The Best Monitors for Photo Editing in 2022: Top Displays for Photographers

Besides a high-quality camera, a well-performing monitor is an indispensable tool that helps you create lifelike images through the use of photo editing.
One of the main concerns for photographers, whether amateur or professional, is how the colors on the screen reproduce when printed out.
Color accuracy is a top priority when looking for the Best Monitors for Photo Editing, and rightly so. That's why most of the LCD panels available that target the graphics and photography market use IPS technology.
No matter what standard you are with your photography and retouching, choosing the Best Monitors For Photo Editing is an important step.
Let’s have a closer look at the top options this year so far.
 

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• ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV 27”Monitor - Editor’s Choice

• LG 32UL500-W 32 Inch UHD VA Display - Budget-Friendly Photo Editing Monitor

• BenQ 32 inch, 4K UHD Monitor (PD3200U) - Excellent Combination Of Performance And Value

• ViewSonic VP2785-4K 27-inch 4K Ultra HD Professional Monitor - Delivers Precise And Consistent Colors Across The Screen

• UltraSharp 24-Inch Screen Led-Lit Monitor (DELL-U2419H) - Compact Enough To Fit In Tight Spaces

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#1. ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV 27”Monitor - Editor’s Choice

 

 

ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV 27”Monitor

Product Highlights

If you want a budget-friendly monitor that offers professional-grade color accuracy, you can’t go wrong with the ASUS ProArt PA278QV. It has rich connectivity options, a premium design, and various additional features to enhance productivity. The 27-inch in-plane switching (IPS) display comes with a resolution of 2560x1440 for delivering sharp details. It’s also large enough to provide you with sufficient room to manipulate your images.

There are various output ports like dual-link DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB 3.0 for seamless connectivity with other peripherals. The monitor has a 178-degree viewing angle, ensuring your photos remain vibrant regardless of your sitting position. Consequently, you don’t need to worry that your images will lose their uniformity or contrast during the editing process.

The anti-glare matte coating minimizes direct and ambient light that hits your monitor without making the images grainy. Whatever you’re working with pops with fine details and rich colors as the monitor delivers 100 percent of Rec. 709 color gamut and 100 percent of sRGB.

PROS:

• Rich connectivity options
• Delivers accurate and consistent colors
• Fully ergonomic stand

CONS:

• FreeSync range could be more

#2. LG 32UL500-W 32 Inch UHD VA Display - Budget-Friendly Photo Editing Monitor

 

LG 32UL500-W 32 Inch UHD VA Display

 

Product Highlights 

The LG 32UL500-W is a budget-friendly photo editing monitor that gives you plenty of screen space for editing photos. It comes with HDR10 mode for expanding the dynamic range of your images, plus you don’t have to interfere with the contrast as it retains your photos’ natural look. Photographers with cramped space will appreciate the semi-circle ArcLine, which takes less desk space. It’s also sturdy to keep the entire unit in place despite frequent vibrations in your room.

This monitor is wall mountable, which is an excellent way to reduce neck strain, especially if you edit photos for extended periods. The LG 32UL500-W comes with a VA panel for offering high contrast levels and image depth. Its 32-inch 4K display covers 95 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which combines with 300 nits of brightness to offer a comfortable viewing experience when editing photos.

This monitor for photo editing also gives you access to some advanced gaming features, so you can have some time to cool off after long editing hours.

PROS:

• Delivers deep blacks
• Large screen with high resolution
• Great for light gaming
• Excellent color reproduction

CONS:

• Offers tilt adjustment only

 

#3. BenQ 32 inch, 4K UHD Monitor (PD3200U) - Excellent Combination Of Performance And Value

 

BenQ 32 inch, 4K UHD Monitor (PD3200U)

Product Highlights 

The BenQ PD3200U gives professional photographers an excellent combination of performance and value, making it a suitable pick as one of the best monitors for photo editing. It packs many features that allow you to see a proper rendition of details, contrast, and color in all your photos. The BenQ PD3200U has a 100 percent coverage of the sRGB, enabling you to process and perceive stunning images even on other devices.

An exciting feature of this monitor is the dual view function, which lets you split the screen into two to work in different color spaces. The monitor has height, pivot, and tilt adjustments, so you can quickly find your ideal position. In addition, you can rotate the display into a vertical position, which comes in handy when editing portrait photos.

There are various curated display modes that let you work with crisp and vibrant images to enhance productivity. The Eyecare technology and low light blue filter do an excellent job of preventing eye irritation and fatigue during extended photo editing sessions.

PROS:

• Robust feature set
• Solid grayscale performance
• Low input lag
• Excellent factory calibration

CONS:

• Narrow AdobeRGB color gamut

#4. ViewSonic VP2785-4K 27-inch 4K Ultra HD Professional Monitor - Delivers Precise And Consistent Colors Across The Screen

 

 

ViewSonic VP2785-4K 27-inch 4K Ultra HD Professional Monitor

 

Product Highlights 

The ViewSonic VP2785-4K has state-of-the-art features designed for photographers in need of a wide color palette. The monitor boasts HDR10 mode, which uses its metadata to ensure in-line and accurate reproduction of all colors. Its 4K IPS panel delivers even brightness and consistent colors from almost any viewing angle, so you can have an easy time editing photos.

The screen covers 99 percent of Adobe RGB, which is significantly higher than its predecessor and displays 100 percent of sRGB. These features come in handy when working in large color spaces. You can raise or rotate the monitor vertically, making it easy to retouch a portrait-orientated image. The sturdy base lets you swivel the display up to 120 degrees, enabling you to show edited photos to people around you.

The monitor includes a blue light filter that cuts 94 percent of harmful blue light to lessen eye strain even after extended use.

PROS:

• Delivers precise and consistent colors across the screen
• Anti-glare display
• Sturdy stand ensures maximum stability
• Flexible connectivity

CONS:

• No built-in speakers

 

#5. UltraSharp 24-Inch Screen Led-Lit Monitor (DELL-U2419H) - Compact Enough To Fit In Tight Spaces

 

 

UltraSharp 24-Inch Screen Led-Lit Monitor (DELL-U2419H)

Product Highlights 

Anyone who wants a decent-performing monitor that fits easily on a workstation with limited space will love the Dell-U2419H. It features IPS technology that uses liquid crystals to produce vibrant colors. The viewing angles are also wide, making it easy to go through minor details of your work, and the images remain accurate when viewing them from the sides.

The ergonomic stand offers swivel, pivot, tilt, and height adjustments, allowing you to achieve a comfortable viewing angle for all-day editing. The monitor comes with a great selection of inputs for easy connection when transferring edited photos to various devices. There are five controls on the right edge that help you adjust the brightness, aspect ratio, input source, and more.

Besides fitting nicely in compact spaces, the Dell-U2419H has an improved cable management design for hiding clutter for maximum concentration. Editing photos for long periods isn’t irritating since the monitor features a flicker-free technology that reduces eye strain.

PROS:

• Compact enough to fit in tight spaces
• Wide viewing angle
• Useful cable management design

CONS:

• Low maximum brightness

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1. Does monitor size matter?
You might think a bigger screen is simply a better screen. But that isn’t necessarily so for image editing. You also want pixels and a lot of them. A large LCD monitor with a low resolution won’t allow you to see the full detail of the images you’re processing. On the other hand, a small monitor with a super-high res can be suboptimal, too.
We’d recommend either 27 inches and 1440p resolution (2,560 by 1,440 pixels and also known as QHD) or 32 inches at 4K (3,840 by 2,160 pixels). Larger 40-inch-plus 4K monitors are also available and often aren’t expensive. But the larger panel size offers few advantages for image editing. On the contrary, such screens are often based on HDTV panels and while they look large and punchy, they typically aren’t great when it comes to color accuracy.
2. Do I need a 4K monitor?
The simple answer is no. But not only does 4K offer several advantages, but it’s also no longer terribly costly. The most obvious benefit is desktop space. More pixels make for more working space, though bear in mind 4K on smaller screens below 30 inches may force you to increase scaling and lose some of that benefit.
The other obvious upside is the ability to view images at – or at least closer to – their full resolution. Admittedly, everything from an average smartphone to a top-end DSLR can far exceed 4K in terms of resolution these days. But you’ll get a much more accurate idea of the detail and sharpness of a very high-resolution photo with a 4K monitor.
3. Which screen technology: TN, VA, or IPS?
TN, VA, and IPS are the three most broadly available LCD panel technologies. Each has its own characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. But only one is optimal for photo editing. Put simply, that’s IPS. Most significantly, IPS offers the best color accuracy. IPS also has better viewing angles, which in practice means it maintains that accuracy regardless of whether you’re viewing the panel dead on. The next best choice for image editing is VA. It’s not quite as accurate as IPS, but does offer better color fidelity than TN.
4. What makes up the best monitor for photo editing?
A good computer monitor enables you to view your photos in all their glory and edit them accurately to avoid disappointment when you share or print them. But what makes for a ‘good’ monitor?
Size really is important and our preference is for 27-inch screens. They give generous viewing proportions without being overly large for the typical distance at which you’ll use them.
There’s a lot to be said for buying a UHD (Ultra High Definition) display. It’ll enable you to see more of your images when zooming in to check details and to view the 4k movies that can be captured with a growing number of cameras as nature (or at least technology) intended.
All of our top five choices below have 10-bit color depth, theoretically enabling good coverage of both the sRGB and extended Adobe RGB color spaces, when driven from a compatible graphics card.
5. What else should I consider when buying a monitor for photo editing?
If you're buying a monitor for photo editing, color is vital and it's a good idea to look for a that display supports color spaces like Adobe sRGB. You'll also want a uniform brightness across the screen. Connectivity is a key issue, too – many monitors have HDMI, but some also support Thunderbolt or USB-C meaning you can have a single cable going to your PC or Mac that powers it and also carries the display signal.
 

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Photo editors use some of the best tools to take what you may consider to be a ho-hum photo and turn it into artwork. To do that, they need some serious tech, and with our list of the Top 5 of the Best Monitors for Photo Editing.
Overall, whether you're into video editing as a pastime or require a monitor for work, there are lots of options. It's critical to choose selecting the Best Monitors for Photo Editing that meet your needs in terms of size, quality, functionality, and connection. We hope that our guide has assisted you in narrowing down your options and pointing you in the direction of some of the finest monitors available.
 

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