If you’re in the market for the best monitors for photographers, you’ve come to the right place. The right monitor will take your photography to new heights, whether you’re a professional, amateur, or hobbyist photographer.
Photo editing monitors are usually calibrated to display colors as accurately as possible. They’re customized for video, photo, and graphic work. Often they feature 4K, 5K, and 8K resolutions.
That said, this guide will provide you with a list of six monitors perfect for photo editing. We hope once you’re done reading it, you’ll be able to select a monitor that meets all your photography needs.
Without further delay, let’s dive in!
1. Dell UltraSharp U2415
Pros
- Looks good
- Well priced
- Allows for adjustments
Cons
- Requires calibration
- Lacks speakers
The Dell Ultrasharp U2145 is a well-priced 24-inch full HD monitor that will offer you a great blend of performance and value. The monitor’s 1200p offers photographers lots of on-screen real estate, whereas its 1000:1 contrast ratio keeps color sharp.
It’s the ideal monitor for those who make use of daisy chaining because it has a dedicated DisplayPort out. The monitor also comes with four downstream UB 3.0 ports that you can use to charge other peripheral USB devices or connect them to your PC.
Setting up the monitor based on your workplace is seamless since the stand accommodates all the key ergonomic adjustments, including swivel, height, and tilt.
[Related Reading: BenQ SW271 Review For Photography | 4K, Wide Gamut, 27 Inch Monitor Tailored To Photographers]
2. BenQ SW271
Pros
- Solid stand
- Amazing performance
- Excellent image quality
Cons
- No images adjustments in HDR mode
- Slight green cast before calibration
The BenQ 271 is among the best monitors for photo editing in the market today. It’s a 27-inch IPS display featuring 4k resolution and excellent color support. According to BenQ, this model can handle 100% of the sRGB gamut and 99% for Adobe RGB. It’s 350 nits of brightness, should be bright enough for most photographers’ taste.
Thanks to its IPS panel, the BenQ SW271 enjoys a 180⁰ viewing angle vertically and horizontally. It also has a contrast of 100:1 for stark whites and deep blacks. It might not be the biggest display out there, but its 27–inches are excellent enough to appreciate the details offered by the HDR support and Ultra-HD resolution.
3. Eizo ColorEdge CS2740-4k
Pros
- Offers impressive refresh rate settings
- Delivers true 4k results with 3840 by 2160 pixels
- Supports a wide color range
Cons
- Lacks the HDMI 2.0 port
- More expensive
The Eizo ColorEdge CS2740-4k is among the most powerful 4K monitors today that have impactful specifications with a feature-rich design. Photographers and video producers will love this monitor because of its impressive visual specs and the CGI and VFX settings.
This monitor features built-in automated calibration adjustment capabilities. This option helps the monitors deliver efficient results and the users to save so much time.
The monitor has a ton of interesting features that ensure higher color accuracy. In addition to its wide connectivity option, it also has support for self-adjustment color calibration.
4. Asus Pro Art Display PA278QV
Pros
- Reduces eye strain
- Support various refresh rate technologies
- Wide viewing angles and superb ergonomics
Cons
- Has trouble displaying dark colors
- Mediocre black uniformity
The ASUS Pro Art Display is a 27-inch versatile monitor with 1440p resolution. It’s designed for creative professions with a small budget. It’s well-built and comes with a sleek design that can fit any office setting.
Thanks to its superior ergonomics, you can adjust the monitor to your optimal position. Besides that, it has a wide viewing angle, and you can easily share it with your workmates.
This screen has a dedicated sRGB mode that’s calibrated nicely. It also contains decent coverage of the Adobe RGB color space.
It contains a pair of integrated speakers that you can use to play audio from external devices plus four 3.0 USB ports for charging and data transfer. Furthermore, its backlight is flicker-free at all brightness levels. Therefore, it’s great at easing eye strain during long workdays.
[Related Reading: Guide to Color Management for Photographers – Part One | Finding the Right Monitor]
5. AOC CQ27G1
Pros
- Excellent out-of-box color accuracy
- Good contrast ratio
- Very low input lag
Cons
- Poor viewing angle
- Doesn’t accommodate HDR
If you desire a monitor that delivers a great darkroom experience, consider AOC CQ27G1. It makes use of a VA panel that features a higher contrast ratio to produce deep black and dark shades. However, it comes with some downside; it has a narrow-angle of view, which will make your image look inaccurate when viewed from the sides. Also, it cannot rotate and doesn’t hit high brightness levels.
6. MSI Prestige PS341WU
Pros
- Contains a great Nano IPS panel
- Numerous features
- Excellent 5K2K resolution
Cons
- Expensive
- Poor HDR performance
The final product in our list of the best monitors for photographers is the MSI Prestige PS34WU. It’s a great option for people looking for an upgrade from the normal 4K monitors. This 34-inch IPS screen features a huge 5K2K resolution and a 21:9 ultra-wide aspect ratio.
The monitor comes with a Nano IPS panel from LG, meaning it delivers high fidelity image quality. It also offers users comprehensive connectivity, including DisplayPort, USB Type-C, and HDMI. Although it contains several amazing features, it’s doesn’t come cheap.
[Related Reading: Why Calibrating Your Screen Is Important & How To Do It]
Conclusion
Overall, if you’re on a tight budget, consider getting yourself the well-priced Dell Ultrasharp U2145. If you want an expensive option that delivers great value, consider the MSI Prestige PS34WU or BenQ 271. Our best selection is the ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV because of its superb ergonomic, higher peak brightness, and wide viewing angles. So what do you think? Are there any new models we may have missed and should review on SLR Lounge? Let us know in the comments below.
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I wish you went in deep and talked about if 2K is better than 4K for photo editing, delta E, contrast ratio, 27″ vs 32″ with PPI in mind and if 8 bit is just as good as 10 bit (for the price), when considering the capabilities of the 8 bit with up sample (whatever it’s called) conversion of the BenQ SW270C. Furthermore, if there is a very close comparison to the BenQ 270C that is much less than it’s current price of $800, like the Asus ProArt PA279CV which comes in at $573, the stats look great but I don’t know if I am going to be missing out if I get this cheaper monitor (for mostly editing in Lightroom). We trust you for your opinion and I really want to save $ but this review is lacking just like all of the YouTube videos which are mostly coming from people on the video side and click bait bots. If you look at the stats of both monitors mentioned I can only see the BenQ hockey puck as the big difference, but again I don’t know if I’m wrong or if the puck is worth an extra$ 225?
Why didn’t you put the prices in the story? Just put the MSRPs. C’mon.