Spec me a budget photo editing monitor

Soldato
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I'm currently using a 19" Hyundai Q995 CRT that's 15yrs old to edit photographs but am getting tired of the lack of detail & can't see some figures in Lightroom :eek: Perhaps you laugh at CRT but its far superior to any flat panel when anything moves... but I now game on an OLED just because it bigger.
I also have an old Asus 1080p v278 LCD in another room I use for work but thats had a gamma fault from day 1 & it's very difficult to get the brightness spot on for a photo.
I have a fairly decent rig & the 2080 has HDMI/DP with no MB graphics.

I'm after at least a 28" at 1080p or 4k ideally, just so long as the image quality is good, so IPS? Not bothered about >60hz or gaming on it but HDR sounds a good idea, oh & on a budget up to £300... is this possible? :)
 
Soldato
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not sure re 28" at that price, but if not 24" Dell U series are always relatively safe bets for approx £200. eg U2419. Once calibrated you get excellent colour reproduction. Check out tftcentral.co.uk for very in-depth reviews on IPS and OLED panels. It will help you avoid the turkeys.
 
Soldato
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Oo Dell, they made a good 24" last decade :D
Hmm 1440p maybe a good size, being as if I play a game thats a good res for the 2080 too.
Now searching 1440p, IPS, backlit with HDR a bonus.
 
Soldato
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BenQ PD2700Q 27 Inch 1440p QHD Monitor for Graphic Design, IPS, 100% Rec. 709, sRGB, 10 bit
This is in my budget & looks to fit the job at a reasonable price for just a billion colours :).
There are better models out there inc PD3200Q & the latest BenQ SW range which instead of 75% AdobeRGB they have 99% & some have a wider HDR range.
I'm thinking about hanging on until the SW range drop in price :rolleyes:
In the meantime I made a lapboard & am currently using an old oled E6 55 in the living room -with a 2minute screensaver! Already have YouTube & Netflix logos burned into it :eek: -I'll never go oled again! -only took a couple of weeks for the new Netflix position to burn in. Other than that it's a cracking TV & sometimes play 3D games & films :D
 
Soldato
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I'm very impressed with the image quality of this BenQ PD2700Q, which has noticeably better colours than my OLED E6, where being 10bit must help & is to be expected as the OLED or any TV does not have the full sRGB 0-255 colour range. Where a TV shines is with the HDR brightness range! Although, the blacks are not black on this IPS panel which is normal, unless using a colour limiting dynamic contrast which just makes the blacks look black by brightening the highlights. This IPS only has a 1069:1 contrast range, although a more expensive VA panel would be 3000:1. Regarding image resolution, at 27" I find this 1440p to have a near perfect PPI (pixels per inch) detail capability on my small desktop & I'd definitely find a 4k to be too high a resolution at 27". If getting a 4k monitor then certainly a 32" on a bigger desk to increase the viewing range & reduce edge LCD fall-off -especially on a VA panel which is why most are curved. Currently looking for a small set of 10w desktop speakers as the built-in 2w speakers are not much better than a laptop.
 
Soldato
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If you want a monitor to be correct for photo editing you need to calibrate it.
Yes I agree. This monitor seems to be pushing it's factory colour accuracy at a reasonable price so was a good choice for my budget. If one day I make money from photos then I'll plump for a better monitor & get it calibrated.
 
Soldato
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Calibration is an ongoing process. It isn't something you can do once and forget.

I've had a calibrator for years as it was the only way to get all three displays to fully match. Relatively expensive at the time, but worth it.
 
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