pictures of lcd monitors price

Choosing the best monitors for photo editing is important. It"s not just about your own viewing comfort and satisfaction. It"s essential that you get a proper rendition of the detail, color and contrast in your photos.

When you"re editing an image, you only have what you see on the screen to go by – and if your monitor isn"t up to the job, you can easily end up correcting the monitor"s faults when your photos are perfectly fine. Of course, the best monitor calibrators(opens in new tab) can help you to sort out your screen and ensure optimum accuracy, too.

In this guide, we"ve picked some of the best monitors on the market that prioritize resolution, color accuracy, brightness consistency and contrast to display your photos properly. If you regularly move around with your system, then take a look at the best portable monitors(opens in new tab).

If you fancy getting more specific, we"ve already got guide on the best video editing monitors(opens in new tab), the best ultra-wide monitors(opens in new tab) and even the slightly futuristic but best curved monitors(opens in new tab).

The best monitor for photo editing will obviously depend on what device you actually use. For Apple fans, the best monitors for MacBook Pro(opens in new tab) will extend your workspace and give you superb image quality.

The excellent 27-inch LG 27UL500-W might look expensive compared to budget screens you see in a computer store, but if you can afford the extra it"s well worth it. The 4K resolution is ideal for photographers, and the Color Calibration Pro tool boosts the color accuracy of the monitor, which is essential for anyone who is looking for high-end photography capabilities but at a competitive price.

With a slimline design and slender crescent-shaped silver base, the LG 27UL500-W makes most desktop monitors look comparatively clunky. The only real compromise is that, while tilt, height and pivot facilities are available, there’s no swivel mechanism built into the base.

Monitors with dependable image quality and respectable color space coverage used to cost a fortune, but this bargain HP display proves those days are long gone. Boasting 99% sRGB color space coverage and the kind of color and contrast consistence that only IPS LCD screen tech can offer, the HP M24fw gives you premium display quality at a rock-bottom price. Even the exterior looks pretty snazzy with a modern-looking stand and super-slim bezels. The Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen resolution is nothing special, but it"s high enough to keep things looking crisp on a display this size. Connectivity is limited to just a single HDMI port and an old-school VGA port, but that does mean compatibility with older computers should be simple.

Dell produces several excellent monitors for photo editing, but the U3223QE offers the best value of them all. This 31.5-inch panel can display 100% of the sRGB color space, and is capable of 100% Rec. 709 coverage and 98% DCI-P3 coverage - the latter being exceptional. Adobe RGB color support isn"t advertised though, and is the only question mark over this otherwise superbly-specced screen.

Factory color calibration ensures a Delta-E accuracy of less than 2 and the monitor is capable of displaying HDR content as it just meets the 400cd/m2 brightness needed for HDR playback.

The NEC MultiSync EA271U monitor has a slightly corporate feel to it, supporting ‘cost-saving device management’, whereby all connected NEC devices can be controlled from a central location. There’s also a wide range of eco-friendly settings.

Standard and ‘photo’ viewing modes are accompanied by text, gaming, movie and dynamic modes, but there’s no preset for the Adobe RGB colour space. Connection ports include DP, DVI and HDMI, along with a USB 3.0 hub. Unusually, the MultiSync EA271U also features built-in speakers, though with an output of only 2W each, they"re of limited aural appeal. Touch-sensitive virtual control buttons are easily accessible on the lower bezel.

Distinctive features include an HDR mode and a 1300:1 contrast ratio. On the negative side, there’s no preset Adobe RGB mode and ViewSonic only claims 77% coverage of the full Adobe RGB gamut.

4K resolution may be de rigueur these days for monitors and televisions, but this Eizo ColorEdge sets its sights a little lower at 2540x1440, resulting in a pixel count of about 3.7MP instead of 8.3MP. The pixel density is also lower for a 27-inch screen, at 109ppi rather than 163ppi, but image quality still looks absolutely super-sharp.

Ports at the rear include DVI, HDMI and DP, along with two upstream USB 3.0 ports. There are three downstream USB 3.0 ports behind the left-hand side of the case. Bundled software includes Quick Color Match, to enable easy color matching between screen viewing and printed output. It also comes with ColorNavigator software for use with independent calibration hardware (not supplied).

Color accuracy of our review sample was pretty much spot on, straight out of the box. The Eizo ColorEdge also delivers excellent gamut for both sRGB and Adobe RGB, with presets available for both color spaces, direct from the menu system. Uniformity across the screen is particularly good, and there’s very little backlight bleed.

Bigger is better, but a 27-inch screen is about as far as we"d go. It"s a good compromise between screen space and a comfortable working distance, but a 24-inch display is fine if you work quite close to the screen, or even the 21.5-inch display of a smaller iMac model.

What are aspect ratios(opens in new tab), we hear you cry. Most modern screens have a "widescreen" 16:9 aspect ratio. This corresponds to current video standards and also gives a little space at the side of the screen for tools and palettes when you"re editing regular still images. Once you"ve used a 16:9 screen, you won"t go back to an old "narrow" 4:3 display. Also consider ultrawide monitors(opens in new tab), which can give you more space to view more windows or palettes – and are an alternative to using a second screen.

Graphics card: When buying a high-end display, it’s important to make sure your computer’s graphics are up to the task of displaying 4K resolution smoothly. Most recent PCs or Macs should have the necessary firepower to run Photoshop on a 4K screen, but older computers may not.

Color gamut: The base level standard for all displays and devices is sRGB. You can’t go wrong with this because every device will support it. However, in commercial publishing, where the demands are higher, they like to use the larger Adobe RGB color space. High-end photographic monitors can display most/nearly all of the Adobe RGB gamut.

USB-C connection: this makes it easy to hook up your monitor to a computer with USB-C output. We have a separate guide to the best USB-C monitors for photo editing(opens in new tab).

Wondering what makes us qualified to judge the best monitors for photo editing? How we test and review(opens in new tab) is very important to us, and we evaluate a monitor with particular attention given to its core image quality, including brightness, contrast, color vibrancy and accuracy. While this can – and will – be assessed by the experienced eye of our professional reviewer, some manufacturer screen specs can only be definitively judged by an "electronic eye" - a monitor calibrator.

Where possible, a calibration device will be placed on the screen to verify its advertised color space coverage, brightness output and consistency, and factory color calibration accuracy. Beyond image quality, we"ll also scrutinize the monitor"s display and data ports to ensure acceptable connectivity, and will give a thorough assessment of build quality, including the range of ergonomic adjustment in its stand. Only then will we determine if a screen is worthy of use by a discerning imaging or video enthusiast.Round up of today"s best deals

There’s a huge choice of monitors on the market, across a wide range of price points. In this guide, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know so you can pick the best monitor for photo editing for your needs and budget.

As well as a list of actual monitors for photo editing, I’m going to share with you the key specifications that you need to look for when buying a monitor. This means you’ll be able to get the right sort of monitor, even if it’s not one on our list.

I’ve been a professional photographer for many years, and whilst I do have a laptop for on the go edits, I prefer to do my photo editing on a large monitor in my home office. A larger screen lets me see the details of the image more clearly, as well as get a better overview of my image library.

Prior to being a travel photographer, I worked as a software developer for many years, so I also have a good understanding of computing technology in general. This article is based on my years of experience as both a photographer, and my background in computing.

Before I go through a list of the best monitors for photo editing, I wanted to share the key specifications you should be looking for when evaluating a monitor.

There are hundreds of monitors on the market at any given point, and this information will help you understand which specifications are important to help you narrow down your choice.

The first thing to consider is how big of a screen you want. This decision will vary based on your personal circumstances, including things like the size of your desk and how far from your screen you sit.

Screen size is normally measured in either inches of centimetres, and manufacturers use the distance from a bottom corner to the opposite top corner. This is the same way television screens are measured, because the diagonal is the longest distance and for marketing reasons, bigger is always better.

As well as the physical dimensions of a screen, you will also need to consider its resolution. A screen’s resolution refers to the number of actual pixels that make up the screen.

The pixels are what display the colors on the screen. As with televisions, there are a number of resolutions available. Common resolutions you will likely encounter are:

In each case, the numbers refer to the number of pixels. The first number is the number of horizontal pixels, the second number is the number of vertical pixels.

So, for example, a 1920 x 1080 display has 1920 pixels horizontally, and 1080 pixels vertically. If you multiply the two together, you get the total number of pixels for a 1080p screen, i.e. 2,073,600.

You will likely be familiar with the idea of a 4K screen as this is a popular marketing term for large televisions. A 4K screen has 3,840 pixels horizontally and 2,160 pixels vertically, giving a total of 8,294,400 pixels. That is exactly four times the number of pixels of a 1080p screen.

When it comes to pixels for a screen for photo editing, having more pixels will mean you can fit more of an image on the screen. As the monitor gets larger, more pixels also mean the image will be sharper.

For photo editing, we’d recommend a minimum of 1920 x 1080 up to 24 inches. For a 27-inch (68 cm) screen, a minimum resolution of 2560 x 1440. For screens larger than 27 inches, consider a 4K resolution screen.

I cover this topic in a lot more detail in my guide to monitor calibration. The main thing to realise is that not all monitors are created equal when it comes to the ability to display colors.

The two things to consider are the color gamut, and the color accuracy. Gamut refers to which colors the monitor can display. Most monitors can display around 16 million colors, although higher end monitors can display up to a billion colors. As a point of reference, researchers agree that most people can distinguish around a million colors.

You might therefore think that a monitor will far outperform what we can see, but unfortunately this is not the case. Having a monitor that can display 16 million shades of green for example isn’t going to be much use!

Both of these gamuts are capable of displaying up to 16 million colors, however the Adobe RGB gamut is spread out more to cover more of the green spectrum. It is often referred to as a wide gamut as it covers a wider amount of the color spectrum that we can see.

It is very important that the colors your monitor displays are actually accurate. With so many shades of each color to choose from, when you edit an image with a blue sky you want to be sure that the blue you are seeing will look the same on other devices or in print.

Of course, you can’t control the color accuracy of other devices that other people are using. The best you can do is ensure your colors are as accurate as they can be.

Monitors designed for photo editing are often factory calibrated, but it is nearly always a good idea to check and calibrate them yourself afterwards. Some high-end photo editing monitors have built-in calibration hardware. For others, you will need to use a third-party calibration tool like a DataColor Spyder.

Like many items of technology, monitors are available at a range of price points, from monitors under $300 to monitors in excess of a thousand dollars.

Your budget is of course a personal matter. However, it’s a good idea to set a budget before you start shopping, as it’s a good way to narrow the field down.

Most people will likely be happy with a good monitor in the $300 – $800 range. However, if photo editing is part of your business and you need color accurate images for print and web work, then I would probably invest in a higher end monitor.

USB-C. One of the newest standards, USB-C can transmit power, data and video information, making it a very versatile port. Found on newer PCs and Apple computers.

Most monitors will have a number of different connectivity options. Ideally it would be best to invest in a monitor which supports the newest USB-C standard for future proofing, although of course the main thing is to ensure it works with your existing setup.

At its most basic, an LCD monitor works by shining a light through a number of colored pixels to create the image you see. There are a range of different technologies (see the section on screen technology) for achieving this.

The key thing to pay attention to is the consistency of the display in terms of brightness and color uniformity. Having a monitor that is brighter, or displays color differently, in one area compared to another is going to make your photo editing process more challenging.

Most monitors perform best when viewed straight on, and then have varying performance if viewed from the side, top or bottom. So if these are common usage scenarios for you, then do consider the display’s viewing angles. These are normally linked to the technology in use.

Most flatscreen monitors on the market today use LCD technology. This technology has been around for a while. LCD stands for liquid crystal display, and the basic principle is that electricity passes through a liquid crystal substance which affects its opacity.

Light is shone through the liquid crystals onto red, green and blue sub-pixels, and by controlling the opacity of the liquid crystal, different colors can be produced. If you want to know more, there’s a good explanation of how LCD displays work in general here.

There are a number of different ways that the liquid crystals can be set up inside the monitor. Whilst this all starts to get a bit technical, the main thing to understand is that different setups lead to different performance characteristics. So it is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each technology, as they directly impact how well the monitor works, as well as how much it costs.

TN –stands for twisted nematic. This is the oldest LCD display technology. It is cheap, but these screens tend to have poor color accuracy and low gamut coverage, poor contrast, good brightness, poor viewing angles and low uniformity. Avoid if possible for photo editing.

There is another, newer display technology starting to appear in monitors and TV screens, which is known as OLED. OLED stands for organic light emitting diode. Unlike LCD, this doesn’t use a backlight, instead it uses organic light emitting compounds as the light sources.

OLED offers advantages similar to IPS, but with improved contrast and much darker blacks. However, it is also more expensive, and can be susceptible to “burn-in”, where leaving the same image on the screen for too long leaves an imprint.

You might be wondering if a flat screen or a curved screen is better for photo editing. Honestly, this is down to personal preference. Curved screens tend to be more popular with very wide and/or very large monitors.

The disadvantage is that they are not so good for multiple users, you need to be in the right position, they take up more desk space, they are more expensive, and they don’t work so well with multiple monitor setups. They can also affect perception of straight lines, which can make photo editing more challenging in some situations, especially architecture.

This article is focused on using a monitor for photo editing, but that is obviously only one reason to use a monitor. Whilst many of the features that make a monitor good for editing also make it good for other uses, this isn’t necessarily true of every use.

For example, many folks like to play games on their monitors. A large monitor can make for an immersive gaming experience. However, there are some features like high refresh rates and low response times that are important for a good gaming experience. These are generally not important for photo editing, but if you do want a good gaming experience, you’ll want to also consider these features as well.

For watching content, such as movies and TV shows, then many of the same features that make for a good photo editing monitor (accurate colors, good brightness and contrast) also apply. However, you might want to consider a monitor that has built-in speakers for example, so you can hear what is going on without needing external speakers or a headset.

We will now go through our guide of what we think are the best monitors for photo editing on the market today. It is worth noting that there is a huge range of monitors on the market today, however we think this list definitely features some of the best options.

Note that manufacturers often have multiple monitors, some with very similar model names. Model availability and naming can also vary depending on geographic region. So always check the features before making a purchase.

The monitor has an IPS panel which means you get excellent viewing angles. For photo editing, it covers 99% of the sRGB color space, which is fantastic for a monitor at this price point.

Note there is another version of this monitor, the HP M24fw, which doesn’t include the DisplayPort connector or speakers but is otherwise very similar. So if you are on a tight budget and don’t need the DisplayPort, that is an option to consider as it can sometimes be picked up at a lower price.

Asus make a wide range of ProArt displays. The PA278QV is somewhere in the middle to budget end of the range, however you still get a lot for your money.

This model features a 27″ (68 cm) screen and a 2560×1440 resolution. That is the screen size and resolution that I personally use for photo editing and I find it offers everything I need.

Asus aims this monitor firmly at folks who want color accuracy. It offers 100% sRGB coverage, and is factory calibrated for color accuracy. That calibration is then certified against the Calman verification standard to ensure the colors are accurate.

Like the majority of monitors in this guide this is an IPS panel so you get good viewing angles. It also has built-in speakers and a range of connection options including DisplayPort and HDMI. It also has USB ports so you can connect accessories like a mouse and keyboard to the monitor.

As with many other monitor manufacturers, you can go up and down in price in the Asus range to get different features. For less money you can get the smaller 24″ 1920 x 1080 PA248QV. Or you can spend a bit more and get the 4K 27″ PA279CV which offers a higher resolution.

Dell are well known for making high quality monitors, and their UltraSharp range is particularly focused on content creators looking for high-performing color accurate monitors.

The Dell UltraSharp U2723QE is a 27-inch (68 cm) 4K monitor with an IPS panel that offers excellent viewing angles. This is a wide gamut monitor, with 100% sRGB and 98% DCI-P3 coverage. Oddly, Dell don’t list AdobeRGB coverage.

Whether or not you need all these ports will of course vary depending on your situation, but if you are hooking this monitor up to a laptop with limited ports, it is definitely a compelling option.

When you start researching monitors for photo editing, the brand BenQ is likely going to pop up. They make a range of excellent monitors, some of which are particularly suited for photo editing.

The PD3205U is no exception. This is a 31.5 inch (80 cm) 4K monitor with an IPS display. 31.5 inches means you get a lot of screen real estate, and the IPS panel means you get great viewing angles.

BenQ states the monitor covers 99% of the sRGB gamut, and they factory calibrate it and guarantee it for color accuracy and color uniformity. To this end, it also has Pantone and Calman verification of its color accuracy.

Time for another Dell monitor, this time an ultrawide. If you’re wondering, an ultrawide monitor is one which has an aspect ratio of 21:9 rather than the more traditional 16:9 or 16:10 that most monitors have.

Of course, an ultrawide monitor takes up more desktop space. With the Dell U3821DW, the screen is also curved, which is definitely beneficial with such as wide monitor. In terms of width, this is an impressive 37.5 inch (95 cm) IPS screen with a 3840 x 1600 resolution.

You also get a raft of connectivity options, including 2x HDMI, USB-C and DisplayPort. This monitor also has an ethernet port, KVM support for two computers, a number of USB ports for peripherals as well as built-in speakers.

Eizo specialises in making high-end display products for a variety of applications, from air traffic control monitors through to medical display systems. They also have a range of very well-regarded monitors for color critical work. These are commonly found on the desks of graphic artists who need the best.

The Eizo ColorEdge monitors are specifically focused at creatives. They have two ranges, the more affordable (in relative terms!) ColorEdge CS monitors, and then their high-end ColorEdge CG monitors.

The ColorEdge CS2731 is from their slightly more affordable range. This is a 27-inch (68 cm) IPS monitor with a 2560 x 1440 resolution. It covers 100% of the sRGB gamut and 99% of the Adobe RGB gamut.

It is also designed and calibrated to offer excellent color uniformity across the whole screen, with special circuitry built in to ensure uniformity of color and brightness.

That isn’t all. The monitor is compatible with Eizo’s range of monitor hoods, which can reduce glare. It also ships with Eizo’s ColorNavigator software to allow color calibration, and which works with Eizo’s external color sensor (sold separately) for ongoing calibration.

Time for a slight curveball, in the shape of Dell’s Alienware branded curved ultrawide OLED gaming monitor. Yes, this is marketed as a gaming monitor. However, as you will see, it is more than capable as a monitor for photo editing.

This is currently the only monitor in our round-up that uses an OLED panel. These have been rising in popularity in laptops, and the Dell laptop I use for photo editing has an OLED screen. I love the incredible colors it is capable of, and how deep the blacks are compared to a normal IPS, where black can often seem a bit more like a dark grey.

You might be wondering why, if OLED is so great, everyone isn’t making them. Well, OLED is still a relatively new technology, and that means that it has been expensive. However, prices are finally coming down, and the issue of burn-in has largely been resolved thanks to some clever engineering.

With that in mind, I wanted to include this monitor on our round up. I know that a lot of folks (myself included), do more than photo editing on their monitor. In my mind, this is the best all round monitor for everything from photo editing to gaming to watching movies.

Specification-wise this monitor is a curved 34-inch (86 cm) ultrawide with a 3440 x 1440 resolution. It covers 149% of the sRGB gamut, 99.3% of DCI-P3 and 95% of Adobe RGB, with excellent color accuracy. It’s also HDR enabled.

Honestly though, the main thing about this screen is the blacks. OLED panels allow for black to be truly black, which is a revelation when you realise how grey other monitors make black seem.

Sitting at the top of BenQ’s range of monitors for photo editing is the superb SW321C. This is a 32-inch (81 cm) IPS panel with a 3840 x 2160 (4K) display.

If you do a lot of printing, this monitor has a feature called Paper Color Sync. This allows you to configure the monitor based on the paper and printer you are using, to get an accurate representation of what your prints will look like.

There have been a few Dell monitors on our list, all of which are good contenders. However, if you want the best from Dell’s lineup, and your budget stretches to it, then the UP3221Q is the one to look at

This is a 31.5-inch (80 cm) 4K HDR IPS monitor which uses a technology known as mini-LED. Whilst this still uses backlight technology, as with other IPS LCD displays, the backlight is made using 2,000 mini-LEDs. Most LCD displays use a number of backlights to light the individual pixels making up the monitor, but not thousands of them.

The advantage of using so many LED’s is that you get around the issue of reduced contrast and poor black levels that are traditionally associated with IPS panels. In fact, mini-LED technology performs more similarly to OLED technology in that regard.

All that technology adds up to a monitor that offers superb color uniformity and deep blacks. This is a wide-gamut monitor with 93% AdobeRGB coverage.

Another awesome feature of this monitor is that it has a built-in Calman hardware calibration and colorimeter. So you don’t need external hardware (although that is also supported via a dedicated USB port on the monitor) to calibrate the display.

Eizo make exceptional monitors, and this is one of their flagship models. It’s a monitor that you will find gracing the desks of professional creatives the world over.

First, this is a 31-inch (79 cm) IPS wide-gamut panel that offers 99% of the AdobeRGB color space as well as HDR support. Interestingly it offers a 4096 x 2160 resolution screen, which is slightly higher than 4K, and a 17:9 aspect ratio. It also has built-in hardware calibration and colorimeter for ongoing color accuracy.

At this price, you would expect this monitor to be color accurate out of the box, which of course it is. Display uniformity and viewing angles are also excellent.

We’ve covered a lot of monitors and monitor information in this post. We appreciate that many of you might just want some recommendations at particular price points.

To that end, we’ve put together what we think are the best monitors in a range of categories that we would pick. So whatever your budget or preference, the following should help you decide which monitor is right for you.

That’s it for my guide to the best monitor for photo editing! If you found this useful, you might enjoy some of my other photography related content. Here are some articles to get you started.

We are big fans of getting the most out of your digital photo files, and do to that you will need to shoot in RAW. See our guide to RAW in photography to understand what RAW is, and why you should switch to RAW as soon as you can if your camera supports it.

You’re going to need something to run your photo editing software on. See our guide to the best laptops for photo editing for some tips on what to look for.

Since launching the course in 2016, I’ve already helped over 2,000 students learn how to take better photos. The course covers pretty much everything you need to know, from the basics of how a camera works, through to composition, light, and photo editing.

You get feedback from me as you progress, access to webinars, interviews and videos, as well as exclusive membership of a Facebook group where you can get feedback on your work and take part in regular challenges.