Looking for my first editing monitor

[Brookie]

So i'm still a relative newbie to digital photog, but i am considering getting a monitor to go with my new MBP15.  I've been doing a lot of reading and am thinking of maybe an ASUS PA249Q or a BenQ SW2700PT.  I'd like to hear if anyone has any experience with either of those (particularly with a newer MBP).  One article i read on the ASUS said the dark end of the gray scale was only so-so.  I'll be doing both color and B&W.  Also, i don't expect to have a quality printer anytime soon (if ever) so i am not sure i really need Adobe RGS color coverage - still i'm leaning towards it. 

Although digital is relatively new for me, photography isn't (I used to do a bunch of 4x5 landscape work).  However, i set that down for quite a few years for a variety of reasons.  Now getting back into photography and giving digital a try.  So i guess i'd categorize myself as "enthusiast level" with a lot to learn about digital - LOL!!!

Anyway, i'd be curious to know if most of you use specialized graphics monitors or just make do with a standard screen.  If most people calibrate their screens.  Which monitors, if any, you'd recommend and what you think of the two that i've mentioned. 

Too many questions for one post, but hey, its Friday night and i'm thinking about it.

Thanks all!
Dave
 

[Benny Profane]

If you have no immediate plans to print, a lower end "high end" monitor like the two you mentioned are fine. You'll never really see that issue you mentioned. Your first priority is to learn Photoshop, which won't happen overnight, so, do that, and consider your options in a year or two. Do learn to calibrate that monitor, though.

Edit: if you think it's wasteful to just buy a monitor for a few years work, and discard it for a better one down the line, don't despair, because you'll find it's much better to do editing with two monitors. The second can be used for your workspace tools and palettes in Photoshop, getting them away from your image.

[digitaldog]

Look into any of the NEC wide gamut, SpectraView II display systems; can't go wrong. Make sure you get it with their software for calibration (SpectraView) and a supported instrument (I'd recommend their branded X-rite i1Display-Pro).

[Brookie]

Thanks for the reply guys!

Benny: "Your first priority is to learn Photoshop, which won't happen overnight:    Ah,yeah, no kidding.....LOL!!!

Andrew: "Look into any of the NEC wide gamut, SpectraView II display systems; can't go wrong."  Those seem quite a bit pricier (e.g., $1,000 or more), I have been looking at monitors in the $400 to $700 range.  Any suggestions on a specific model in case I am missing what I should be looking for?

Thanks,
Brookie

[digitaldog]

NEC P242W-BK-SV 24" LED Backlit IPS Monitor with SpectraView II
B&H Photo: You Pay $868.99

[Brookie]

Thanks Andrew.  BTW, I sent you a PM on another question. 
Thanks for the help,
Brookie

[Benny Profane]

Benny: "Your first priority is to learn Photoshop, which won't happen overnight:    Ah,yeah, no kidding.....LOL!!!

You will soon learn that digital is, basically, collecting data in the initial camera stage (always shoot Raw), and Photoshop is where you make your pictures. No cheating with plug ins! You might as well be on Instagram.

[BradSmith]

NEC P242W-BK-SV 24" LED Backlit IPS Monitor with SpectraView II
B&H Photo: You Pay $868.99

Another similar, but less expensive choice - the BenQ SW2700PT 27" monitor.  99% Adobe RGB capable, IPS monitor with hardware calibration software (need to purchase the calibration puck) and with hood.  At the BenQ store, $600.  This monitor was well reviewed here on Lula a couple months ago and by Keith Cooper at Northern Lights.  It seems to have the same performance as the NEC and Eizo, at a fraction of the price.
Brad

[Brookie]

Brad,
Thanks for the reply. The BenQ you mention is in fact one of the monitors I'm considering. I've read both of those reviews. Do you have any experience with this monitor that you can share?
 Brookie

[BradSmith]

Brad,
Thanks for the reply. The BenQ you mention is in fact one of the monitors I'm considering. I've read both of those reviews. Do you have any experience with this monitor that you can share?
 Brookie

No direct experience with the BenQ.  I own a 7 year old NEC 2690 with their Spectraview software and calibration puck.  I've been very pleased with it, but know that I'll need to replace it in the not too distant future due to a slightly darkening "smudge" streak across the center.  The two reviews of the BenQ caught my attention.  If it holds up as well as my NEC has, it would be a clear value winner against the competition.
Brad

[Peter McLennan]

Your monitor is the core of your photography post production system.  Just like your speakers are what you actually listen to, your monitor is what you spend your hours looking at.  Trying to save $200 on so on something so important is false economy.  Your monitor is a long-term investment in accuracy, repeatability and reliability.

I second the other recommendations (especially from digitaldog, who's written a book on colour management) for the NEC monitors like my PA271W.

[Brookie]

Understood!

[EricWHiss]

No direct experience with the BenQ.  I own a 7 year old NEC 2690 with their Spectraview software and calibration puck.  I've been very pleased with it, but know that I'll need to replace it in the not too distant future due to a slightly darkening "smudge" streak across the center.  The two reviews of the BenQ caught my attention.  If it holds up as well as my NEC has, it would be a clear value winner against the competition.
Brad

I have that same dark center in my NEC 27" spectraview but it started to appear after 1 year. It's just getting darker and darker over time. And there is a lot of brightness variation across the whole screen.   

I've got a 15 year old Cinema display that renders better range from dark to light then the NEC and also has more pleasing color when calibrated with the NEC puck using the same software.

Always thought the Cinema and its little adapter box would go first, but I'm going to need to replace the NEC soon as its not so usable now.  I doubt very much I'll buy an NEC again.

[Brookie]

Thanks for all of the comments. I ended up buying a BenQ SW2700PT. I've had it for a couple weeks and really like it, but of course have nothing else to compare the experience with since it is my first monitor for the purpose. Also, soooo much to learn about LR/PS........

[Damon Lynch]

To the OP - best of luck with your new BenQ and getting it on with post processing. 

Regarding the two NECs developing a problem -- in late 2009 I purchased a 24 inch 1920x1200 wide gamut monitor from HP for approx $550, the LP2475w. In 2011 it developed a quite bizarre problem: a pattern in the lower right corner of the LCD panel that looked just like a 2-3 cm coffee stain. Most odd! I'd never seen anything like it, and the HP technician who came to replace it under warranty hadn't either. I did see one other person on the web reporting the same problem too, so it clearly wasn't just mine.  What was highly embarrassing was that just a day or two before the technician arrived for the previously scheduled repair, the problem disappeared! And that was after it having persisted for a couple of months. Although the technician never gave any indication that he thought I was pulling a fast one, I still feel bad about it even now, even though I personally did absolutely nothing wrong.

On a more positive note I was impressed with HP's service and warranty.  I realise their professional monitors will never be in the same league as NEC or Eizo, but in this instance their warranty service was exemplary. Good for them.