# Question for 4k monitor users?



## Dylan777 (Dec 23, 2014)

Question for 4k monitor users. In term of photography(not video), how much more benefits do you gain with 4k resolution Vs 2560x1440? Do you see true benefits between the two?

For me, switching from 1940x1080 to 2560x1440 monitor was a HUGE jump. I wonder how much more benefits if I jump into 4k world? My new PC now supports up to 4K. Using 2560x1440 monitor make me feel a bit “inefficient”.

I got my eye on this guy: 
http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-31MU97-B-4k-ips-led-monitor

Thanks
Dylan


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 23, 2014)

There are some things to consider in this article. There are some issues that may be addressed in Windows 10. 

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/4k-monitor-buying-guide-why-get-4k-4k-pcs-4k-laptops-4k-monitors-how-why-buy/


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## Dylan777 (Dec 23, 2014)

Thanks Mt Spokane Photography.

Nice article


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## ray5 (Dec 23, 2014)

Thanks. Very Timely. I was looking at some monitors myself today.
So, if not 4K what would you recommend? I am a Mac user. Thx


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## pwp (Dec 24, 2014)

You'll be bowled over if you go to your local Apple Store and eyeball the iMac Retina. This will give you a very real sense of what's coming up in the rest of the world. It's like comparing your last century 720p CRT display with 2560x1440. On the other hand, you'll need to be prepared to feel disappointed with your current setup after having a glimpse of the future. Or buy yourself a Retina iMac for Christmas!

-pw


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## Dylan777 (Dec 24, 2014)

pwp said:


> You'll be bowled over if you go to your local Apple Store and eyeball the iMac Retina. This will give you a very real sense of what's coming up in the rest of the world. It's like comparing your last century 720p CRT display with 2560x1440. On the other hand, you'll need to be prepared to feel disappointed with your current setup after having a glimpse of the future. Or buy yourself a Retina iMac for Christmas!
> 
> -pw


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## ray5 (Dec 24, 2014)

pwp said:


> You'll be bowled over if you go to your local Apple Store and eyeball the iMac Retina. This will give you a very real sense of what's coming up in the rest of the world. It's like comparing your last century 720p CRT display with 2560x1440. On the other hand, you'll need to be prepared to feel disappointed with your current setup after having a glimpse of the future. Or buy yourself a Retina iMac for Christmas!
> 
> -pw



Interestingly I did. TBH, I wasn't impressed. Though I am sure it has the specs but I stood the non 5k and the 5k display side by side but was less than impressed. My current MBP is on hospice currently so needs to be updated. I had gone specifically with the intent to check the 5K out. So my choices are go for a new MBP, MacPro or still go with the iMac. Except for the need of a good monitor the MacPro costs are within a couple of hundred dollars more than the 5K iMac. Though I 'd hate to loose the portability if I move to these choices. However, a soups up new MBP is quite steep too. Perhaps a compromise would be a MBP with a display via a dock? Thoughts?


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## celltech (Dec 24, 2014)

So I picked up a cheap Dell P2815Q (28" 3840x2160) during the holiday bonanza. For photos the color gamut is crap, but I expected that and I only wanted it for the real estate in my engineering job. My primary monitor is a Dell 3007WFP (30" 2560x1600).

So some conclusions I have come to....

28" is too small for "native" 4K. I am 46 years old and text on the 4K is just too small in its natural format. I believe that a 4K monitor needs to be at least 32" to be useful as is. The one you are looking at is even wider than mine so I am not sure that 31" is enough to avoid scaling.

With the extra pixels things do change in Lightroom. When you go to magnify a picture it does not zoom in like it did before. If I kick up the text scaling in Win 8.1 to 125-150% the menu text becomes usable and the picture zooming "behaves" like it does on my 30" monitor. I am not sure why LR invokes scaling on all aspects. Is this a desirable feature or not? I am not sure... Maybe LR needs adjustable magnification to compensate for the monitor resolution you are using.

Is the extra real estate nice? Hell yes, if you can actually use it. I am finding that with the scaling I need to make things readable I might as well have gone with another 2560x1600 screen.

My recommendation is to wait for larger 4K screens to appear. Having a crazy tiny pixel pitch is not all its cracked up to be.


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## celltech (Dec 24, 2014)

I just also noticed another thing. There is a lot of wasted space around the photo in my normal single viewing mode.

This is without scaling applied...

With a Y-Y view things are better, but just something to think about. Going with an even higher ratio monitor will make it worse.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 24, 2014)

The issue is the operating systems are not yet smart enough to provide larger scale font and images, so its not yet ready for many of us.

I still use a 27 in 1920 X 1080 monitor, and have to scale icons up in size.


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## dolina (Dec 24, 2014)

2560x1440 is 720p x 4
4K resolution is 1080p x 4


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## wtlloyd (Dec 24, 2014)

Interesting article linked to, and exactly the conundrum I face.

Windows7 user, and scaling might be a problem. Apple OS seems to have it worked out for the new iMac 5K, but of course that is a gamut limited monitor as all Apple displays are...

re: the LG, here are a few bits of information:

http://diglloyd.com/blog/2014/20141102_1056-LG-4K-display.html

I was all set to replace my NEC PA271SV with a PA302SV, when word of the NEC PA322UHD SV caught my attention. I delayed on a smokin' deal for the PA302SV ($1800 shipped from B&H) unsure if I wanted 4K or not. The scaling issue on a single multi-use monitor is a real concern.

http://diglloyd.com/articles/Recommended/displayNEC-PA322UHD.html

There are currently only 6 pages in this review, but he has told me he intends to make comments regarding general usability outside of editing functions


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## acadia (Dec 24, 2014)

I have the new Retina iMac with a LG31MU97 4k display as a 2nd monitor.
While the iMac monitor is stunning (I know it is made by LG), I find the LG display even better... it has the large gamut color space and everything looks sharper. I use the setup mostly for photo work in Aperture. I followed a link to a site discussing 4k monitors and photo editing; it was recommended to view edited photos on a non 4k display, otherwise noise would not be seen for some reason. However, the LG display shows any imperfections in my photos, including noise.... an image that may look good on the iMac Retina display can show up on the LG with some noise and banding. I know when the photo looks good on the LG, it will be perfect for printing large.... I do print out my photos at 14x21, 20x30 and 24x36.


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## Dylan777 (Dec 24, 2014)

dilbert said:


> Higher resolution or 4K (with a view to view 4K movies)?
> 
> If your goal is the latter then you need to confirm that the gamut of the monitor is suitable.
> 
> Almost none of the current 4K TVs and 4K monitors are capable of displaying true 4K video due to gamut restrictions (and you need a 10bit video card too!)



The LG unit I listed above produces true 4K. Yes, my current video card is 10bit


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## Dylan777 (Dec 24, 2014)

celltech said:


> I just also noticed another thing. There is a lot of wasted space around the photo in my normal single viewing mode.
> 
> This is without scaling applied...
> 
> With a Y-Y view things are better, but just something to think about. Going with an even higher ratio monitor will make it worse.



Thanks for info celltech.


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## Dylan777 (Dec 24, 2014)

acadia said:


> I have the new Retina iMac with a LG31MU97 4k display as a 2nd monitor.
> While the iMac monitor is stunning (I know it is made by LG), I find the LG display even better... it has the large gamut color space and everything looks sharper. I use the setup mostly for photo work in Aperture. I followed a link to a site discussing 4k monitors and photo editing; it was recommended to view edited photos on a non 4k display, otherwise noise would not be seen for some reason. However, the LG display shows any imperfections in my photos, including noise.... an image that may look good on the iMac Retina display can show up on the LG with some noise and banding. I know when the photo looks good on the LG, it will be perfect for printing large.... I do print out my photos at 14x21, 20x30 and 24x36.


Thanks acadia

I ran into this situation when I first got my http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/lcd-computer-monitors/lg-27MB85Z-B

I love the colors and clarity of my new monitor(2560x1440 vs 1920x1080). The itch/GAS for 4k monitor has just begun


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