Photography Equipment Revue, LCD Monitors, 2, f8 Pro Photo

The ability to view a horizontal image, such as an A3 document, and still have screen space for toolbars is an obvious advantage of Wide Screen (16:10 ratio).
Better yet you can display two upright A4’s, side by side, with toolbars - great for magazine layout designers - and better still, with a 24” model, you are viewing at S/S - Same Size! (Only just, mind you, you may need to shuffle the toolbars around a little)
For this reason alone I can imagine the 24” becoming the industry standard.

Alternatively, with most models, one can alternate the orientation of the screen from horizontal to vertical format.
This must be a great boon for web-site designers laying out vertically scrolling screen displays and, in the Newspaper industry, those few remaining ‘broadsheet publishers can view, if not a full size image, then certainly a much larger one.

A very nice Monitor from Eizo USA having all the control buttons on the front panel.

Resolution of       1920x1200 pixels
Brightness          200 cd/m2
Contrast ratio      400:1
Dot Pitch             0.249mm.
Colour Gamut      16.7 million colours
                             100% Adobe RGB
Response time     30 ms
Viewing angle      170 degrees
Connectivity         DVI
Price                   £ 1300

When looking through the spec’s of these monitors you may come across the term TFT.
Thin Film Transistors are the latest innovation in LCD screen technology to enhance image quality. For this review we need not get too technical - suffice to say all the models here are TFT.
There are two versions of Colour Gamut from Adobe. Adobe sRGB, which is a standard used for snapshot cameras and mobile phones, then there’s Adobe RGB that has now become the Industry standard in the fields of Graphic Arts and Reproduction - the professionals choice. This small chart shows how many more colours are covered by RBG than sRGB. Display manufacturers describe their monitors as covering a percentage of Adobe RGB and some claim to cover more than 100%.

Mentioning elegance earlier on, true to form, Apple win the prize for best design LCD monitor and, no surprises here either, this monitor is probably the best of the bunch for tech spec also.

           Apple ‘Cinema’ HD LCD 30” Display.                                Just look at this profile

                   Resolution of       2560x1600 pixels
                   Brightness          400 cd/m2
                   Contrast ratio      700:1
                   Dot Pitch            0.25mm.
                   Colour Gamut     16.7 million colours
                                            100% Adobe RGB
                   Response time   14 ms
                   Viewing angle     178 degrees
                   Connectivity        DVI (Firewire + USB 2.0)
                   Price                  Apple! What do you expect. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

To sum up look for a Brightness of at least 400cd/m2. Contrast 500:1. Dot pitch 0.26. Colour, full RGB and DVI connections. This last model offers excellent specifications though a bit pricy.

NEC Spectra View Ref 21. 21.3" LCD Display

Resolution         1600x1200 pixels
Brightness         200cd/m2
Contrast ratio     430:1
Dot Pitch           0.27mm.
Colour Gamut    16.7million colours
                        100% RGB
Response time   20ms
Viewing angle    176 degrees
Connectivity       DVI + DVI-D
Price                 £3300

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