Hi and thanks for looking in here!
I have the following question about monitors:

Currently I own a Fujitsu Siemens Scaleoview H19-1 (which is the one I'm working on) and a Philips 109E5 (which is standing here as decoration on my desk) .

I sit most part of the day behind my screen doing web-/graphic design work.
For some reasons my eyes are getting very tired from the brightness of my screen, but reducing the brightness causes pale colors which is very unhandy with my kind of tasks. So now I look for a monitor where the everage person can sit hours without needing sunglasses

Which one do you use for your (preferable graphical) work? Which one is most suitable?

Thanks for your time and help

Hi Fem!

I'll tell you I have used VERY GOOD [Lacie etc] monitors and I've used MEDIUM quality [Samsung LG ViewSonic] and the best investment in monitors I've EVER made was getting my own Spyder colour calibration device. (I currently use the Spyder3, though if you can get a used Spyder2 it will do you very fine indeed! And there are other companies that make simular devices out there - shop around. But I LOVE my Spyder3 in a most UNATURAL way! )

If you get a monitor with good contrast ratio (let's say 1000:1 or better) and it is fairly well built (see my medium list above) you can get great results by running the calibration hardware on your system. I've currently have 3 computers running at different times with 4 different monitors between them. They all look virtually the same. The calibrator takes an okay monitor and makes it look very good. It makes a good monitor look fantastic.

So is it worth spending $900+ for a Lacie? Or are you better off getting a good $400~500 monitor and kicking in $200~300 for your own colour calibrator? I've personally chosen the second choice and it has served me VERY WELL. (when I travel to a clients I take the spyder along and take 5 or 10 minutes to calibrate their monitor. That gets rid of "different monitor mystery colours" problem - and you'll always have the confidence to know you are looking at "standard accurate" colours!

(oh - and I think you should quit the graphics business before it kills you! Really. It is such a DANGEROUS BIZZNEZZ!

Thanks Rein for your response and thorough information.

Sounds not bad, the Spyder thingy... Will it solve the problem with the brightness? Because if so... then I will buy the Spyder3 Pro.

My monitor has btw an unbelievable 700:1. Does it help to "upgrade" to a 30000:1? Because my bf here just found a LG L227WTP 22" for only $295

Fem: I've used the Spyder's on dumb-cheap monitors and it still made them look pretty darn usable.

My side monitor on my iMac is an HP 20" and it only has a 700:1 ratio too. It does just fine. Also, contrast numbers are not always consistant, as companies have different ways to figure out the contrast and some "cook" the numbers to look better. The Spyder, and similar equipment, does its best to compensate for where the monitor is week - and one place it really helps is in the shadows/gray areas of your images. Also - you can NOT trust your eyes to colour balance. 1 in 1000 people can do that, and even THEY are lying about it!

Any of the "name brands" will do you okay - new technology has come a long way in the realm of computer monitors.

The Spyder3 should help with the "too bright" lighting very much. It actually has a sensor on it that you can choose to leave plugged in after calibration, and it will monitor the room's ambient light and adjust your monitor's brightness to fit it better.

I suggest you find a place that has a good return policy and you buy the Spyder. Have it do it's thing and if it doesn't work take it back. But I'll be surprised if it doesn't please you. And, as a graphics professional, you really really really should have a monitor calibrator available for your use.

Okay - keep me posted!

i say next time proc walks past the door we all jump on him and force him to knock the background down to #cccccc, min!

Great! Then I will buy me a Spyder3 Pro and give it a try on my "old" monitor. After that i will see if I still need to buy a new one. My bf is currently pretty dissapointed that I don't buy the lg immediately... *rockefeller*

Thanks again for your help! I will let you know in some time if the Spyder did its job

They go over quite a few here

http://www.maximumpc.com/articles/reviews/hardware/monitors

That's great, Fem! Good luck. And, yes, please keep me posted on your Monitor Adventures!