IPS Monitor HP VS DELL

Looking to buy my wife a nice IPS monitor for here photography. I am looking at a HP ZR2740w and Dell U2713hm. Is there any other brand like a viewsonic etc. i should look into? I have a 8760w laptop i am going to hook up to it.

thanks,

 

If you want a quality monitor with a good warranty, HP and Dell are probably the way to go. Samsung and Asus make some nice LCDs. I had a couple 2333Ts that had very nice PQ, but the LCD housing were on the budget side of the ledger, though they had three year warranties. Dell makes some nice LCDs. I'm typing this from desktop, which has a pair of Dell 2007FP that are S-IPS LCDs They're very nice and you could probably get a pair of those for what the U2713hm costs.

 

Does your wife shoot RAW or JPEG? What software will she be using to edit the pictures?

I'm to into photography and currently use Dell U2711 and U2412m as my editing monitors, I can see a big difference just between these two as one has 110% of the gamut color range and the smaller one has just 82%. I'm getting ready to order the new Dell U2713H, not he MH to go along the side of my U2711 as it's actually a better monitor than it is. Plus I would suggest buying a display calibrator as well, nothing like having your pictures look good on on monitor and look totally different when you print them.

 

One important thing to keep in mind with the HP ZR2740w is that it has no OSD. This may or may not be a big deal depending on what you have (colorimeter/spectrophotometer) and what you want to do with it (just PCs or do you also want to use it with a Blu-ray player or an Xbox from time to time?)

 

The NEC's I've seen at my friends house were pretty decent, better than my old HP LP2475w. They do come at a considerable price premium though...

Also if you don't want to buy color calibration tools then you can always have a look at TFT Central's ICC profiles: LINK

 

The problem with that approach is that different revisions of a monitor can behave very differently, and most ICC profiles in the TFT Central database are generated for the first revision, or even a prerelease review sample. Sometimes there's user-generated ICC profiles for the later revisions - sometimes.

 

Fair point, monitor revisions is something I've never even thought about.

 

Not trying to hyjack the OP's thread, but did the antiglare coating on the U2412 seem overly intrusive? I've read some reviews complaining about "dirty" or "sparkly" screens from too much AG coating. The new U2413 is supposed to be better, but I don't think I can swing the extra $$ over the U2412

 

It's the same anti-glare coating that's used on every single matte IPS monitor released prior to mid-2012*. Compared to the anti-glare coating on TN panels it's definitely grainy but if you've upgrading from an older IPS monitor, you probably got used to it a long time ago.

*Around a year ago LG released a new and improved "semi-glossy" anti-glare coating. Monitors with the new coating started shipping last summer, though the switch isn't automatic - either the OEM has to release a brand-new product or they have to launch a new revision and explicitly ask LG for the new coating. AFAIK, the U2412M has not been updated.

 

better then choosing an lcd it's to have it correctly calibrated. it will make miracles.

 

Hmmm...I have a April 2011 Ultrasharp U2311H that isn't bad, but you say it got worse in 2012?

 

I said the exact opposite. Semi-glossy = less AG coating = less dirtyness/sparklyness. Just in case it still isn't clear:

• All IPS monitors manufactured from around 2008-2012 use the same AG coating. Your U2311H uses the same AG coating as the U2412M.
• Some IPS monitors manufactured from 2012 onwards use a lighter AG coating with less dirtyness/sparklyness.

Or did you mean that you find your current monitor too reflective and would prefer a screen with a heavier AG coating at the cost of more dirtyness/sparklyness?

 

Sorry, me a little confused ;-). I was wondering if the AG was worse on the 2412 than on my 2311. I don't have any glare problems as I have dim lighting where my monitor is. I would prefer less AG if possible, but not too many affordable IPS monitors out there.

 

If you work in a room with dim lighting, you can always go for a glossy display, like this one. There are dozens of options for cheap no-name IPS monitors.

 

Like to stay with a name brand. I know I can go glossy, but some of the other IPS 24" $400 and below have their own issues. Wish Dell gave the option on AG, which you'd think they would given I thought the Ultrasharp monitors were targeted to graphics/photo people who'd rather have good IQ and control for ambient light. Then there's Apple who only gives you non-AG screens so some people kvetch about no AG choice (and price)...guess manufacturers are always going to leave people wanting.;-).

 

In that case, you might want to check out Samsung's PLS ¹ monitors. They use a different AG coating simply by virtue of being PLS panels (as opposed to IPS) and therefore not manufactured by LG ².

¹PLS is basically Samsung's version of IPS. The two are very similar - so similar that Apple actually uses both PLS and AH-IPS panels in the Retina MBP, even though they advertise the RMBP as having an "IPS" display.
²LG has a monopoly on IPS monitor panels. Technically there's also a Japanese company (Sharp IIRC, but I could be mistaken) that makes IPS panels, but only for TVs.

 

Don't buy either one, get a cheap Korean IPS panel for half the price on ebay.

 

As it has already been mentioned it's just like all the other Dell monitors has put out. I find it a little distracting, but I would rather have it than a glossy monitor as I have windows in my work area.

 

awenn22, I have been using a Dell U2713H for nearly a month. It' a superb monitor and very flexible. Flexibility of having multiple inputs, particularly DisplayPort and Mini-DisplayPort, is a big advantage over the U2713HM when you use more than a single computer. My son put the U2713H on his games for a couple of hours. Image quality and immersion factor exceeded his expectations compared to the Alienware 24-inch monitor he normally uses. If you wife is planning to do serious photo editing and evaluation, U2713H (or the more expensive U3014) is worth considering.

 

The importance of calibration is well stated but seldom is there recommendation as to what method/device/software to use. If there is one preferred over others, I'd certainly like to know what it is.

 

There's no one-size-fits-all solution because it depends on how much time/money you want to invest vs the accuracy of the result. If you want one-click calibration, your display doesn't have any special features like wide gamut, and you don't care about any of the technical details, the Spyder 4 Express will do exactly that. If you know (or are willing to learn) all the necessary display terminology and want the best possible result, you'll need at least $1000 for a decent colorimeter (for the actual profiling) + spectrophotometer (mainly to reduce instrument error by calibrating the colorimeter, but also to cross check the result) + software (believe it or not, the quality of the software matters more than the actual hardware) and the patience to spend the better part of a day profiling your display.

Oh, and if you're serious about color accuracy, you need to recalibrate every 3 months because monitors drift out of calibration over time due to issues like the backlight dimming with age.

 

Well, there are only 3 choice of wide gamut capable device right now for consumer/hobbyist(100-250) ->

spyder 4
colormunki display
i1 display pro

The next step is the i1 pro which range from 600+ -1k. (though the device technology is like 10year+old with different revision down the road). I believe they just release a new model called i1 pro 2, but basic package is 1k+.

There are reviews all over the place and usually the i1 display pro is said to be better (and no wonder it is more expensive...a no brainer understand that)
Typically, you should have decent result with the software that comes with it.
There are free third party tools, argyllCMS and it GUI derivatives, also calibration program for TVs. Third party software let you purchase the device with basic software and have better control/more function. but third party tool probably is more difficult to use for printer/workflow.

Edit: There is hardly any people that brother to use spectophotometer to create correction profile and use colorimeter.
If you are into the technical, just go argyll cms.
People buy software so it work in 1 click, not the other way around. People do not buy eizo/nec to be technical, they want it to just work.(and newest model can calibrate by itself everyday if want...)