

[bside123]

I am very close to making my final decision. In my initial post, I mentioned that I am leaning towards the Dell U2713H. Most every review on the NEC PA271W is positive, but it seems that the NEC brand comes at a premium, when it appears that the Dell U2713H can deliver the same results for less.

Apparently, the NEC and the two Dell displays, that I am considering, use a variation on the same display panel. So it's not surprising that they have similar performance. It seems like the Dell U2713H and NEC are slightly better displays than the Samsung or Dell U2713HM. The NEC is really nice, but do I need to spend that much money on a display when it seem that I can get the performance from the Dell U2713H? The Dell U2713H specs look really good.

The spread sheet below breaks down my thinking. What am I missing? Otherwise, I'll let you know which direction I go and report the results. BTW, glare is not good for photo editing, as it has been clearly stated here. That really puts the kabash on Mac displays... ever since they went glossy. My current 24" Mac Cinema Display works well, only because of placement. That being said, I would not buy another Mac display for any serious photo or graphic work. Too glossy, and they run hot!

Thanks for the input so far and best regards. 

[jupiterboy]

You might check into how the monitor software works with your OS and how it interacts with you calibration spider/software.

[gnuyork]

I know it may be too late fro an opinion, but I use the NEC PA271W with Spectraview and it's been great. My inkjet prints come out really close to my monitor.

I see it has come down in price by quite a bit. When I purchased mine a couple years ago it was around $1600.

[dB Cooper]

Hey!

     I agreed with you on the antiglare monitor. I believe some of the new iMac have antiglare screen.

Unfortunately not, although the current models have a coating on the glass (similar in principle to lens coating) which reduces (but does not eliminate) the annoying glare.
Agree totally on the glossy vs matte. Glossy is a BIG step backwards from both a fidelity and viewing fatigue POV (remember the anti-reflection overlays from the early days?)

[czapp]

Eizo Color edge series.
Nothing comes close to these monitors.

[FullRangeMan]

IMO best value for the money are the Dell U2412M around $300, and offer the useful feature of larger aspect of 16x10, not 16x9 as usual.
Unfortunately the plastics case are very thin, very low quality plastic.

Inputs are odd: VGA, DVI-D, DP, mini-HDMI and various USB.

[FullRangeMan]

Maybe this dual set would fit your needs:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=DU2412&baynote_bnrank=0&baynote_irrank=1&~ck=dellSearch

[Photon46]

Well guys, FWIW, I would caution against purchasing the new Thunderbolt Apple monitors based on my experience. We purchased one at work and I was immediately vexed with a buggy product that Apple couldn't fix. (I'm using an Apple mid 2012 PowerMac system with 4tb memory and 16gigs of RAM.) The Thunderbolt didn't play well with my PowerMac and the monitor would not allow access to any of the calibration features/menu. A solid week of jawboning and several remote diagnotic sessions with a very nice but ultimately useless Apple Care rep couldn't fix the problem and they finally threw in the towel and refunded our money. If you read the user reviews on Apple's own website, the number of mediocre to horrible reviews is amazing. Only manages a 3.5 out of 5 star rating. I bought an NEC 27" top of the line instead and am more than impressed, a superb product with beautiful color rendition that leaves nothing to be desired.

[gnuyork]

Well guys, FWIW, I would caution against purchasing the new Thunderbolt Apple monitors based on my experience. We purchased one at work and I was immediately vexed with a buggy product that Apple couldn't fix. (I'm using an Apple mid 2012 PowerMac system with 4tb memory and 16gigs of RAM.) The Thunderbolt didn't play well with my PowerMac and the monitor would not allow access to any of the calibration features/menu. A solid week of jawboning and several remote diagnotic sessions with a very nice but ultimately useless Apple Care rep couldn't fix the problem and they finally threw in the towel and refunded our money. If you read the user reviews on Apple's own website, the number of mediocre to horrible reviews is amazing. Only manages a 3.5 out of 5 star rating. I bought an NEC 27" top of the line instead and am more than impressed, a superb product with beautiful color rendition that leaves nothing to be desired.

Yes, the 27" NEC is quite a nice monitor. I am very, very pleased with it.