All the better to see you with, m'dear

Well, the summer is supposed to be the quiet season and we are supposed to be in a business slowdown, possibly even a recession. Nonetheless, I have been busier now than my busy season and this has resulted in me being rather lax in updating my blog.

Despite the workload, I have been capturing a lot of subjects for the blog and will be updating with a much higher frequency to catchup.

So, let's get on with the first update.....

I've always been told that your monitor is one of your most important pieces of photographic equipment. After you finish with the camera, this is your primary tool for viewing and manipulating your work. Cutting corners here can cost you dearly in the long run.

Unfortunately, many monitors, even expensive monitors fail to display colours properly or with a wide enough gamut for most photographers. Now, if your a Sunday shooter collecting a few snapshots of the kids, this is probably not a big deal. However, if you're a professional or even a serious photographer trying to create the best work you can, this is a real issue.

Once you decide to invest in a quality monitor for photographic work, it's an eye opener. The top of the line Eizo Coloredge CG221 is $4900 (USD). Now this is an amazing 21 inch monitor that defines the market. It's also expensive, but you get what you pay for here.

A little less painful for the pocketbook is the Eizo CG222, which retails for $1300. Certainly not an inexpnsive monitor, but closer to the means of most shooters. This is a 22" monitor of amazing clarity.

Another option is the Lacie 324, which retails for $999 or so. This is a 24" monitor, with amazing colour range.

I recently decided to upgrade to the Lacie 324, based on some recommendations from other shooters. I would like to use a Eizo CG221, but this is a little outside of my budget.

Nonetheless, the Lacie 234 is a solid choice and there is some strength to the arguement that the Eizo CG222, which is a new model from Eizo, was released to respond to the competitive threat from the Lacie 324.

The Lacie 324 24" monitor is wonderful thing to work with, as screen real estate is at a premium, particularly if you are using photoshop and lightroom. If you're using only one monitor, this is an important consideration. Now that lightroom 2 can support multiple monitors, this is more attractive, but I am still using just one.

The glare screeen is an excellent option for environments with less than perfect viewing light. Unfortunately, this applies to most homes and offices. In my office, my hardware is on one side of the room and my desk is on the other, which means I need to run longer cables. It also means that the buitl-in USB hub in the monitor is quite handy for plugging in the myrid number of modern devices that need a USB connection for data transfer and recharging. If you use a graphics tablet, like I do, a close USB connection is REALLY handy.

The monitor stand is also built nicely for raising the monitor off your desk and giving you a little more space for clutter. As well, the power saving feature will powerdown the monitor after 30 minutes or so.

The monitor glare screen also has a small hook for holding your colour calibration device. You can get this from Lacie, but I use the I1 system from Xrite for all my display devices. I like to use the same device for monitor, printer, and projector to ensure the best possible colour.

Here are the detailed specs (from: www.lacie.com)

Diagonal :	24 in. / 61 cm
Display Area :	20.41 x 12.75 in. / 518.4 x 324 mm (HxV)
Apsect Ratio :	16:10
Maximum Resolution :	1920 x 1200
Dot Pitch :	.01 in. / .27 mm
Color :	16.7 million (true 8-bit)
Video Inputs :	HDMI x 2; 24 Pins DVDI-D x 1; 15 Pins D-Sub x 1
Audio Outputs :	Headphone / Speaker mini-jack
Color Gamut :	92% of NTSC / 95% of Adobe RGB / 99.7% of ISO Coated
Gamma Correction :	10-bit
Luminance :	400 cd/m2 (Center, typ.)
Power :	AC 100~240V / 47~63Hz
Contrast Ratio :	1000:1 (typ.)
Response Time :	6ms (G-G avg.)
Viewing Angles :	R: 89, L: 89, U: 89, D: 89 (CR >= 10, typ.)
Certification :	CB, FCC, CE, CSA, Canada DOC, EPA, ISO13406-2, GOST, PSB
USB Port :	1 up, 3 down
USB Output :	A-type Connector x 3
Weight :	Approx. 23.81 lbs. / 10.8 kg Gross Weight: Approx. 29.54 lbs. / 13.4 kg
Dimensions (WxHxD) :	22.28 x 16.45-19.21 x 8.97 in. / 565.9 x 418-488 x 228 mm
Compatibility :	Mac & PC
RoHS Compliant :	Yes
Power Consumption :	140W (max.)
Comments :	*For full automatic performance of hardware calibration with blue eye pro, a graphics board supporting DDC CI communication is required.
Box Content :	LaCie 324 LCD Monitor; AC power cable; DVI-D video cable; HDMI-HDMI cable; USB host cable; Audio jack cable; Cable management accessory; CD-ROM with User Manual and monitor ICC profile; Quick Install Guide
Warranty :	3 Year Limited Warranty with Advance Replacement

I'm very happy with my monitor upgrade and consider the Lacie 324 an excellent piece of equipment. If you are considering an upgrade to your monitor, I would recommend looking at the Lacie 324