lcd's? Laptop and displays...

[jjaenagle]

I have just started photography and have not been too in depth about much besides my camera, mostly cause i still want to learn before i move on, but i never thought lcd screens were such a big deal... (of course my 13 inch lcd is 5 years old, and i still have an old laptop.) i can tell a difference between my lcd at home with my crt at work lol...

anyways, with that being said, what would you say is important in screens and working with photos... is it all to do with postprocessing?

What do you look for in a notebook regarding lcd?

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Im asking all this cause someone mentioned the importance of the lcd when purchasing a notebook to carry to do post processing and storing...

[René Damkot]

You need to be able to trust your screen IMO.

I know I won't do any critical colour correction on my laptop.

[MaxxuM]

I use a MacBook Pro on location/work - IMO there just isn't a way to do without one if you deal with clients who know little about photography but want immediate results. After showing clients however I take the images home/work to a calibrated monitor to do the final edits using notes from the client. I also use my iPhone 3G sometimes too.

[jjaenagle]

so... what is the difference in an lcd on a notebook compared with a display? i know a lot of notebooks use new technologys like xbrite or something like that.

maybe the amount of power that goes to the notebooks... how do newer ones effect color? And couldnt you just calibrate a notebook lcd?

[Motley]

I have a brand spanking new Sony VAIO VGN-FW290 custom ordered with the "XBRITE-FullHD" display with 2 LED backlit and 1920x1080 resolution.

And now my laptop display is better than my 24" desktop LCD Dell 2405FPW.

Yes.. laptop LCD technology has caught up to external displays regarding photo editing and color accuracy.

[René Damkot]

You can calibrate it, but only newer ones have anywhere useable gamut.

Also: Not sure about the latest technology, but laptop displays used to be all TN screens, 6 bit. So only 16.2 million colors dithered (I think 262,144 for real), instead of true 16.7 million (8 bit)

[MaxxuM]

You can calibrate it, but only newer ones have anywhere useable gamut.

Also: Not sure about the latest technology, but laptop displays used to be all TN screens, 6 bit. So only 16.2 million colors dithered (I think 262,144 for real), instead of true 16.7 million (8 bit)

Yep, I believe you are right. Laptop's would be too expensive for most users if they added better LCD's which most people don't need.

[m4gnus]

But what about the Macbook Pro LCD's ?? Aren't they pretty good? And they are not TN panels??

[René Damkot]

They are TN.
According to Rob Galbraith (http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-8741-9027), they are usable:
To sum up, the new MacBook Pro 15 inch's LED-backlit display is very, very good. It's the best laptop display we've seen and one we'd use in the field without reservation. But its minor colour quirks, tight head position requirements and relatively small colour gamut when compared to a desktop display means there's still lots of room for improvement in future laptop offerings