Help Picking New Monitor -- is Dell 2209WA Still a Good Choice?

[EVOL]

I would like to get off my laptop for photo/video editing (5D Mk II) and I'm looking at a desktop set up.

Whats the hot/budget monitor these days? I remember seeing a lot of talk about the Dell 2209WA back in the day but I don't know if it has been replaced with something better.

I know NOTHING about monitors, except the fact that I don't like using CS5 on a laptop screen.

My budget for a monitor would be about $300-350.

Any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

EVOL

[jpepper23]

The most current Dell 22" and 23" ips monitor's are the u2212hm and the u2312hm.

Dell usually runs "sales" on their monitors with the u2212 usually being about $230 and the u2312 being about $270.
Both have sRgb-range gamuts, and would be great for almost all image editing.

Another monitor you could look at is the NEC p221w-bk... it runs about $360.
The advantages to the p221w is that it is a wide-gamut monitor (it can display more colors) and it has a 12 bit interal Lut that can be calibrated.
You may not understand what that means, but in short, using the proper calibration equipment, it will give exceptionally accurate colors.

If you plan on using your monitor for occasional gaming, I would probably recommend the Dell models since the Nec p221w's refresh rate and input lag are quite high.
However, if all you're going to be doing is image editing, I would recommend the p221w.

Also, if it matters to you, while the Dell models look quite nice, the NEC is a bit bulky for an lcd and looks a good deal less attractive especially from the back side.

tftcentral.co.uk is a great place to go to for monitor reviews.

If you happen to buy a u2312hm, you can't beat the price they have it for HERE.

[tim]

These two have been recommended by a very knowledgeable guy

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/...c_vp2365wb.htm
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/asus_ml239h.htm

The NEC monitors are better, but these are cheap and good enough for most people.

However, i'm just on the phone to Dell to get a U2212HM right now. They're on their outlet store for NZ$195, which is about US$150, so it's a crazy price. It's not what I really want, it's 16:9 instead of my preferred 16:10 or even more square, but for $195 sure i'll have one to replace my 5 year old 19" LCD The 23 or 24" versions are 16:10 I think.

[EVOL]

This is ging to sound stupid, but is the u2312hm also good for video editing?

I plan to start using the 5d mk2 video more often in the future.


Aslo, will the u2312hm hook up to any pc or only dell?


EVOL

[tim]

The U2312HM will be ok. It's not good enough for serious pros who need to do critical color matching, but it's good enough for most people, when it's calibrated. Calibrating LED monitors is apparently tricky.

[EVOL]

What is the best overall; LCD or LED?

[tim]

LED is LCD with an LED backlight. Traditional LCD has a compact fluorescent backlight. LED looks better to most people, but needs newer calibration equipment to calibrate them.