27-30 inch Monitor query

[IanCD]

I'm looking at getting a large, high res monitor sometime later this year, either 27" or 30"
Dell Ultra sharp 30" or 27" models look to be favourites at moment
I'd prefer the 16:10 format of the 30" (2560:1600) to the 16:9 of the 27" (2560:1440) but I like the price of the 27" a lot more..!

I'm also wondering if the pixel pitch will make much difference for photo editing.
On the (good) 17" (1680:1050) laptop screen which I use at present, the pitch is (I think) 0.218mm (screen is 366mm x 229mm)
I've calculated that the pitch on the 27" screen (598 x 336) would be 0.234mm, and on the 30" (646 x 404) would be 0.252mm
Am I likely to notice the difference (much) for PP..?

If anyone knows of a 27" 2560:1600 (16:10 format) IPS monitor for around £600 - £700 I'd be very interested to hear about it
Ian

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Ian,

I did move this and made title 'more inviting' (I hope)

I haven't researched that big, but if you haven't seen it, I'd recommend TFT Central for your research.

Good luck,

[IanCD]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for that.
Yes, I've checked TFT central. I don't think nany other 27" monitors came up, but will re-check

It was really whether the difference in pixel pitch is likely to be noticeable, and make a difference to photo editing.

Actually, folks can help with that one without experience up to 27" and 30"
E.g. a 24" monitor with 1920 x 1200 resolution has pixel pitch of 0.27mm whereas a 20" monitor at 1920 x 1080 has a pitch of 0.231
Ian

[Dave Humphries]

Actually, folks can help with that one without experience up to 27" and 30"
E.g. a 24" monitor with 1920 x 1200 resolution has pixel pitch of 0.27mm whereas a 20" monitor at 1920 x 1080 has a pitch of 0.231

Mine (23 inch) has a spec. pitch of 0.265mm (it is 1920 x 1080 = 16:9, I think) that's a Viewsonic VP2365wb.

I don't find it a problem for photo editing, if I get really close, my naked eyes can just make them out on white areas, but it hurts my eyes to focus that close and small, so I'll desist now

Cheers,

[IanCD]

Mine (23 inch) has a spec. pitch of 0.265mm (it is 1920 x 1080 = 16:9, I think) that's a Viewsonic VP2365wb.

I don't find it a problem for photo editing, if I get really close, my naked eyes can just make them out on white areas, but it hurts my eyes to focus that close and small, so I'll desist now

Cheers,

Hi Dave,
Yes, that's 16:9.
The pixel pitch is helpful, thanks - it confirms I've set up the calculations right..! ;-)
Ian

[herbert]

Hi Ian,

I have the Dell U2711 at home. At work I have the U2410 (two of them). However I have never brought the 24 inch monitor home and set them side by side for a good comparison. I've calibrated my screen a few times but the result is very close to the canned profile (enough to not be noticeable). Dell do a good job with factory calibration.

The 27 inch monitor is very nice for photo editing. I can have my photo on the center of the screen at about 1920x1080. I then have 600 pixels on either side for the menus of the editing software. I use Lightroom and being able to see all the controls and a nice big picture is an amazing step up from my 1680x1050 Laptop (16:10 ratio). I cannot comment of whether it works better than having two monitors of a smaller size but one big monitor definitely works. 2 monitors are good for lots of programs. One may be better for a single program.

Having used the screen for a while I now prefer the 16:9 ratio. I can use two programs side-by-side in protrait orientation, e.g. word processing and spreadsheet editing.

Regarding pixel pitch, just make sure you set up Windows (or whatever) to render fonts with the correct dpi. My screen is 108 dpi. This makes the anti-alias smoothing of fonts much nicer. I do not think that it makes a noticeable difference to editing photos. Pixels are small. If you can see them then they are too big, or you should step back.

One drawback is that the screen is not a good choice if you want a multi-media screen. If you are doing a lot of gaming or watching HD movies then being able to render 1080 natively is very important. My screen will have to extrapolate the 1080 image and so it will never seem as crisp. If you don't care for 1080 stuff then do not worry about resolution. Just buy the best you can justify to yourself. Remember though that anything you spend on a monitor will not be spent on lenses.

Alex

[Fit]

I have a Dell that's been brilliant for a few years now.

[Two Eyes]

Ian,
You have some of the same queries that I had before purchasing the Dell U2711 27" monitor. That was 15 months ago, and to date it has served me well. The pixel pitch is entirely suitable for image work, although you will read that some users can not get on with the granular effect apparently created by the anti glare coating. Personally I have never had a problem with this, and yes it is noticeable if you really look for it.
I was not keen on the wide screen 16:9 aspect, but I must say it does work well with LightRoom. What I still miss is the extra height for portrait shots, but to satisfy me on that regard would mean a 2560 x 2560 monitor ( or a second U2711 mounted in portrait that you could drag those shots over to), so really paying the extra for the Dell 30" version is not going to solve that! Unfortunately It is the way that the monitor industry has decided to go .
I use an Xrite i1Display Pro to create a monitor profile and find that I need to turn the brightness down to 20% (or even less for some jobs) for satisfactory viewing and print matching. Ensure that your grafix card has a dual link DVI port and that the card can output 2560 x 1440.
On top of the £600 for the monitor, I would really recommend spending an extra £50 on the Dell sound bar model AY511PA which fits snugly under the bezel. It just makes a nice finish with no wires visible from the front and very reasonable sound quality.
With wide gamut monitors you can enjoy fantastic colours that other monitors (and printers) can not achieve. Every time I import my latest pics I marvel at what is displayed in front of me.
Cheers
STEWART

[IanCD]

Thanks Alex, that's really helpful
I won't be using this to watch movies...

As I understand it, pixel pitch is the dimension of the screen divided by the number of pixels.
Dell U2711 is 598mm x 336.3mm, 2560 x 1440, giving the pitch of 0.234mm
The laptop I use is very sharp, with a 17" screen (336mm x 229mm) at 1680 x 1050 giving the 0.218mm pitch
I don't have the option of moving closer or farther away, as my focus is fixed - I've bilateral cataracts and replacement lenses (bionic eyes!) - so would have to change my glasses, which would defeat the point of doing this...!
Ian

[IanCD]

Hi Stewart,
I was typing my reply to Alex as you were posting.
Thanks... also really helpful.
I guess the difference between 1440 and 1600 pixels high (on the 30") wouldn't really make a lot of difference for portrait orientation shots..?
And 16:9 in LR must be good for Compare View in Library..? The 17" screen really is a bit small for that.
Ian

[Dave Humphries]

I have two screens, which is really nice, but I didn't feel I could justify the price of two 23" Viewsonic VP2365wb (at 1920 x 1080), so I have a cheap AOC 936W running at 1366 x 768 on the right where I can drag CS5 adjustment panels too if need be, plus watch TV, have iTunes running, etc.

Cheers,

[herbert]

Hi Ian,

I find that most things are better with a bigger monitor. Except the electricity bill.

Perhaps you could find somewhere that has an equivalent size monitor with the same pixel pitch. Then you could see if it works OK for you.

Good point from Stewart. Some reviews hate the anti-glare coating. I've got used to it and do not notice it. At least I do not get any glare. I hate the reflections I get from my shiny glass iPad screen.

Regards,

Alex