TN Panel LCD

I currently have two cheap 19" TN panel LCDs uncalibrated.

One of them is dying (every so often -- daily) it will just start flickering random white horizontal lines.

I've been wanting to get a new monitor anyway for photo editing & I've read that TN panels are the worst you can get..

I am curious if the difference between a TN panel is worth it to a user like myself. I am an amateur thats been shooting for about 2 years and I make no money from this hobby. I mostly shoot for myself and recently have started shooting for friends for free & making more prints than I had in the past. In the next year or two I could see myself doing small paid jobs. I also don't print myself, I send my prints to Costco.

I am leaning towards replacing my broken 19" lcd with a cheap 22" Acer widescreen LCD (http://www.costco.com …opnav=&browse=&​lang=en-US) & using the money saved to buy a Spyder2Express or Huey monitor calibrator.

So summed up my questions are:
1) Should a TN panel even be considered or will I outgrow too quickly?
2) Is there anything I should look for in a TN panel?
3) Is having dual monitors of different sizes awkward?

Thanks
B

I guess you weren't aware of this threaddiscussing an awesome deal on a 22" IPS Dell monitor.

But you still want to get yourself a quality calibration device. Don't waste your money on a Huey or a Spyder2 Express. You'll just get yourself frustrated by poor performance and the limitations in customizing your calibrations. If you can find a Spyder2 Pro for under $125, new or used, go for it. Otherwise get an EyeOne Display 2 or Spyder3 Elite. I found a lightly used Spyder3 Elite (like new condition) for about half price from my local Craigslist.

I had seen that thread but not read it in its entirety because it started off with the monitor being $300. For $212+some thats much more appealing to me.

I am leaning towards getting that monitor, but still getting the cheaper calibration.

I believe going from budget, 5 year old, uncalibrated LCDs to an e-IPS w/ calibration will probably meet my needs. Correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks

buurin wrote in post #7718798
I am leaning towards getting that monitor, but still getting the cheaper calibration.

I believe going from budget, 5 year old, uncalibrated LCDs to an e-IPS w/ calibration will probably meet my needs. Correct me if I am wrong.

I will not be diplomatic in my answer, because I made the same mistake and learned from it. You ARE wrong as evidenced by all the people who compromised on their calibration devices, only to post on this forum about the frustrations they are experiencing-- prints too dark, color casts, can't set specific luminance targets, etc.

It makes as much sense to buy a cheap calibration device as it does to buy a cheap quality lens. You'll soon be frustrated with it, sell it at a deep loss, and then spend more money for better quality. Save yourself the money, time, and frustration and buy an EyeOne Display 2. We're not talking about $200 vs. $2,000, but more like $100 vs. $200.

Well I am in contact with Destinee to place my order for the LCD... so thats for sure.

Looks like I am going to have to re-research my monitor calibration. I saw many good reviews for the cheaper alternatives... Your analogy comparing them to cheap lenses has me concerned. My issue is that the higher end calibration is above my head right now, i dont even know what "luminance targets" are.

To make matters worse.. My 1TB backup hard drive died tonight & needs to be replaced, that extra $100 could have been put towards calibration. ughhh. And I'm currently running with NO backup which is not a good feeling.

Thanks for the feedback.