Monitor suggestions for student going into the work world soon

[Kaylen5FCD]

Hi everyone!

I am a student who is studying photography and graphics design. I have been using a 2018-2019 (not totally sure) MacBook Pro for my studies. The ram has been giving out lately due to high usage. So I am looking to upgrade to the Mac Mini for my final year and when heading into the work world.

The problem I am facing is I need a monitor to go with the Mac mini and I can't afford the Apple Display. Does anyone have any suggestions for a monitor that goes well and matches similar specs as the apple display to be used with a Mac mini?

I do have a gaming PC but the computer monitor used is a very low budget monitor.

I have watched so many YouTube videos and read so many blog posts but in the end I just end up more confused on what monitors actually work well.

Please help 

[Conrad_C]

The specs that define the Apple Studio Display (compared to budget displays) are 5K resolution, wide gamut (P3), HDR-capable (600 nits), and factory-calibrated with reference modes. There are not many 5K displays out there, but just this week both Dell and Samsung announced new displays with specs similar to the Apple Studio Display. Price hasn’t been announced, but they won’t be cheap. However…

It is not necessary for a photographer/designer to match all of the specs of the Apple Studio Display (for example there is no requirement for 5K resolution, it’s just nice to have). Instead, you should buy with your future career in mind. For example, if your work will be all print and web, you don’t necessarily need 5K resolution or HDR-capable, and that would drop the budget a lot. If your future work will require HDR because your clients will require them to look right on the latest high-end phones and TVs, then you do want HDR. If your work is all for websites/social media, you might not need wide gamut color or HDR, just a decent sRGB display.

For general photography and design, wide gamut (P3 or Adobe RGB) and accurate calibration are the highest priorities. Some examples would be the BenQ PhotoVue/DesignVue and Eizo ColorEdge CS/CG displays.

If most of your future work will be print and web, don’t be influenced by a display’s maximum brightness. Very high maximum brightness matters only for HDR, and print work should be done at medium brightness or lower to avoid dark prints.

If you can’t afford any of the above, then get a good midrange display ($500–900), but also get and use a profiler/calibrator such as the Calibrite ColorChecker Display to make sure it has a reasonably accurate display color profile.

The M1 Mac mini is a great little computer, but it’s also starting to get old. Try to hold out until March to see if Apple holds an event that rolls out newer Macs, because if Apple releases a newer Mac mini you will really want that instead. Another alternative is the current base model (USD$1999)of the Mac Studio. Although it’s more expensive than a Mac mini, the base model has enough memory and processing power that you might not have to upgrade anything in it; out of the box it should last a number of years longer than an upgraded Mac mini.

[davescm]

If your work will be photography based, don't be misled into buying a monitor with too high a pixel density. For photographic work you need to be able to see image noise and judge sharpness when images are mapped to screen at a 1:1 ratio (i.e. 100% zoom in Photoshop). That means a pixel density between 100 and 130 pixels per inch. A 27 inch monitor with 2880 x 1440 pixels has a density of 109ppi so falls right in that sweet spot.

The next thing to look at is uniformity i.e. can the monitor display uniformally corner to corner without any discolouration. It is surprising how many monitors cannot do that, due to the cheap panels they use. The last thing you want is to be adjusting colour and lightness on a monitor that is falling away at the edges and displaying both colour and lightness incorrectly.

Next, the ability to display a wider gamut is useful as you can see more of the colours captured in your images - but be aware that you must use colour managed software (which includes Photoshop) on a wide gamut display.*

You will see 10 bit/8 bit mentioned (sometimes 10 bits per channel is described as a 30 bit monitor). A 10 bit/channel display connected via a GPU and application capable of supporting it, will display smoother gradients than those on an 8 bit display- but I would put uniformity above that requirement.

* Finally, budget for a calibration and profiling tool, e.g. the i1 Display or similar. That way you can rely on your images in Photoshop being displayed correctly and, in turn, you will adjust them correctly.

Dave

[Conrad_C]

It’s good that Dave mentioned uniformity…that is one of the specs that sets apart the expensive displays from the budget displays. Uniformity might not be important if you’re designing graphics for websites, but if you need to edit photos or layouts as big as the screen and you have demanding clients, that is when it will be worth buying a display with excellent uniformity.

Delta E is another spec that gets thrown around, a lower number means the display is more precisely calibrated.

One website that measures those things in their reviews is rtings.com. No endorsement is implied there, other websites pay attention to those specs too. But they review a lot of displays.

[D Fosse]

And now it's time for me to pull up that old photo again:

This is not a special case. Once upon a time, many years ago, I bought a wide gamut Dell that looked exactly like this. When I returned it, they sent it right back to me as "within specification". I couldn't believe they could get away with that, so I did some research, and found this to be a very common problem with all the budget brands. Yes, that includes Apple.

The only two safe brands are Eizo and NEC.

The problem is that this is usually not in the spec sheet. There's no standard method to measure uniformity and put it up in the official specs so that customers can compare. This is how they can sell these units at the same nominal specs than an Eizo or NEC at three times the price. But as it turns out, you get what you pay for.

This, of course, is how it should look:

EDIT - and I agree with Dave that 4K/5K is pretty much counter-productive for photography. You really do need to get a feel for the pixel structure at 100%. High density displays are very good for working with text and vector art. If your primary applications are InDesign and Illustrator, I would certainly recommend it. But for Photoshop and Lightroom, my clear advice is that a standard display such as 27 inch at 2560 x 1440 is optimal.

[Conrad_C]

The only two safe brands are Eizo and NEC.

By @D Fosse

NEC SpectraView specifically, because like LG and the others, NEC has offered a full line of displays from low-grade office work to high-end color. But even though I use an NEC SpectraView, the reason I didn’t mention it in my post was that I’ve been reading that NEC is discontinuing the SpectraView line. If that’s true, students coming out of school on limited budgets need useful options that are not just Eizo.

Eizo and NEC used to be the only game in town, but in recent years other companies such as ASUS (ProArt line) and BenQ (PhotoVue and DesignVue lines) have offered less expensive displays that also offer wide gamut and hardware calibration, offering features comparable to and sometimes better than NEC/Eizo. Not all of those monitors have the best specs (e.g. uniformity) or build quality, but apparently some are good enough. And for the budget of some who need to be paying back student loans at the same time they’re getting their first job, those brands might offer some reasonable alternatives that they can afford. As the career gets going, when the time comes to replace that first display, maybe the budget will allow for the next display to be an Eizo.

[TheDigitalDog]

The only two safe brands are Eizo and NEC.

By @D Fosse

NEC SpectraView specifically, because like LG and the others, NEC has offered a full line of displays from low-grade office work to high-end color. But even though I use an NEC SpectraView, the reason I didn’t mention it in my post was that I’ve been reading that NEC is discontinuing the SpectraView line. 

By @Conrad_C

Some, but all? 

https://www.sharpnecdisplays.us/search?query=spectraview&Applications=Color+Critical

And they are still available (yes, EA's but PAs are still in the supply chain and available for sale). 

[Lumigraphics]

Take a look at buying guides online, they usually have a lot of good info. For example, petapixel has one

https://petapixel.com/best-monitors-photography-photo-editing/

You are mainly limited by your wallet. Sony makes high-end graphics-grade displays (mainly for video production) with insane prices tags. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/sony-production-monitors/ci/5999?sort=PRICE_HIGH_TO_LOW

[D Fosse]

We keep coming back to the same basic problem: Most of the characteristics that really matter in practice, aren't in the specs. There is no standardized way to measure it, so that it can be judged by the customer in advance. Not only panel uniformity, but also highlight/shadow separation, tone curve irregularities/banding etc.

If the panel is like the screenshot I posted above, wide gamut doesn't help. Hardware calibration doesn't help. 10 bit depth doesn't help: it's still an expensive doorstop.

The budget models seem like stellar buys judging by the specs that are available. And that's all these reviews seem to be about. But that's not even half the story!

Eizo and NEC both seem to take the position that they have a reputation to protect. So even their budget models (yes, even Eizo has budget models), can generally be relied upon. With the others, take your chances. With luck, you get a good one.

[Lumigraphics]

Good reviewers do actual hands-on testing. Whether that covers your concerns, I have no idea. But for someone who is a typical student, prices can get out of hand quickly.

[D Fosse]

Well, considering that the kids seem to buy $2500 MBPs without even flinching - just reporting what I see around me - I don't think $900 is excessive for this Eizo:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1246464-REG/eizo_cs2420_bk_cnx_coloredge_cs2420_24_16_10.html 

This is an excellent monitor for critical work, and probably the best value for money on the market.

[Lumigraphics]

I wish I had a grand to spend on a display. Or $2500 for a MacBook Pro. 😞

[NB, colourmanagement]

My vote is for Eizo Coloredge, specifically a CG prefixed model. If that’s in your budget that’s the graphic arts industry-standard device.

I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net - adobe forum volunteer - co-author: 'getting colour right'
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management