# What's best?  Calibrated TN monitor or IPS?



## lozzak (Jan 17, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I am really confused. I've been looking to get a new monitor. I am just now getting seriously into photography and want a monitor good for photo editing. I want to have a system (calibration and monitor) that will allow me to have photos look on screne as they do when I print at a lab, primarily........then, I want to put my photos on the web for sale, so I want accuracy of colour there too, which I'm told is different. 

I currently have an old 21.5" LG LCD and calibrate it with a Spider 3 Pro. Every time I go to recalibrate it, I am told that this is not nessesary and notice that there is little or no shift, so I'm guessing this is a pretty good monitor. I find it depends a bit on the lab I use, but most photos are turning out somewhat close to the colours I see on my screen. Of course, I'd prefer more accuracy with the "prints vs. monitor" with my new monitor. 

So, I was wondering if anyone can enlighten me further as to what I really need, and what is the difference between my supposedly "accurately" calibrated LCD vs. an IPS? 

I have just learned that I should be looking at getting an IPS panel monitor, but am confused because I have read that IPS monitors have issues with backlight banding/unevenness and with having colour tints, that sometimes vary from one end of the screen to the other. This sounds quite scary, as I am considering buying an IPS, at a higher price, for the purpose of colour acuracy. I don't understand why pay more if there will be lighting and colour shifts across the screen and tint issues. I don't have these issue now as far as I can tell.

Also, this makes it hard for me to decide to get an IPS that I can afford, around a 22" or 24", vs. a bigger 27" regular, TN model....... as my desk configuration has me sitting a bit back from the monitor and I currently tend to lean in close to work, killing my back. 

I was trying to pick from a current LG 27" for $350 or an HP zr24w, IPS monitor that I hear is the cheapest IPS, but still has good stats, for $475. This is however 8-bit and displays RGB, which I don't entirely understand, but am told it makes is a very low end IPS monitor. I don't want to spend much more, unless I will be EXTREMELY impressed by the accuracy of my prints. 

Any info or advice would be much appreciated. I am not sure what I really need and hear so many negative things about IPS models having colour tint issues and at the same time in other forums, I hear I should only go with IPS for colour accuracy.........which is true and why?

Thanks

Lozza


----------



## Ken Rockwell Fan (Jan 17, 2011)

An IPS panel is want you want for still photography. The bigger the better.


----------



## KmH (Jan 17, 2011)

TN displays have limited accurate viewing angles.
That's why they are not as preferred for image editing as an IPS or PVA display having vastly wider accurate viewing angles.
IPS and PVA displays are also more likely to have the adjustments needed to accurately set the display calibration, particularly a gamma adjustment.

You can only approximate on a display what a print will look like when deliverered. And, to do that you need the printer/paper ICC profile from the print labs machine to soft-proof in your image editing software.

As far as online images - the average Joe doesn't calibrate their monitor and not all web browsers are color aware. So, it's a crap shoot as far as what potential clients are using to view your work. Most laptops have TN displays. More and more people today do their web surfing on a cell phone. Imagine what your online photos look like on one. 

I do just fine with a 22" IPS display. However I use a dual display setup so almost all of the 22" is used for image display. All my work pallets are on the other display.


----------

