Buyer's Guide 2024: Displays

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Computer Buyers Guide

Dramatically improve your efficiency and enjoyment of digital darkroom work with a big, bright LCD

By Kim Castleberry

Page 1 of 7

Thinner, brighter and more affordable than ever, LCDs continue to make major strides, delivering outstanding image quality without budget-busting price tags. Compared to now antiquated CRTs, LCDs produce noticeably brighter, sharper-looking images, use half (or less) as much power and take up far less desk space while delivering larger screen sizes.

LCDs use a matrix of pixels to display images and are optimized for a fixed or native resolution at which the display looks best. A 15-inch LCD has a native resolution of 1024 x 768, while most 17-, 18- or 19-inch models feature 1280 x 1024. Typical 20- and 21-inch displays are 1600 x 1200, and most widescreen 23- and 24-inch models usually have a 1920 x 1200 native resolution. A 30-inch widescreen has a resolution of 2560 x 1600. You can use resolutions other than the native spec, but you won’t get the sharpest, clearest picture possible when you do.

LCDs are offered in traditional 4:3 and widescreen 16:10 formats. Increasingly, image-editing programs like Photoshop are designed to take full advantage of the widescreen format, using the space for better organization of tool palettes and adjustment controls.

APPLE
The smartly designed, aluminum-encased Cinema LCD displays from Apple range from 20 to 30 inches in size and share features, including a widescreen design, integrated hubs for FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 (each with two ports) and stands that require just a light touch for tilting the monitor into a different position. A DVI connection makes the monitors PC-compatible.

The 30-inch Cinema HD Display is the crown jewel of the lineup. With 2560 x 1600 resolution and a fully viewable display size of 30 inches in 16:10 format, the monitor offers maximum screen real estate for working with images or multitasking between several applications. The 30-inch display requires a graphics card with dual-link DVI connectivity. Estimated Street Price: $1,799.

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