Which monitors for digital photography?

What features should be considered when choosing a color monitor for handling and editing digital photographs? What considerations should be given to size, resolution and features? What are some brand names that are reasonably priced that have the important features.
I'll be using the monitor as a plug-in for my PowerBook G4 when I want to have a larger screen than 15".
Thank you.

Have you done any searching on the internet? A quick search resulted in these topic:
Saturday Shout: The Best Monitors for Digital Photography ...
Choosing a Computer Monitor, digital cameras, digital photography ...
Apple Displays for Digital Photography
All you have to to is search.
OT
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier versions) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. There are versions that are compatible with iPhoto 5, 6, 7 and 8 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
NOTE: The new rebuild option in iPhoto 09 (v. 8.0.2), Rebuild the iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup" makes this tip obsolete.

Similar Messages

I MAC for digital photography

I am planning to buy an IMAC with 27" monitor. I will be doing digital photography but not CAD design or engineering calculations. What are the recommended specs as far as processor,speed,RAM,Hard drive size,video card, etc?

HI
All the Imac 27" are pretty fab for digital photography, they have better graphics cards than the previous iMac models. You'll need to buy as much memory as you can afford, 4Gb is standard but 8 or 12Gb will make apps like Lightroom faster to use. Monitor calibration on Lion is not straightfoward though, as many older x-rite profiling gadgets are not yet supported (software fix still being cooked up by x-rite). Best to store your image files on an external HD, like a Drobo. Don't use the iMac's HD to store your archive, just in case it fails.
Good luck
Tim

Which monitor for accurate color management?

I shoot digital product and food photography using a mac powerbook. I've been using a LaCie CRT (yes, I said CRT) monitor for fine tuning my photos. It has finally started acting up so I'm ready for a new monitor. Can anyone recommend a dependable monitor that has color, brightness and contrast controls for use with establishing color managed profiles using eye1 macbeth (now that company is called something else which I can not remember at the moment). Obviously it needs to be accurate when it comes to color, brightness and contrast as well.
I ended up using my laptop screen this past shoot cause I had no other choice - but it made me really nervous.....
thanks -

First of all, my sincere condolences for your loss. Losing your last high-end CRT is a traumatic loss. I'm still hanging on to two (2) of them! (Knock on wood!)
Highly recommended monitors:
The NEC 2690 and 2490.
You want to use the SpectraView II software to conduct all the work internally and use GammaComp and ColorComp.
If Andrew Rodney chimes in with updated recommendations, listen to his advice.
Wo Tai Lao Le
我太老了

Reference monitor for digital cinema workflow

We use the Digital cinema workflow to create 2K title sequences for theatres. We plan to ad a 2K reference monitor into our workflow. The problem is that the video-out path for preview on reference monitors is not color-managed.
Is there a way to see a correct image on a referrence monitor in adjusting the monitor with LUTs?
Where can I find the needed LUTs?
Which monitor do You recommend?
I use After Effects CS3, Mac OSX 10.5.5, 2x2,8 Ghz Quad-Core Intel Xenon, 6GB RAM, Blackmagic HDExtreme2, Grafic card ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT

I'm trying to find out much the same thing. I would assume that anyone knows the answers can help both of us.
I'm purchasing a new Mac Pro desktop. I also use final cut but not after effects.
I actually have 4 monitors to choose from. 2 Dell 19" - One 27" Apple cinema display and a spector High Def 1080i monitor that has a DVI input.
I would like to use one of the Dell's as my primary home desk top monitors with folders and all the usual dock and stuff. I would like to use the cinema display as my primary final cut work surface.
I would like to use the HD monitor to show HD footage and use it as a client monitor. Remember it has a DVI input.
I've talked with the folks at the Local Apple store and they are not sure if I will get a real HD signal on the HD monitor if I add a second radeon 2700 card to the computer and take on of those DVI outputs and attach it to the HD monitor.
If thats not possible can I use the apple cinema display as my playback monitor?
Or do I have to go with a conversion box like a mxo, AJA board, or decklink box.
The goal is to have two monitors for the program and One monitor in HD for the client monitor,
Thanks everyone in advance.
Rich

Want to use a TV as a third monitor for Digital Cinema Display....HELP!

Hey Guys,
Here's my set up, please tell me where I am going wrong:
I have 2 22" LCD Monitors that I use for my main work. I added a second card to my MacPro so that I could add an additional monitor. Now I have a DVI to HDMI cable going to my Plasma that I want to use as playback for clients and such. Here's where it gets weird... In After Effects, I can use the Plasma in Digital Cinema Preview for Playback and Previews...works great. Then, when I open up Final Cut I have problems. First, when I go to "Digital Cinema Desktop - Full Screen" it display one frame and stay on that one frame even during playback. So then I changed my Sequence settings thinking my TV couldn't handle that Sequence. No I get a White Screen with no playback at all, not even the one frame. Now the weird part is that if I change the TV to my "Main Screen" in Monitor Prefs, and set Digital Cinema to "Main" it plays back fine. So, if I can playback with it as my main, why can't I playback otherwise? And...if it works in After Effects, why is Final Cut Having Problems with it? It's set to "All Frames" and "Desktop Mirroring". Thoughts? I have seen this set up work before...what am I doing wrong?

I'm trying to find out much the same thing. I would assume that anyone knows the answers can help both of us.
I'm purchasing a new Mac Pro desktop. I also use final cut but not after effects.
I actually have 4 monitors to choose from. 2 Dell 19" - One 27" Apple cinema display and a spector High Def 1080i monitor that has a DVI input.
I would like to use one of the Dell's as my primary home desk top monitors with folders and all the usual dock and stuff. I would like to use the cinema display as my primary final cut work surface.
I would like to use the HD monitor to show HD footage and use it as a client monitor. Remember it has a DVI input.
I've talked with the folks at the Local Apple store and they are not sure if I will get a real HD signal on the HD monitor if I add a second radeon 2700 card to the computer and take on of those DVI outputs and attach it to the HD monitor.
If thats not possible can I use the apple cinema display as my playback monitor?
Or do I have to go with a conversion box like a mxo, AJA board, or decklink box.
The goal is to have two monitors for the program and One monitor in HD for the client monitor,
Thanks everyone in advance.
Rich

Which monitor for macbook pro?

I just got a 13' retina macbook pro and I really like the display. Now I want an external monitor to use when I'm at my desk but I'm afraid I'm going to be disappointed in the quality of any of the external monitors in my price range. Any suggestions on which one to buy? What is the minimum resolution that I should look for? I don't want to spend more than $300 if I can help it and I'll probably get one that is ~24 inches. Is there anything approaching the quality of the built in retina display in that price range?

The Dell UltraSharp is an excellent option. It connects via display port so you only need a mini display port (thunderbolt) to display port cable.

Storage for digital photography

Hello,
I'm just about to upgrade my G5 to a Mac Pro. I'm trying to figure out what the best storage / performance strategy would be. I'm an amateur digital photographer, and I shoot with a 10 MP camera so my hard drives are filling up! I currently use a 74 GB Raptor as my boot drive/sandbox and a 400 GB WD as my OS & file storage drive. I love the speed of the Raptor.
But I already need more storage space, so when I move to the Mac Pro I'd like to do things differently. I've heard it's better when using Photoshop and Lightroom to keep photos 1) on an internal drive (not a problem with the Mac Pro's 4 drive bays) and 2) on a different drive than the OS install (is this true?) and 3) on a drive with lots of free space.
I was considering a WD Raptor 150 GB boot drive with OS X & Applications, and a pair of 400 GB drives in a RAID (? I know next to nothing about RAID) in the tower. Why? I already own 2 400 GB drives, so this would keep the costs down. I don't know much about the options here, so I would appreciate your input.

I saw a Barefeats review that said the Maxtor Maxline Pros were the fastest, but they've been acquired by Seagate?
The Maxtor MaXLine Pro 500GB drive is an excellent drive although coupled with the fact that it's no longer being manufactured and it does run hotter than other drives makes it for some not a good recommendation. I use the MaXLine III and they work fantastically well for me.
What makes, the MaXLines such effective boot drives, as well as Photoshop scratch drives, is their superb small read/write performance. Something which is surpassed with the 750GB/1TB drives.
Is this negated by the extra speed and capacity of a 2x 500 or 700 GB RAID 0?
Yes and no.
The idea behind scratch drives is that it replaces RAM when needed so the faster your scratch drives are and the less they're used by anything else the better. However, since CS2 and Mac OS X Tiger, Photoshop has been able to use the RAM and disk caching used by Mac OS X which allows it you better utilise any available RAM. Because of this, your boot drive needs to also be as fast as possible given Mac OS X is doing much of the caching.
This is the reason why I find that you'll find that a 2 x 750GB configuration with your 400GB drives as backup to be the most sensible option to go with. Sure they're more expensive than 500GB drive but the added speed of the perpendicular recording and higher density is well worth the extra $US150 or so you have to pay for these drives. C'mon man… $US150!!
This BareFeats report…
http://www.barefeats.com/hard91.html
… should help you come to that conclusion.

Which monitor for mac pro and FCP

Hi,
I'm using a quad core mac pro with a Dell 2407wfp. In this setup I mainly do FCP editing. The monitor is 4 years old and I like to replace it for a larger one. I recently saw a setup with a Samsung P2770HD full hd and a tv tuner on board. Will this be good enough for FCP editing and reviewing HD content?
TIA

Will this be good enough for FCP editing and reviewing HD content?
Probably not - but I have no experience with that monitor.
Not what you asked but why not keep the Dell for displaying FCP timeline, bins, etc and purchase a quality HDTV and the means to feed it a hd signal (eg AJA Kona series, various Blackmagic cards, Matrox MXO series, etc) for viewing output?
x

O.T. Digital Photography Newsletter

In case you've never come across it, fotoespresso, a digital photography newsletter is worth a look.
To quote from the site:
fotoespresso reports news, trends, new techniques and tools for digital photography.
Our focus is on digital photography workflow: How to make the life of digital photographers easier.
Our audience are professional photographers and also ambitious amateurs. fotoespresso features real world experience reports.
fotoespresso will be published about 3-4 times per year
http://www.fotoespresso.com/fotoespresso.html

Hi Malcolm, I checked out the ebook for the D70 and it looks very good. I like the bit on Photoshop too. 'Course all this is still way over my head but I have long arms.
Do you know anydone on the forum who bought one.
marty landolt

Imac for Pro Digital Photography....

I do quite a bit of digital photography with high-end digital backs, was wondering if there would be a significant difference in buying a Mac Pro versus the 2.8 extreme or the 2.4 Imac with an equivalent amount of ram, say 4 gigs. The cost would be greater off course going the Mac Pro route including monitor etc. and less portable. And the expandability issue, which really isn't a problem since I use quite a bit of external drives.
Currently I'm using a first generation intel Imac 20' been having a few connection issues with the camera, not quite sure if it's software or hardware but still get good results with this machine.
I have never used a Mac Pro for this application so not sure if there truly is a mind blowing difference.
I like the portability of the Imac and the quick set up. Also I've heard some rumors about the glossy screen being an issue.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Much Thanks.
.

Never buy a sweater without trying it on.
Visit an Apple Store or make a query at your local Mac users group. I know we have lots of pro & amateur photographers in our MUG (especially in the Ps & Ps Elements SIG) who are always showing each other stuff on their computers.
I have found that many people who do a LOT of digital photography are peculiar in that they like to rely on the evidence of their own eyes more than the opinions of others.
The glossy screen is NOT an issue any more than the glossy inside of the windshield of your car is an issue. It is entirely POSSIBLE to focus on your reflection in your windshield while driving instead of looking through it, but the results are not encouraging. Its a matter of perception, not vision. The human visual system (in more developed examples of the species) quickly sees through the glass instead of focusing on it.
M

Question about what to buy for Pro Digital Photography

I do quite a bit of digital photography with high-end digital backs, was wondering if there would be a significant difference in buying a Mac Pro versus the 2.8 extreme or the 2.4 Imac with an equivalent amount of ram, say 4 gigs. The cost would be greater off course going the Mac Pro route including monitor etc. and less portable. And the expandability issue, which really isn't a problem since I use quite a bit of external drives.
Currently I'm using a first generation intel Imac 20' been having a few connection issues with the camera, not quite sure if it's software or hardware but still get good results with this machine.
I have never used a Mac Pro for this application so not sure if there truly is a mind blowing difference.
I like the portability of the Imac and the quick set up. Also I've heard some rumors about the glossy screen being an issue.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Much Thanks.
.

I am also doing digital photography, and am in need of a new machine. My old MDD G4, just can't cut it, especially dealing with RAW images from my D300. If you are using digital backs, I would say that the extra horsepower of a Mac Pro would greatly speed your workflow. Not knowing your workflow, I would still say that the internal expandability would help make keeping images orderly a snap. Say one 4-500 gig drive for unedited raw image storage, another for final edited image storage, and a third or a partition as a swap space for photoshop (Raptor?). You could use an external firewire drive as a backup drive with time-machine. Just a suggestion.
As for a monitor, you get a Dell (I can't believe I said that) FPW2407 24" widescreen. They are just as good as the Apple Cinemas, but cost a lot less. With the cash you save, you can get a Spyder to calibrate it, if don't already have one.
I am waiting for my taxes to come back before I get one. I waited and waited and waited till I could not waits no more, and got a new Nikon body. I am looking at the 8-core 3.0 with the Nvidia 8800. I can get the ram from OWC.
As always, take everything I say with a salt-lick!
Mack

Which Speedlite for my Canon 600d I am new to Photography

Which Speedlite for my Canon 600d
I am new to Photography
I am choosing between
a) Bower SDF680C Digital Flash for Canon SLR Cameras, Guide Number 139
http://www.adorama.com/BOWSFD680C.html
or
b) Bower SFD926C Dedicated Digital Flash for Canon SLR Cameras, Guide Number 125
http://www.adorama.com/BOWSFD926C.html
I want a Wireless Speedlite,
btw how does these Speedlites do the Wireless Connection with the 600d if they can ?
Does both use Slave Function, does both have Wireless Channel Selection.
Does My camera the 600d have Wireless Channel Selection by Radio Signal I know my camera has Slave Function Pls Help pls

1) My Canon 600d has a Slave Function and it does Not have any Radio signal or Infrared Wireless Connection between an External Speedlite ?
Correct, though I'm not sure it's called a slave function? The 600D can use it's flash to trigger speedlights that are off camera, and set in slave mode. But it has no Radio or IR signal.
The IR is something that is on speedlights. As mentioned above, it's really just red light. But it's used for focus, not for triggering flashes.
2) is the E-TTL just like the Operating system or Firmware of the 600D Flash System ?
TTL is an automated flash function, and it will be a function on a speedlight, not a camera (though you're cameras flash does have eTTL). It lets the flash/camera decide how much flash power it needs. In a nutshell, it fires a flash before opening the shutter so it can measure how much light it needs, then fires a second time with the shutter open to expose the scene. It all happens very fast, you can barely see it.
Flashes will either come in manual only, or offer TTL in addition to manual. Manual is just that, you choose the power level, and it fires during your shot.
eTTL is Canon's version of TTL.
3) Does the 600d have a Wireless E-TTL or something like that ?
As mentioned above, the 600D can use its on-camera flash to trigger other flashes, and yes, it can do it in eTTL.
The down side to this is that the flashes have to be in the line of sight of the camera's flash (more or less). [And it uses up your camera battery for the flash] When you want to place flashes in modifiers or behind people, or screens or in a completely different room, it doesn't work so well. So people use Radio Frequency transmitters to trigger the flashes. It used to be an expensive thing to have, but now it can be done quite cheap, and quite reliable.
So the Only option I have for my 600d wireless connection to a Flash is
a) Slave Function.
b) I buy a Wireless Transmitter and receiver
Pretty much. You could also get a long cord to get it off camera, but it's really not a great option.

I cracked my screen. I want to use other monitor which I had one. I bought Apple Mini-DP to VGA adapter. It worked. It means I can see ADDITIONAL screen. However I want to use this monitor for the main screen. How can I do?? Please help.

I cracked my screen. I want to use other monitor which I had one. I bought an Apple Mini-DP to VGA adapter. It worked. It means I can see ADDITIONAL screen. However I want to use this monitor for the main screen. How can I do?? Please help.

You have the display set in Extended Desktop mode. The Menu Bar and Dock will be on the MacBook display and your background screen on the monitor. In System Preferences>Display on the MacBook screen there should be an Arrangement tab when you have the MacBook hooked up to the monitor and both screens working. When you click the Arrangement tab do you see two monitors side by side? One of them will have a Menu Bar at the top. Just click on the Menu Bar and drag it to the second monitor. That will make the second monitor your main screen. You can now use your MacBook in Clamshell Mode with a wired or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3131 When you disconnect from the monitor your Menu Bar will automatically change back to the MacBook.

Does Apple have any plans on making an Iphone app to control Logic Pro like Motu has done for Digital performer? They make it for free which is a HUGE plus!

i was wondering if Apple has any intentions on making an Iphone/Ipad app to remotely control Logic like Motu has for Digital performer. Motu has it available for free which is a huge plus but Id be willing to pay for one if Apple came out with one of its own.Im a little mift as to why it hasnt been done, Im sure they are capable of it.

I've been using Touch.OSC, from Hexler. It is not created by Apple but works like a charm on Logic. I've been using the app for over a year both on my iPad and my iPhone. Check the app on Hexler @ http://hexler.net/software/touchosc. Another app (which I still haven't tried) is lpTouch. You can get more info at http://www.delora.com/delora_products/lptouch/lptouch.html. Both are sold at App Store for $ 4.99. Yeah, it would be cool if Apple included its own iPad/iPhone app to control LogicPro on a future update... but for the stick price of the apps I've mentioned you might have a good 'bang for the buck".

Calibrate monitor for photography

Hi,
I am trying to calibrate my macbook pro 17 inch monitor for photography. Is there any software doing it automatic? I have heard of spyder3 but it looks to me that you put a tool on the screen.Is there any other ways avoiding that? I also have done my computer one from display and putting everything in to the middle not shore is that corect.
Thanks in advance!

X-rite Eyeone 2

Which monitors for digital photography?

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