Best monitor for photo editing in 2020 top screens for photographers.

The best monitors for photo editing are essential purchases for anyone who wants to take their photography to the next level. No matter if you’re a hobbyist, amateur, or a professional photographer, getting the best monitor for photo editing that your budget can stretch to can really help.

The best monitors for photo editing are professionally-calibrated monitors that specialise in displaying colors as accurately as possible, and have been built specifically for photo, video, and graphic work, often with resolutions of 4K, 5K, or 8K.

While many modern monitors do a good job of displaying images and reproducing colors, they just can’t compete with the best monitor for photo editing. On top of offering wider color gamuts, such a monitor delivers great color reproduction, bright, vibrant displays, and enough real estate for multitasking. Typically, newer ‘IPS’ LCD panels will have better color reproduction than their older ‘TN’ counterparts – not to mention, better viewing angles.

Some of the best monitors for photo editing are pricey, and it can be hard to find the best value when you’ve got a limited budget. For your convenience, we listed a variety of choices here, from monitors that might set you back a great deal to the more affordable options.

The best monitor for photo editing at a glance

1. BenQ SW321C PhotoVue
2. Eizo ColorEdge CG318-4K
3. Dell UltraSharp UP3216Q
4. BenQ PD3200U
5. MSI Prestige PS341WU
6. BenQ EX3501R
7. BenQ GW2270H
8. Dell UltraSharp UP3218K

Should you go for a curved monitor for photo editing?

 

TechRadar chatted with Brett Barbour, VP at US monitor vendor, Viotek, to find out whether it makes business sense to opt for a non-flat monitor for photo editing.

When you think of the types of people that use curved monitors, three types of people come mind: gamers, gamers, and gamers. But why should gamers have all the fun? Curved monitors could bring a fair bit of ergonomic benefit for office workers too. After all, our eyes have a nice curve to them. We might as well have a monitor that comes with a nice curve to match, right? Especially if we’re expected to use them at least 6-8 hours a day. Ergonomics isn’t the only benefit to curved monitors for the office.

Most of us are spending a lot of time staring at a screen, be it for work or for play. And this brings additional health risks for our eyes. Headaches. Eye strain. Eye fatigue. But research has shown that curved panels yield less eye strain and fatigue than flat panels. So they’re easier on the eyes – especially helpful if you spend most of your day in front of a monitor.

This benefit can also be further leveraged by software integrated into the monitor. For example, ASUS has its Eye Care technology; Viotek has its “Viotek Protect”; and Samsung features a proprietary “Eye Saver Mode.” These all provide a range of eye-saving benefits, including reducing the amount of harmful blue light radiation from hitting your eyes – particularly helpful when you’re looking at the screen for extended all day.

You can expect less glare and distortion with a curved monitor. Its corners are closer to you, replicating the natural curvature of the human eye. In most workspace setups, the curved monitor won’t reflect light at all, effectively reducing glare from other sources of light. The only exception is if a window is directly behind you at a certain angle. This is a rarity, but it can certainly happen.

But that’s not all; normally, how nice a monitor looks is purely a question of personal preference. You like what you like – simple as. But the reality is that a curved monitor might take up less desk real estate than its flat counterpart. It might be nominal depending on the stand that it uses, but the curved ends will definitely give you some extra space to place odds and ends on your desk, from phone charging pads, pen holders, or what have you.

However, it is worth looking at the potential issues they might come from. In most cases, a curved monitor still costs a bit more than its flat-screen counterpart. An LG 34WK650-W is a 34-inch flat-screen IPS monitor with a 2560x1080p resolution that goes for about $396.99. Or you could grab an LG 34GL750-B 34-inch curved monitor with the same resolution and faster refresh rate for around $449.99.

But Is It Really a Con? Well, for now, maybe. But the cost gap is closing quickly, as manufacturing costs are dropping fast and certain brands (Samsung, ASUS, Viotek, et al.) find ways to pack a lot of features in quality monitors without sending the price through the roof.

There’s also talks about the fact that curved monitors could hinder straight-line perception. This is another possible niche drawback with curved monitors. It certainly won’t apply to every office. Professionals in engineering, drafting, or drawing industries may find that their straight-line perception is slightly skewed because of the curvature of a monitor. There is software that can “fix” this issue, but if you’re in one of these industries, you may be better off sticking with a flat-screen monitor for now.

How to choose a business monitor?

1. Screen size is measured diagonally in inches, while resolution measures the number of pixels that make up the display. But a bigger monitor doesn’t necessarily mean greater resolution; the 24-inch Eizo has a higher resolution than the 27-inch NEC, for example.
2. A more useful measure of the ‘crispness’ of a display is pixel density, measured in pixels per inch (PPI). The NEC is 82ppi, the Eizo 94ppi, while Samsung and Dell weigh in at 109ppi.
3. Monitors increasingly offer more than just a simple display for your computer, with built-in speakers, USB hubs, card readers, and multiple inputs, such as HDMI, for use with a variety of devices.
4. While true-to-life colour reproduction is very important in image editing, you may need to compromise to get all the features you want within budget.
5. LED backlighting allows thinner displays, while IPS (or Samsung’s PLS) allows for greater viewing angles.
6. We’d always recommend using a digital interface like DVI or HDMI, but it depends on what your computer has. Do you want to plug in multiple devices? Make sure your new monitor has the same input as your computer has output!
7. Several of these displays enable you to swivel the monitor from side to side and turn the screen 90 degrees into portrait mode.
8. Most monitors are now capable of Full HD resolution (1920×1080) but more and more can do higher resolutions – many here are capable of 2560×1440, for example.
9. With so many devices plugged into our computers these days, a USB hub really is something you’ll wonder how you lived without.
10. So many monitors – including several of these – are just plain ugly. Also, see what people are saying about the button controls and menu system. Ensure it is usable.