Optimal monitor resolution for viewing DSLR photos

Apologies if this has been asked or discussed before and I'll happily read any related links members can provide.

When I view my RAW or JPEG photos on my 13.1" laptop (CS5, or the generic windows photo viewer, etc) the pictures appear somewhat soft compared to uploading the same image (RAW coverted to JPEG) onto say flickr or facebook.

I suspect my laptop monitor is somehow optimised for web viewing but not my photos? When sharpening on my laptop in CS5, and then uploading, the images are resultantly over sharpened.

Basically my flickr and facebook images look crisp when uploaded but soft in comparison when using any imaging software on my laptop? Should my monitor resolution be set to something different when trying to view my photos optimally? Or is it flickr or facebook that is enhancing my images and my laptop is the correct resolution?

Thanks everyone!

When sharpening, images are best viewed at 100%.

Your monitor res should be set to what ever it's native resolution is, especially if it's an LCD.

Lap monitors are not ideal for photo editing as they sacrifice a lot of quality in order to be thin and use low amounts power.

Flickr and Facebook do sometimes process your photos depending on your settings and upload resolution.

Love your avatar by the way

Thanks about the avatar. I'm slowly building up my collection of masterpiece transformers.

Thanks also for the reply. I'll try output my laptop via RGB to my lcd tv and see if that makes any difference. I guess the other option then is a separate decent lcd monitor?

Yes, whatever the native resolution of the monitor is always the best. It's usually the highest a monitor will go, but not always...

minstral wrote in post #10842670
Thanks about the avatar. I'm slowly building up my collection of masterpiece transformers.

Thanks also for the reply. I'll try output my laptop via RGB to my lcd tv and see if that makes any difference. I guess the other option then is a separate decent lcd monitor?

Chances are the TV will look even worse than your laptops screen as it is not designed to display high quality stills.

The best thing you can do is buy a decent external and a calibration device.


I've got a growing collection, from G1 through to the latest movie releases.