Monitors.....Suggestions please
 

I would like to buy a new monitor. I have looked all over the Internet and have, more or less, baffled myself.
I currently have the monitor that I got with my PC but that only has a maximum resolution of 1440x900. As I do a lot of photography I would like something a little better. I have looked at Iiyama, BenQ etc., etc.
Iiyama seem to cater for the very cheap or very expensive and the same seems to apply to BenQ. I have also been warned off of TN panels, not that I know what they are ! It seems that an IPS panel is the one to go for ?
It seems that a lot of the screens have a resolution of 1680x1050. Armed with this info I picked out a BenQ screen, FP222WH, and asked a boffin at work what his thoughts were. Sadly he said that for a 22" screen I should be looking at a higher resolution.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

Its a good question and one which is as important as the lenses you choose in photography. A good monitor will display your images correctly and provide that WOW factor we are all in search of.

For correct display of colour you either need an older Sony Trinitron CRT or a S-IPS panel. Don't be attracted by low refresh times of panels because its colour accuracy that is most important, does your photograph move? - NO!

I had a link to a panel decoder where you can enter the model you are interested in and it advised of the panel type and alternatives. I'll do a search to see if I can find it again.

Once you have your new S-IPS panel remember to calibrate it using a spyder of Pantone Huey - Very important as you are wasting your panel money if you do not.

Link found.... -----> http://www.flatpanels.dk/panels.php

Enter Apple in the dialogue and it shows all the Apple panels and their type. If you enter the models of your choice just verify they are S-IPS for good colour accuracy.

Thank you very much.

What about Eye-one display 2 does this mean that I have wasted my money :confused:

No, No, I meant without colour calibration a new flat panel monitor is a waste of money.

Only joking Foxy :)
I bought the eye-one about a month ago and am very pleased with the results. My CRT is quite a bit better and my laptop is showing a mega difference for calibration.

Exactly CRT's are very good with minor tweeking required, decades of perfection! Whereas flat panels NEED calibration.

I went through the same searches a month or so back, ending up with a Lacie 319. So far it's been excellent, and has given me a bit more space on the desk after removing my old (and quite dysfunctional) CRT.
Absolutely right about calibration though - it makes a massive difference, especially when soft-proofing for printing.

Thank you Gordon.