I too have both an Apple iMac 24" glossy, and an HP mate screen. I got the HP thinking it would be better for image manipulation, or watching streaming movies while I worked. In fact, I work and watch movies on the iMac, using the HP for windows, email, genealogy.
There is a picture window behind me on the other side of the room. The monitors are both at a 35° angle to that window. The iMac does show reflections off anything shiny in the room during the day, so that has to be controlled, though they do not bother me. My attention is on the screen. The reflections (very few, by the way) are not even noticed. I do have the iMac screen tilted towards me just a bit so that window is off the top of the screen. If I scrunch down in my chair, there it is. Never affects my work though. I will add that all my Aperture work with photographs is done in the evening illuminated only by a single gooseneck behind me, pointed at the ceiling for the soft indirect light of a 60 watt curly fluorescent energy saving bulb. When printing, I use a Verilux lamp over the desk which only turn on to view prints, and read the fine print on anything that has fine print. It's bright. Yet another factor is that the Colorvision Spyder 2 unit I use to calibrate the iMac monitor will only see the iMac. No second monitor support unless I want to upgrade through who knows how many generational changes in the hardware and software. The uncalibrated HP comes very close to what the calibrated iMac displays. Whipping a Fuji/Andrew Darling/Kodak designed color test chart back and forth between the monitors shows me two things. The Apple monitor is slightly warmer, with less variation between them than that of my two eyes. My left is warmer. And the grey scale when seen on the HP doesn't resolve the last two blacks in a 21 step scale under my normal viewing condition. But, I have both monitors set to only 60% of intensity using "Dark Adapted" software. If I am going to print or work on something that will be on display on the net, it allows a closer representation of what others will see. I take the iMac up to 100% for watching a movie. Dark Adapted keeps the color of both screens balanced regardless of intensity, but I like to have detail in the darks when streaming a movie. Anything more you want to know, ask. I'm moving this weekend, so you may not get an answer for a week or so. Sorry. On Sep 27, 2012, at 09:57 , Christine Nielsen wrote: > Thanks Rick, Bruce & George. I appreciate your thoughts on this. > > Spent the last hour at the Apple store, looking at the Thunderbolt > monitor. Considering taking one home for 14 days to see how it > goes... but I'm not happy about it. > > -c > > > On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 12:23 PM, Rick Womer <[email protected]> wrote: >> I have done a lot of photo editing on my MBP with a glossy screen (though do >> most on a 24 in Dell). >> >> If you are in a diffusely-lit room, not so bad. >> >> If there is a bright light (e.g. window or lamp) behind you or in front of >> you, the reflections are a PITA. >> >> Overall, a matte screen is considerably better. >> >> I really like the way Apple products work, but I +REALLY+ wish they >> recognized that the rest of the world exists. >> >> Cheers, >> Rick >> >> http://photo.net/photos/RickW >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Christine Nielsen <[email protected]> >> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> >> Cc: >> Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 10:40 AM >> Subject: Thunderbolt mac + Dell monitor = color mgt nightmare >> >> Just a cautionary tale... >> >> This summer we replaced the older mac mini that I have been using.. >> the new model is equipped with Thunderbolt. Hooked it up to my Dell >> U3011 monitor. Been beating my head against the wall ever since, >> trying to get prints that match the screen. Have calibrated & fiddled >> until the cows come home, but still get prints that look >> oversaturated & red. Yesterday, I finally stumbled upon a setting >> that said the Input Color Format the monitor was receiving was YPbPr, >> not RGB. Setting to RGB input produces an unholy magenta freakshow of >> a picture. >> >> Down the rabbit hole I went.... Long story short, the new thunderbolt >> machines don't send RGB to the Dell.. or is it the Dell can only read >> YPbPr from the mac...? Don't know, but the thing can't be calibrated >> (apparently) in this situation. >> >> The problem is documented on various forums, but not much of a >> solution on the horizon, eg: >> http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/peripherals/f/3529/p/19458525/20148889.aspx >> >> The only monitor that will work correctly with the mac appears to be >> the thunderbolt monitors... which are all glossy. >> >> So... just how bad would the glossy screen be? Anyone out there use >> one? Thoughts? As I try to decide which apparatus becomes a very >> expensive paperweight: the dell monitor, or the thunderbolt mac mini, >> it would be good to have input on that. >> >> Thanks. >> >> :( >> -c -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
