Good graphics monitor?

[Esoteric]

I'm in the market for an LCD monitor primarily for graphics use. I use photoshop all the time, so it must have good color/contrast production and I'd like it to be calibrate-able (is that a word??) so that the colors in my prints match what I see on screen (of course, giving exception to out-of-gamut colors).

ehehe, I'm not super rich, but I've saved up for something in the ~$600~ range. I'm currently eyeing the Samsung SyncMaster 193P. The reviews seem good and I like the look of it, but I'm no monitor expert! Can anyone here offer feedback about this monitor or suggest another one?

[Warrior4Christ]

I have a CMV 17" 8ms LCD which is cheap and great value. The image quality is up there with the more expensive brands and it has a great 30 day defect free waranty (unfortunately not all companies have this). So I can recommend CMVs as great LCD, but I can't comment on the Samsung.

If colour matching is the most important feature, you are probably better off getting a good CRT, as LCD change colour slightly depending on the angle you view at.

[shooraijin]

I agree. LCDs do not have the colour fidelity I find sufficient for production graphics, even with today's display elements. I split the difference and got a flat CRT, which is still a CRT, but about half the "fatness" and with a nice flat front screen and the true colour display I want from my monitor. Also, it was quite a bit cheaper.

[Mithrandir]

Don't know if it's usefull info or not, but the higher end LCD systems have better color than the lower end ones. Low end might be good enough for TV, but not for high end video.

[glitch1501]

if you are gonna do graphics, you need alot of screen realestate (sp?) so the bigger the monitor the better,i have the syncmaster 930b and i am very happy with it

[shooraijin]

Don't know if it's usefull info or not, but the higher end LCD systems have better color than the lower end ones. Low end might be good enough for TV, but not for high end video.

I still don't find even the high end ones to be very good (and the bang-to-buck ratio gets worse the higher end you go). I'm still of the opinion she'd do better with a flat CRT.

[Esoteric]

Hmm, yeah I know CRTs have better color reproduction. But I am currently facing a bit of a 'desk space' problem, so I'm kinda stuck on what to do. I've currently got a huge, 'cheapy' CRT and it's simply got to go.

I'm not a professional graphics artist yet, other than a few freelance jobs, but considering I'm potentially headed that way, I want a monitor that's decently suited for it. Motion graphics aren't really an issue, since I'm not an animator. A flat CRT sounds like a possibility. What brand did you get Shooraijin? Would you recomend it for heavy photoshop use?

Oh, and thanks for the input guys! I was starting to think I wouldn't get a response!

[shooraijin]

Mine is a Samsung SyncMaster 753DF. It's a 17" but I believe there's a 19" variety. It cost me about $199, but this was two years ago and I bet you can do considerably better.

It's still a CRT, but the tube is half the size of my old AppleVision 17", and it's a true flat screen. It also doesn't have those noticible stabilization wires that some Trinitron CRT tubes have.

As far as heavy Photoshop use, I have Photoshop open in the background, so you decide

[Esoteric]

[quote="shooraijin"]Mine is a Samsung SyncMaster 753DF. It's a 17" but I believe there's a 19" variety. It cost me about $199, but this was two years ago and I bet you can do considerably better.

It's still a CRT, but the tube is half the size of my old AppleVision 17", and it's a true flat screen. It also doesn't have those noticible stabilization wires that some Trinitron CRT tubes have.

As far as heavy Photoshop use, I have Photoshop open in the background, so you decide ]

Thanks very much for the info. I'll certainly check into some flat CRTs before deciding!