Best Monitor for Photo Editing

[@lisaschandl4852]

I have been looking at a lot of videos on Photography monitors but this is by far the most concise, easy to understand and helpful one. I feel like I can finally make an informed buying decision, so thank you Kristine!

[@KristineRosePhotography]

You are so welcome!! I'm happy to help :)

[@joeestrada113]

Finally a video talking about what to look for to edit photos and videos. Most channels just give the top 3 monitors without explaining much. Thank you

[@KristineRosePhotography]

That drives me nuts!! I prefer to give people the why so they can make their own decisions.

[@david.4445]

Such clarity on the subject. Thank you for explaining.

[@briankelly8436]

Excellent real world informative information instead of the usual adverts masquerading as reviews. Thank you

[@TheMrBennito]

I surfed and finally landed in a place that makes sense. I want to get back to printing, did analog photography in 70s/80s & own darkroom. I am a complete layman in digital, that's why your guidance is the best possible start for me. Thank you!

[@KristineRosePhotography]

You are so welcome!!

[@colinpovey7923]

Thank you. Finally someone who understanss that photos look different on a screen and a monitor! (I also spent a lot of time in darkrooms)! You confirmed my choice I made last week. I am getting two monitors for my new Mac mini M2, and the one intended for photo editing is the BenQ SW240, which is the 24" version of the BenQ that you recommend (the 27" SW270). 2K resolution, 10 bit color depth, 99% Adobe RGB, etc. The other monitor will be my primary monitor for writing, etc. A Dell Ultrasharp.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Oh yes!! Those are both solid choices, awesome!

[@jerrardbeasley4247]

You just saved me about $300, because I was debating between a 4k monitor or a 1440p monitor as an upgrade over my 1080p monitors. Everything you said made sense, except I disagree with you on the USB C connection. Other than that, great video.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

USB-C will just get better and better! I'm ok with being a bit dated in the video ;) lol

[@QVL75]

Wow, best and honest advice on monitors for printing I've seen so far. I totally agree with you. Thanks for the advice. This will save my money from buying 32", and 4K.

[@bruceleonard3096]

This is an excellent video and you have completely changed my thinking about my monitor choices. Almost everyone is reviewing 4k monitors. Your video is now over a year old, are you still sticking with the 2k suggestion for photo and Astro/landscape photo editing and printing?

[@brucewiebe6490]

Good, easy to understand review. Another benefit of 2K is that the printing on the screen is bigger and easier to read.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Yes!! Agreed. Especially for my eyes!!

[@henryIRL]

This video’s awesome! What model Apple Cinema Display did you have?

[@LarryDockeryPhotography]

Thanks for the video. My 27" iMac just died. I bought a Mac Studio and have been tempted by one of the 4K displays or the Apple Studio Display ($1600, OUCH). I always print (up to 17x22) and your video has me rethinking things. I have a 24" Apple LED Cinema Display (1920 x 1200) I was using as a second display with my iMac. I just started testing with this display. What is your opinion of this display for editing for print?

[@georgepansiol]

thank you. after watching your video I bought Asus PROART PA278QV

[@sergioduroux]

Thank you! This was very helpful and pragmatic.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

You are so welcome!! I do try to be pragmatic in my gear :) Even if sometimes I just want to buy all everything, lol.

[@SpartaWarriorCodeRed]

Don’t know if you are still active but I’m gonna take a chance… I need a monitor that I can use to easily compare a file from two different apps. I need to compare between a folder of videos against a numbers document file. I’m using a MacBook and I need a second monitor to see the information in two different windows. I converted old camcorder tapes into a digital file and I want to create iMovies from those files. I also have photos I want to clean up. I want to buy a new monitor that will allow me to do this and created a quality product. I have a feeling you can point me the type of monitor I should choose today in 2024…Most reviews or videos are geared toward gamers or just people who do office type work at home. I want to get a quality monitor for this and possibly future type project like this I might do… Your video just popped up in my feed and I’m so glad it did….. I needed to hear what you said in this video however I wondered if you have any new recommendations now!

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I do see these comments! Now does my ADHD let me reply, only if I do so immediately ;) There is a difference though for your applications from what I talked about here, and I'm not 100% the best person to answer. Because I am utilizing monitors with the end result of my digital work ending up as a printed image. I have to take into account what are the best specs so that I'm seeing what I need on screen (additive) and it will translate well into print (subtractive). You're sticking with on screen, so you don't need to worry about the overall resolution in the same way, QHD is perfect for digital -> print work, but you will need to think about where your final video (ie. digital product) is going to be viewed most often, and you would want to optimize for that. So my homework for you is to think about where your files will be viewed most, what the perfect environment would be for viewing, and then look at what colour capabilities the devices used to show your movies will have and what resolution they are normally at. I would still look for a screen that shows a wider gamut of colour, but I'm guessing having a higher resolution screen will be important because most screens are more high res now. Sorry I can't help with recs!

[@danielmosko311]

Hi Kristine :) Very informative video! Thank you. I would like to ask you about color calibration. I shoot mostly landscape (as a hobbyist) and i want to get into printing my photos (probably just a few per year..). BenQ SW270C looks very nice, should I consider buying any color calibration tool? Is it necessary?

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I think that depends, for night photography it's very particular to get the colour correct in printing so a monitor calibration tool is key. For most landscape images I think that the labs would be able to deal with printing the colour of them well without the monitor calibration tool.

[@macc_azarraga_ama]

thank you. greetings from the Philippines

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Welcome!

[@AstroBKB]

Would like to see a follow up video on this!!

[@nordwanderer9854]

Very informative. Thanks

[@HoldMyData]

Thank you for the detailed breakdown! I use my normal 144hz one but the color is way off between two different monitors. This helped me focus more on 1440 :) Thanks!!

[@KristineRosePhotography]

You're so welcome!! I'm glad it was helpful!

[@FrankieSousa]

New subscriber! New to digital photography. Currently looking to purchase BenQ PD2500Q 25in (8bit, SRGB 100%, Adobe RGB 70%) 2k. The other monitors you highlighted are a tad over my budget. Primarily focusing on b/w stills (headshots old school Hollywood 3 point lighting etc). The monitor is somewhat ancient by today’s standards but for a novice it’s doable.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Knowing the difference in what is the top of the line vs what is realistic is a useful thing, the PD2500Q sounds like it will do the job! Heck, I know what gear I used when I started and it was not anything close to what I have now and it still worked just fine! Understanding the difference can also be useful when troubleshooting print quality etc.

[@worldcupjunkie2659]

damn this is amazing! thank you for doing this video! it was exactly what i needed and was looking for.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Thank you, I'm happy to hear that! :)

[@jameslaskin7668]

Kristine, hello from Vancouver and so happy that I found your videos. I am very much at an intermediate level photographer and photograph - wildlife (I get to go to Kenya 2-3 times per year), lots of landscape (given where I live) and Milky Way and night. Using a Sony A7iii. So pleased that the monitor that I use, Apple Cinema Display 27", was a recommended monitor as I was considering getting something new. Question 1 is related to calibration. I use the SpyderX Pro; so do I use the brightness level that it recommends or do I back down the brightness as you recommended in your video. Question 2 is related to my office, how dark should I make it - currently I am keeping pretty dark based on what the SpyderX suggests (drapes drawn and lights off). Thanks, James

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Well I'm late to see this, I would leave the brightness level at what it recommends. For the room though, I don't like working in a completely dark room because then the screen looks brighter than it is, that contrast between the light and dark makes a big difference in how you see the screen. I just do my best not to have direct light on the screen.

[@rbtree]

I'll stick with my BENq SW 320, a 4k monitor that rivals EIZO at a far better price point. And I got it used for about $700! I have several other 27 and 32" monitors, all 4k, which were cheap, but work well.. not necesarrily for accurate color like the BENq

[@fintonmainz7845]

Excellent video. Thank you. Any advice on monitors for black and white?

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Oh interesting!! I would have to say I don't do B&W images, but you would want a monitor that is 10bit so it shows you a bigger range of tonalities. I think really it would be quite similar to everything else here except probably sRGB vs Adobe RGB range. Logically I think that would be less important for only B&W images.

[@idimps]

I'm a software engineer but in my spare time love to do photography, call me a hobby photographer. I'm in doubt, because for my work I would like to have something bigger than a 27", say 34". Will this also be ok for my editing then? Or too big? And also, if I would buy 34" screen, will 2K be enough or should I go for a 4K, since I will have a 34" screen? :)

[@robgerety]

Very helpful. Thank you. If I edit photos on one of the 2k monitors using the color space you recommend to edit with an eye toward printing, will the appearance of the edited photos on screens be affected negatively? I think not, but unsure. I'm shopping now for a monitor for mostly photo editing. Again, thank your for your video. It makes a LOT of sense to me.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I use Adobe RGB- you will find that your images shift on web, especially if you have a lot of greens/yellows as sRGB crushes those. It can be useful to export for web and see what that image looks like (or soft proof in sRGB to see what it looks like)

[@steveshawl2186]

Love my BenQ!

[@daylanbrawley631]

Bought a dell 32in curved 2k monitor before seeing this video. It being curved doesn’t make it look as big a flat 32in and it’s curve isn’t as “curvy”. This is an upgrade from an 1600x900 monitor from 2013 though so literally anything on the shelves at the Best Buy would’ve been an upgrade lol

[@BellaCarmezia]

OMG you just made so much sense. I've been wracking my brains about monitors to go with my new Mac mini M1 and this really helps. I'm a hobby photographer but also need to use it for work, can you advise text clarity on a 2k at 27" at all? Thanks so much for your fabulous information!

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I use a 2K 27" and the text clarity is great for me! I do a lot of spreadsheet work etc. on it and have no issues. (I know, who knew running a business would require SO MANY spreadsheets... well, I kinda did, but did it anyways)

[@BellaCarmezia]

@@KristineRosePhotography you are the best, thanks!!

[@noss403]

10 bit VS 10 bit (8bit+2bit FRC) What's your opinion?

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I don't have experience with comparing the two IRL. I would lean to straight 10 bit - but for most work it's likely that you won't see a huge difference. If you're always zooming in way past 100% on your pixels and doing deepsky work then it might be useful.

[@dosam_6146]

@@KristineRosePhotography Hi! Thanks for this very informative video. OK when you mentioned the USB ports it worried me because my laptop only has USB-c, I believe. Will it make it impossible for me to benefit from second monitor?

[@cindyvisser1914]

Hi. This was so very helpful. I've been driving myself nuts about a screen. I'm not able to locate the links to what you recommend. Please help.

[@RajBarat]

Hey Kristine thank you so much for this video and giving all info in simple words. I have one question. I think you can clear this confusion . Does Monitor panel matter a LOT in colour grading ? Like IPS between VA .I think after that we all can have very clear idea about purchasing the Monitor for first time.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Hi Raj, you're welcome :) Good Q! The difference between IPS and VA (or TN) is the viewing angle. The IPS will look the same viewed from all angles, which is not true for the others- and is problematic to get true colour if you are looking at it the wrong way!

[@RajBarat]

@@KristineRosePhotography Thanks Again Kristine Reply

[@christopherdriscoll1697]

Super helpful!

[@super9studioscommercialpho370]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VERY HELPFUL VIDEO!! I've been looking for a monitor to help me edit my photos, and yours is BY FAR the best discussion of any of the other 3 hours of videos I've been watching. And you will be saving me at least $500! I wish that BenQ SW 270C hadn't been discontinued. Any chance you can comment on whether the BenQ SW272Q for $800 will do the trick? It fits all your specs! Also, do you have any comment on the reliability of BenQ products versus Eizo? (I'm a PC girl, for what it's worth.) That hot key puck and sun shield are very tempting, but I'm reading a lot of complaints about BenQ equipment not being reliable, or, at least not being as reliable as Eizo.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I'm just seeing this now. I don't have the BenQ you mention but some of my students do and have for months now and they are very happy with it overall. I don't actually know anyone with Eizo monitors so I can't comment from experience on how those work!

[@crescendomusicsystem8387]

@@KristineRosePhotography Thank you for your reply! Keep up the good work!

[@crescendomusicsystem8387]

@@KristineRosePhotography Also - I bought that SW 272Q, but I don't know enough yet to know if it's good. So far so good, though! It's a beautiful design, and I'm so happy to not have a giant monitor.

[@kennygoodison2898]

Hi I'm looking to purchase a new monitor to pair with my macbook pro 16 inch m1 Would you rate this one viewsonic vp2776-2k? Or can you recommend another one

[@ArchitectVirendraChhatria]

Mam.. is there any noticeable difference between 99% sRGB and 100% sRGB??

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I haven't compared with my own two eyes so I can't say for sure, but I would think they would be very similar.

[@matiasbenavidesdigitalvisu9511]

what about 2 monitors or more?, Im thinking buying 2 samsung monitors QHD 24inch

[@CallMeJuancho]

Sweet video! Just what I was looking for. It's so hard to find direct videos about monitors for photo editing.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Thank you!!! I have found the same thing... mostly because people want the super high res monitors and are not thinking specifically for print. Or maybe they think they are but might not understand the relationship between the two.

[@g5flier]

Nice video thank you. IPS is patented, thus the other names.

[@B.A.S.Drydock]

Hi Kristine, My name is Brian. I have something called Retinitis Pigmentosa or RP for short! Whuch in a nut shell means i am night blind and have tunnel vision. Oh and I am getting into astrophotography. Ok I am a little nuts. I digress.... for obvious reasons a 27 inch screen is not N option. So how do you down size the screen and still get the SWEET SPOT. resolution? .y wife says we need to start printing my pictures. Sooooo.... I need a new screen! 17 inch would be the best! For now! Recommendations?

[@KristineRosePhotography]

You want to look at the "Pixels Per Inch" of a screen. So a 27” QHD monitor has a pixels per inch rating of 108 which is about where you want it for printing. You can google "Pixels Per Inch" and screen size and get that data!

[@dumitrul]

Hello, in 2024, are you still using a 28" monitor with 2560x1440 resolution?

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I am! I know this video is from 2 years ago, but the same principles apply. If your target is printing your work a 27" QHD resolution is the sweet spot.

[@chrisi621]

if you were to do a dual monitor setup, would you still suggest 27"? or would you get two 24" monitors?

[@KristineRosePhotography]

Interesting! I normally use my 17" laptop and 27" monitor. I think I would probably have one 27" and then one smaller. It's nice to get the size for seeing details but still enough of the image. If you can go somewhere and set up monitors of the size you're looking at side by side to see how it feels.

[@kjl6138]

@@KristineRosePhotography do you use your laptop as the keyboard under your 27”screen, or do you put the laptop to the right or left of your screen and use an accessory keyboard? Thank you so much! Jay

[@chrisi621]

Why lcd and not led?

[@MarcelloBranca]

but even if i would get an adobe rgb monitor 10bit, what videocard would i need to be able to render 10bits of color?? is any videocard ok???

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I don't know the answer to this! I'm sorry. I've had MacBook Pros for 15 years now and haven't had to delve into the nitty gritty of what is in my computer for that long. It's the one area that I'm happy to not know all of the pieces, I generally outsource those types of things to the IT people I work with if issues come up. I would ask the place you bought your computer from!

[@MarcelloBranca]

@@KristineRosePhotography ok, thx

[@5gentxn]

@@MarcelloBranca That is a great question, so I did some digging. It looks like most of the consumer and laptop GPU's over the last few years do support 10-bit color. Although 10-bit color may not be enabled by default, in the case of NVidia you can enable it via the driver. You need to verify your video card capabilities and settings with your manufacturer. Thank you for the great video.

[@ragtop63]

@@MarcelloBranca All modern GPUs are capable of 10-bit output. It wasn't until the last few years that GPU manufacturers started unlocking that ability in consumer device drivers. Basically, you should be fine with any GPU that has drivers that are still being currently maintained (anything in the last 3-5 years).

[@matthewsequoyah2665]

Get a Mac 🍎

[@eddieblack971]

#kristinetheenabler yes monitor info is amazing thank you.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

You're welcome!! Have I enabled you to buy anything else yet?! LOL.

[@eddieblack971]

@@KristineRosePhotography let's see a full frame mirrorless r6 a tracker and a couple lenses so far. Oh and a poster

[@KristineRosePhotography]

@@eddieblack971 I just saw that!!! Thank you!!!

[@larrym2068]

Hi, Kristine. Sorry, I don’t see the link to the recommended monitors.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

It's in the description- but I'll paste here as well: www.kristinerosephotography.com/monitors Thank you!

[@trollmeister69]

Just talking no showing.

[@KristineRosePhotography]

I don't have a bunch of monitors to show you, sorry! You'll have to go elsewhere for that kind of content!

[@kathrynpardee9571]

@@KristineRosePhotography I loved that you got right to the point! Now I just need to find the list of monitors you recommend. ??? Thank you for you great advice!