Color accuracy & the 27" iMac screen

[BDD888]

Are there any reviews talking about the accuracy of the iMac screens? I can't seem to find any that mention whether they are "wide gamut" screens capable to displaying 96% Adobe RGB or 100% sRGB. Are they accurate out of the box? Are they super accurate after being calibrated with a colorimeter? Etc.

I have a MBP now. Began running out of HD space so I removed CS4 and LR. And because I have CS4/LR...am a fan of the Mac OS X...I was hoping to stick with Apple but not have to shell out the bucks for a Mac Pro and a standalone hi-end monitor designed for photographers (graphic artists, CAD designers).

 

[Village Idiot]

No.

A post I've found from another forum:

Anandtech review of Dell screen, with reference to Apple screen:
Dell UltraSharp U2711: Quality has a Price - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

The latest offering in the U-series is the U2711, a 27" beauty sporting extremely impressive features. For starters, it has an IPS panel, but this isn't your granddad's IPS panel. The U2711 has an extremely high resolution 2560x1440 panel - similar to the panel that's used in the Apple 27" iMac. Notice that we highlighted the word similar? That's because the two panels aren't identical; the glass might be the same, but there are definitely differences.

For one, Apple uses LED backlighting whereas the U2711 sticks with CCFL technology. But isn't CCFL worse? That depends on what you're after; the iMac 27 offers a 72% color gamut while the U2711 has a 102% color gamut (based on the CIE 1931 standard). Using RGB LEDs, it would be possible to get a similarly high color gamut, but our experience with RGB LEDs to date is that they cost more and consume more power than regular LEDs, so we can understand Dell's interest in sticking with the "older" technology. (We've only seen RGB LEDs in a few laptops so far, and as one example it's a $175 upgrade on the Dell Studio XPS 16 compared to a regular white LED display.)

 

[BDD888]

Already found and read that one. And on another forum I found out the iMacs can't do Adobe RGB. Which I'm presently shooting in (color space). So I guess I'll need to buy a Mac Pro and a good wide gamut monitor. Was hoping to save some $ buying a 27" iMac.

 

[ovbg]

^^ Seriously, iMac's can't display Adobe RGB? I also shoot in that and have done so for many years. What are the implications of this? How will the Adobe RGB RAW images I shoot look?

 

[BDD888]

See here...scroll down to Czonyj's post and start from there...

IMAC 27" for Photo Editing - Luminous Landscape Forum

The iMac's are simply not "wide gamut" displays. Were never designed for the photographer (CAD designer or graphic artist) but for the "average user". Apple just wants to make money so it has to appeal to a wide demographic. I don't even think the standalone Apple monitors are "wide color gamut". Apple used to be the choice of graphic design houses. I guess that's changing or has changed.

I'm going either with a Mac Pro and a third-party hi-end monitor. Or will jump ship and go buy a Dell desktop & Dell U2711 monitor. Or maybe a NEC Spectra series monitor.

 

[Migraine]

Thanks BDD88 for the informative link. I've been stressing out which 24" monitor to buy for my PC for photo editing or buy a newer iMac 27" refurbished for 2010. These photographers at luminous-landscape.com can get acceptable color accuracy once they calibrated their iMacs 27".

Don't bother with Dell's U2410, I'm returning mine for a refund. They all suffer from pink & blue/green tinting when veiwing solid white. And uneven backlighting in solid black. Test can be a bit fuzzy too. According to Dell's FAQ on the U2410, this is acceptable under their manufacturing specs!

I realized this is a bit old post but your link is very relevant.

 

[lilmill]

what about getting the 27 and then output to a 2nd monitor (27 supports dual screen). I have the 27 i7 and I love the resolution and viewing angles. Color corrections have not been that big on a deal for me but i am just a hobby shooter

 

[m47th3w]

I can't vouch for the accuracy and specific details that you are referring to, but empirically I can tell you that the 27" screen is the best I have used by far. I have a 20" Dell that sits right next to my 27" iMac and the color quality doesn't even seem close to me. The iMac wins in a landslide.