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Even if you install an advanced photo editing application, there are high chances of making wrong adjustments if your computer monitor doesn’t reproduce the images as captured by the camera sensor. The best monitor for photo editing allows you to view the true image color and resolution when editing.
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The best monitor for photo editing is versatile, and you can use it with older CPUs using the VGA port or the newer computers using the HDMI or DisplayPort. The following monitors use low blue-light technology to prevent eye straining even if you edit your photos for an extended time.
If you are looking for a photo editing monitor that puts less strain on your eyes, you can’t go wrong with the HP 24mh FHD Monitor.
Like the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CV, the monitor comes with a low blue light mode that shifts your colors to a warmer spectrum, making whites natural for enhanced eye comfort.
The position and height of your monitor greatly affect your sitting position, how hard your eyes work, or how high your head is, which might cause neck and back complaints. Fortunately, this monitor features an adjustable height and tilt that allows you to lower or raise the screen, reducing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
The monitor has two built-in 2W speakers, giving clear alerts from the photo editing application even if the popup is not visible. Unlike the ViewSonic VP3881A, the monitor features a 23.8 screen size, making it ideal for photo editors with limited space, especially if working from a home office.
However, the monitor lacks a USB-C port connection, making powering your display through a laptop difficult.
The LG 24MD4KL-B is a high-quality monitor equipped with advanced Nano In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology that helps expand the color gamut, allowing it to reproduce significantly vibrant colors and appealing image quality overall.
Like the HP 24mh FHD Monitor, this monitor features an adjustable height and tilt that allows you to improve your body posture by adjusting the angle and height of the screen, reducing fatigue.
The monitor features a 24 inches screen size, allowing you to view the finer details of the photo you are editing without zooming in. Like the BenQ Anti-Glare Display, the monitor features a maximum display resolution of 3840 x 2160, making it ideal for editing high-resolution images.
The monitor comes with three USB-C ports, helping you cut down cord clutter by powering it through a USB connection. However, the monitor lacks a way to swivel its arm clockwise or anticlockwise, and you might be unable to showcase your edits to other team members.
The ASUS ProArt Display PA279CV is a premium monitor with a maximum refresh rate of 60 hertz, updating your edits almost instantly after moving the sliders. Like the HP 24mh FHD Monitor, this monitor features low blue light and TÜV Rheinland-certified Flicker-free technology for enhanced eye comfort when editing your images.
The monitor offers up to 4K ultra HD 3840 x 2160 resolution, providing detailed and superb image clarity for easier identification of image noise.
This monitor maintains International color standards with 100% sRGB and 100% Rec standards with a 709 wide color gamut, allowing you to create color specifications on the editing application without fearing color inaccuracies.
Like the BenQ Anti-Glare Display, the monitor can reach a brightness of up to 350 candelas per square meter, allowing you to view images shot in low light with a more enhanced detailed contrast. However, the USB-C ports sometimes fail to connect with Macs, and you might need to use adapters instead.
If you are looking for a monitor with a flexible and versatile stand, the Dell UltraSharp U2723QE might be the best option.
Like the HP 24mh FHD Monitor, the monitor features an adjustable height and tilt, allowing you to customize it to your desired height, swivel, and tilt, reducing the chances of back pains and aches due to bad posture.
Unlike the others on my list, the monitor features a convenient joystick control that allows you to navigate to the menu and adjust your monitor's settings easily, making it ideal for beginner photo editors.
The monitor features a contrast ratio of 2000:1 that provides you with incredible color and black performance for enhanced picture clarity, especially when editing images captured in darker environments, such as real estate interior photos shot in poor lighting.
However, the 60-hertz refresh rate might drop to 30 hertz when connected to a MacBook Pro, reducing the visual smoothness of your edits.
With a High Dynamic Range (HDR)10 content support, the ViewSonic VP3881A provides you with brighter and more vivid colors, making your images appear more natural and vibrant.
Like the Dell UltraSharp U2723QE, you can mount this monitor on the wall, allowing you to benefit from the 178 degrees vertical and horizontal viewing angles.
Unlike the HP 24mh FHD Monitor, the monitor comes equipped with USB 3.1 Type-C, Displayport, and HDMI inputs that provide flexible connections for laptops, MacBooks, and PCs, offering you connection flexibility depending on the computer brand and model you are using.
The monitor provides you with EBU, sRGB, Rec. 709, SMPTE-C, and DICOM-SIM color spaces, allowing you to view the colors on the monitor precisely as they are on your photo-editing workspace.
With a screen size of 38 inches, this monitor allows you to view the details of the photo you are editing with minimal strain on the eyes, even without zooming in on the images. However, the monitor is large and might be unsuitable for offices with limited space.
The BenQ Anti-Glare Display comes equipped with the Keyboard Video Mouse (KVM) switch that allows you to display and control two different systems on one monitor using one set of mouse and keyboard, boosting your work efficiency and saving on space.
Unlike the others on my list, this monitor features an anti-glare panel coating, allowing you to edit your images outdoors or sitting near an open window without a noticeable reflection.
Like the ASUS ProArt PA279CV, this monitor boosts an eye-care Brightness Intelligence Technology that helps minimize eye fatigue and irritation, making it a good option when editing images for an extended period.
The monitor provides you with a 4K resolution, making even the finer details of your images visible. With dual integrated 2W speakers, this monitor allows you to monitor your audio and hear alerts from your photo editing application even if the pop-up windows are not visible.
However, the monitor’s color accuracy is rated at Delta E < 3, which means color differences are perceptible at a glance.
Computer monitors come in varying sizes and resolutions depending on the brand and model, and you might be confused about the best monitor for photo editing jobs.
The following features can help you identify a monitor that suits your working space, the condition of your eyes, and the peripheral devices you might need to connect to your computer. The following table further highlights the size and key features of my monitors.
| Product | Resolution (Pixels) | Refresh Rate (Hertz) | USB-C Port |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP 24mh FHD Monitor | 1920 x 1080 | 75 | No |
| LG 24MD4KL-B | 3840 x 2160 | 60 | Yes |
| ASUS ProArt PA279CV | 3840 x 2160 | 60 | Yes |
| Dell UltraSharp U2723QE | 3840 x 2160 | 75 | Yes |
| ViewSonic VP3881A | 3840 x 1600 | 60 | Yes |
| BenQ Anti-Glare Display | 3840 x 2160 | 60 | Yes |
Computer monitors come in a wide range of sizes, some being as big as 40 inches and others as small as 17 inches, almost the size of a typical 15-inch laptop screen. However, the common monitor sizes in most workplaces are 22 to 24 inches.
Keeping in mind that most photo editing applications are designed with a resizable window, a bigger screen is preferable as you can resize the application to fill the entire display, revealing the details of the photo you are editing better. Typically, this allows you to edit the photo without zooming in and out.
For instance, when using the 38-inch ViewSonic VP3881A monitor, the application's workspace is large enough to allow you to see the final details when making image selections, even without zooming. However, the larger size takes up much space and requires a bigger room, such as a dedicated office.
refers to the number of pixels a monitor displays at a given time when displaying the image. Usually, the monitor's resolution is indicated in two numbers, horizontal and vertical. For instance, a monitor with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 means it can display 1080 pixels vertically and 1920 pixels horizontally.
Considering that the photo you are editing is made of pixels, a higher resolution monitor reproduces and displays the pixels of the image better. Although the resolution doesn't directly relate to size, since the resolution is in pixels per inch, a larger monitor needs a higher resolution to display the images better.
For instance, images appear sharper and more detailed on a 24-inch monitor than on a 38-inch monitor when using the same resolution of 1920 x 1080. For crystal clear and detailed images, consider going for a monitor with an ultra-high definition resolution of 4K, such as the BenQ Anti-Glare Display.
Refresh rate generally refers to the number of times per second the computer monitor will update your edits on the screen. Generally, the refresh rate helps to determine how smooth motion appears on the monitor. Refresh rate is measured as a frequency in cycles per second or hertz.
For instance, a monitor with a 60Hz refresh rate means it updates the image on the screen 60 times per second. Most photo editing applications come with sliders that help you to adjust effects such as contrast, saturation, and vibrance.
The monitor's refresh rate is a key factor to consider as it determines how long it will take for the changes to reflect on your display. Generally, a monitor with a higher refresh rate, such as the HP 24mh FHD Monitor display, is preferable as it displays the edits almost instantly as you move the slider.
Computer monitors use different technologies to reproduce and display the images on the screen. The following are some of the common display technologies in order of advancement and performance.
It's common to edit real estate photos as a team. That means you might want to swivel the monitor clockwise or anticlockwise so the rest of the team can have a good visual view of the edits. If you are editing the photos for a long time, you might need to adjust the height of your chair to reduce fatigue.
As a result, you might need to adjust the monitor's height or tilt it to retain a good working posture. Although most monitors come with a stand that helps to hold the monitor in place, the pivoting of the stand varies across brands and models.
A monitor with a flexible stand movement, such as the Dell UltraSharp U2723QE, allows you to swivel and tilt the display for the best posture. Getting a wall-mountable monitor can also be an added advantage if you want to shoot the photos tethered and showcase them to a group of people in real time.
Advanced photo editing applications such as Photoshop give you an option for color space such as CMYK, RGB, and sRGB. Usually, Adobe RGB and CMYK are the best color spaces if you edit the images for printing, while sRGB is the best if the images are for posting on websites, blogs, or social media.
Generally, sRGB, an abbreviation for standard Red, Green, and Blue, is based on how the human eye perceives the colors. Since most real estate photos are for posting on multiple listing services, you might consider editing your images based on the sRGB color space.
As a result, it’s advisable to go for a monitor specifically designed to support the sRGB color space, such as the ViewSonic VP3881A. This allows you to view the colors on the monitor accurately as they are on the Photoshop workspace.
Eye fatigue, commonly known as digital eye strain or computer vision syndrome, is a vision-related issue and discomfort resulting from looking at the computer monitor for too long. In most cases, this results from the blue light from the display that tends to reduce contrast, forcing the eyes to strain.
Since you need to check the finer details when editing the photos, there are high chances of developing computer vision syndrome, especially if editing for a prolonged time. It’s therefore advisable to go for a monitor with low blue light technology, such as the LG 24MD4KL-B display.
Like the display technology, there is advancement in the computer to monitor connectivity from the analog VGA to modern HDMI and DisplayPort. Unlike VGA, HDMI can transmit high video and image quality and sound signals. On the other hand, DisplayPort cables can transmit higher bandwidth than their HDMI counterparts.
This allows you to have a smooth and seamless experience even after connecting multiple monitors to the same computer. Although DisplayPort cables carry up to 8 digital audio channels at 192kHz and 24-bit, it doesn’t have an audio return channel.
Although HDMI and DisplayPort are advanced, older CPUs might not have these ports. As a result, it’s advisable to go for a monitor that features VGA, HDMI, and DisplayPort, such as the HP 24mh FHD Monitor display. This gives you flexibility depending on the generation of the computer.
The computer monitor doesn’t affect the image quality as it doesn’t interfere with the actual data in the storage. However, it can affect the image quality indirectly by falsely reproducing the image colors or resolution, causing you to misjudge the adjustments when editing.
You can use the USB-C on the monitor to charge devices such as the camera or mobile device, reducing the clutter and saving desk space. Using an adapter, you can also use the port to extend your monitor connections to HDMI and DisplayPort monitors.
Yes, even if you are using a high graphics computer for editing, it will be limited to using the maximum resolution of the monitor. For instance, if your computer graphics gives a resolution of 1920 x 1080 while the monitor's limit is 1366 x 768, then the highest resolution the monitor will display is 1366 x 768.
Regardless of your photo-editing skills, there are chances of misjudging the image colors and contrast if you don’t have the best monitor for photo editing. The above monitors reproduce accurate colors and are large enough to allow you to view the finer image details without zooming.
