Why Most Photography and Editing Monitors Suck For Macs 

My 32" BenQ DesignColor performs like a champ.

This is the video that has come at the perfect time. Thank you very much. I'm using a Benq at the moment and looking to buy a new monitor for my M1 Mac mini. I didn't know anything about what I needed to be looking for. I come from a music editing background so the Benq was perfect for my needs. Awesome video.🤩

Agree with you on matt screens, however for print, brightness is turned way down, as well as ambiant light, to get an accurate paper match. So 250 nits is plenty when editing for print.

Which is the best budget mac monitor ?

There is no 4k monitor that can be used for macs without scaling problems. Even at 24 inches, the density will be only 168 PPI, but you need a minimum of 200 PPI to avoid scaling issues. That's why apple makes screens with custom resolutions, in order to reach the pixel density they need, e.g 4480x2520 on a 24inch iMac.

Thank you for your videos. What do you think about the LG 27GP95RP-B for the new iPad Pro M4 video editing with DaVinci Resolve? 🤗 anything other suggestions at min 120hz? Thank you very much

I use a Ben-Q PD2705U. perfect screen for my macbook pro.

Important hints for beginner content editor. I]ll take these advices on choose my first monitor for my MacBook Pro.

Speaking of high brightness for...photo editing? Seems like you do not know what youvare speaking about. Hugh brightness is a must to be able to use a laptop in exterieur but you should limit yourself about 120 nits for photo editing so this is absolutely a moot point for photo editing.

You don't need 500 nits, that's insane. You want your screen to resemble print brightness. People complain why their prints look darker than their screens all the time. I use LG C2 42 inch TV and I lower the brightness all the way down, so when I print I get what I see on the screen. I tried many monitors, I found Apple displays to be least colour accurate. I finally settled on LG OLED TV.

I have the 24" GL 5k screen and it's sharp and clear, however, it died. Replaced under warranty and so far so good🤞 however, as a professional photographer, it's really not big enough to work with. The 27" might do but is no longer available. Also, the screen is too reflective unless you work in a dark room. I think the best compromise if you can't afford the 'nano texture' 27" Studio Display is the latest BenQ3225U. The only spec that falls short and that makes a real-world difference is the 5k and higher DPI. Nice to have, but at the end of the day nearly everything we create is seen on a randomly calibrated screen through compression and a colour space beyond our control. Adobe RGB... not many of us are printing archive quality prints on paper. Also the brightness /nits is overdone... when I calibrate my LG ultrafine 5k the calibration tool tells me to turn down the brightness by about 50% to be accurate. Making it look 'juicy' on your screen with high contrast and brightness is not the answer. The most we can do is make sure there is detail in the highlights and shadows with a colour balance that is pleasing to the eye. -> In the music world recording studios always have a set of quite average speakers up on the mixing desk so the engineer can hear what their mix will sound like to most listeners... Some engineers even take their mix into a car to hear what it sounds like on crap speakers.

I just purchased the ASUS 279crv and it’s fantastic with my MacBook Pro as a photographer. 400 nits brightness on it is ample and the blacks are fine. I use adobe rgb not sRGB and remember most people won’t view your images on a high end screen as well as print is not in RGB it’s cmyk so it’s how it matches with prints that’s important because you will never match what you have with the amount of screens out there. It’s your personal preference but for £500 it’s an amazing monitor as opposed to a £1500 monitor with minimal difference to most. I think a lot of people get caught up on specs too much.

Thank you for your honest review. I was leaning toward BenQ until I saw your video. If LG made a 32" monitor with the specs you listed, I'd consider it. Otherwise it's Big Bucks on a 32" Pro Display XDR -- gloss glass screen. The jaw dropping price seems unreasonable until you work out it will last for years, maybe a decade if treated well. My area of interest is in illustrative and 3D architecture and high quality 3D rendering. I currently run Logic Pro X music production, and the full Affinity graphic design suite on my current 2017 iMac with Intel. Though it can handle SketchUp Pro, it will fall short on 3D rendering. The M4 chip is expected to be released this year and will finally handle ray tracing and path tracing for 3D rendering, allowing Apple to finally close the gap with Nvidea. Yes, a new souped up Mac Studio is in the works, so I have to pretend the total expenditure is less than a Porsche and will last well into my old age. 😉

Since when did glossy monitors became a high end option for professionals? I always learned they are less accurate because they exaggerate the contrast and thus boost the saturation as well. Plus you get reflections in a lit room. I think it was Apple that did away with the matte options on their screens, then pros started embracing glossy screens because they figured out they could get away with it. Its strange to hear pros now setting glossy as a requirement.

this was a big help, thank you!

I've been thinking about switching from a Dell desktop to an Apple for my next computer, but after watching this I think most are better staying with Windows and not be limited to just one or two monitors.

Well you just killed all the monitors that i was trying to buy 😂 , good to know a different thoughts not like every tech ytber. There are lot of new monitor coming likr Lg my view usb 4k with built-in wifi n content browsing features what do think about those ?

I don't understand your position on these monitors. You say for about $1000, the non-Apple monitors should provide better specs. But in Canada, a 27", open-box Apple monitor costs $2500, plus 13% tax!! You do know most artists and editors make do with the Benq's because that is what they can afford. For the money that Apple charges, the monitor should make my coffee and be 40 inches. Moreover, I am reasonably certain that Apple monitors are made by the same people who make the other monitors, just to different specs. They are most likely Samsung or LG components. Your comparison is silly. We already know the Apple monitors are very good, but also very pricey! The issue is, can you justify such a cost. or do without. Most people do without. Life goes on...

Eizo have been the ONLY non mac company to make displays which work well on mac. So good.

The amount of crap you say in that video is pretty impressive. First : Apple buys their panels from LG; there's no partnership per se, the 27" 5K panel is more than 10 years old. Second, you should be editing at 120nits of brightness to get accurate and consistent results for photography, stop chasing the brightness, it's useless for editing. DCI P3 Color gamut is a standard for digital cinema projectors and has no particular relevance for photography, it doesn't bring relevant to any photographer's work and working with a P3 display is no different than correctly using an Adobe RGB or sRGB display. The "mac compatibility" is BS, the scaling issues doesn't have anything to do with the compatibility but has something to do with the resolution, you will get better results on a 27" at 2560x1440 resolution than another with 4k, it's not a hardware issue but a MacOS issue... AND THE BIGGEST ONE : EVERY SINGLE SCREEN NEEDS TO BE CALIBRATED, anyone telling you otherwise should just shut their mouths because they have no idea what they're talking about.

Another perspective: beatiful picture (calibrated on 500nits) on low brightness become ugly. But a lot of users use low brightness for a different reasons. Someone feel eyestrains with high level of brightness, another folks trying get more battery time. And of course, a lot of people just have a cheap monitors. So please, test all your designs on low brightness and cheap 6bit+frc low density displays

This is a great sum up of all monitors for Mac. One question, the 24" & 27" LG ultra fine monitor have now been discontinued. Like you I have the 24" ultra fine but it has been sent back to LG for repair and warranty 2 time in 2 years for issues. Is there anything out there in your opinion that is at least on par with the 24", 27" LG ultra fine display that's not apple. I tried the new studio display and its over prise garbage with an electrical fault that apple refuses to address. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zZ0WMgZgnyI.html

I found two brand new 21.5 LG ultra fine 4k 4096x2304 resolution love them. I was able to get them for so low I couldn't pass up.

Great video, I've purchased just about every matt screen monitors there but ended up switching monitor after monitor. 10 monitors in, I still can't get the colors to be correct with my Mac Pro and Mac m1 Ultra. As a web and graphic designer, the fonts would never be clear or sharp. I found myself tweeking and changing the designs over and over because it would look different every day due to long hours of looking at the screen. Another problem after years of working behind the computer was that I constantly would mees with the darkness and brightness. It came to a point that my eyes couldn't handle looking at white backgrounds. One thing I've noticed every time I went to the apple store, I would look at their monitors, and not only i could see everything, but the white backgrounds on anything wouldn't hurt my eyes. I've wasted so much time these past few years, and after your video, I have decided to just go ahead and purchase the Apple Display Pro 32 inch Glass. Thanks for a great explanation.

This video was an absolute game changer, was planning to go for the Asus ProArt but after this video and doing more research the Apple Studio Display is the way to go. Thank you for making this video!

Thank you so much for this video. I am a photographer and currently at a point where I need to change my cherished imac 27 retina as the required OS level for current photoshop cannot be installed and although it's workable there a problems which are only going to get worse. So my choice is new IMAC or mac mini plus external monitor and of course with external monitors you can't even see one in a store switched on let alone try them. The studio is out of my price range. The Imac has limits on memory and ports which concern me and of course the mac mini needs a monitor. The flexibility seems to be poor now on the mac range unless you are prepared to spend impossible money (at least for me). Currently seriously considering if I should go 16 inch macbook pro, but not sure if I can live with that for daily photoshop work.

I love my Apple Studio monitor. It makes editing enjoyable.

You missed some monitors, the Spectrum one glossy (amazing bright 4K 144hz 27" glossy monitor, basically like the LG IPS but glossy coating, terrible company and warranty, buy at your own risk), and all of the new 4K QD OLEDs (if you want to risk burn in, but most companies that sell them offer 3 year warranties, oh and they are 240hz so great for gaming, 4k 32" and color accurate so great for work, OLED contrast makes them not need a lot of brightness). But yeah if you want the absolute best experience on mac you gotta save up for the Apple studio monitor, horribly overpriced compared to the ones I listed, but specifically for working on Mac it's unrivaled.

that's the most pretentious voice i've ever heard in my life

Great video, I've purchased just about every matt screen monitors there but ended up switching monitor after monitor. 10 monitors in, I still can't get the colors to be correct with my Mac Pro and Mac m1 Ultra. As a web and graphic designer, the fonts would never be clear or sharp. I found myself tweeking and changing the designs over and over because it would look different every day due to long hours of looking at the screen. Another problem after years of working behind the computer was that I constantly would mees with the darkness and brightness. It came to a point that my eyes couldn't handle looking at white backgrounds. One thing I've noticed every time I went to the apple store, I would look at their monitors, and not only i could see everything, but the white backgrounds on anything wouldn't hurt my eyes. I've wasted so much time these past few years, and after your video, I have decided to just go ahead and purchase the Apple Display Pro 32 inch Glass. Thanks for a great explanation.