New i mac

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone else uses apple mac?

I'm hopefully going to order the new 24" i mac this week. Just wondered if anyone else had used it?

Got to get cs3 now though - argh!

Iv heard good things about the macs - i personally love the slick style of them however, i did have the option of buying on when i bought the new hardrive last week but i decided against it as im used to how windows operates.

You can now use windows on a mac if you use the boot-camp software from apple.

Hi Aspire

We use Mac's here in the office for all design work. We recently wanted to upgrade one of our Macs, so held on for the new iMacs. However when they were released we were very dissapointed with the new screens... They are glossy!

Glossy screens are a big no no for design work (and not good for photographers either) because they give a false sense of contrast (darks are more black, instead of shades for example) and their colours are not accurate. The new iMacs are aimed very much at the consumer, which is a shame.

I would suggest you get to your local Apple store and see one for yourself, you will also find that the glossy screen will be very reflective - it's much worse than a CRT because it doesn't even have an anti-glare coating.

In the end we decided to get last years model as performance wise they are similar and we didn't want to wait any longer - last years model has a much better screen, not only is it matt, but it is an sIPS panel which is a good panel for design work.

I would strongly suggest people wait for a matt version of the new iMacs, and not get the ones with glossy screen as they will most likely regret it, esp a little while after the purchase.

Hope that helps!

Hey Azz, i have a glossy LCD, and think its awsome - may be different to the Mac ones as its a gamer mointor - the clarity on it is brill but it does have crystal brite technology and has specific settings for graphics work.

Printed images practically match whats on screen

Mine is the AL2251W 22"
http://global.acer.com/PRODUCTS/monitor/5_series.htm#

I think most non-apple screens use a different kind of coating on their glossy screens (apple use glass, others use plastic?) but that would really will only have an impact on reflection.

With regards to it being glossy and colour accuracy, I'm afraid it will be similar, unless they are using a different kind of glossy covering that I've not heard of before. The best way to judge would be to look at dark areas and contrast - if the darks appear too black when they should be different shades you can tell it is having an impact on colours. Calibration will definitely help tho, did you calibrate yours or is it at factory settings? Some manufacturers (such as Samsung) calibrate some of their models before shipping them out.

Also, as far as I am aware, all 22" screens on the market right now use TN panels - these are generally not the first choice for design professionals as they are usually 6-bit panels (gamers love them tho as they have fast reponse times!). You can tell if it's a TN panel or not by tilting the screen back and then moving your head towards the bottom of the screen whilst looking at the top, if the top of the screen begins to get noticibly dark, it's a tn panel. If it is a TN panel, it will show the best picture when you are dead infront of it - that's not really a problem tho unless you intend to view it from an angle.

Photographers mostly go for S-PVA or S-IPS panels, and with the wider color gamut of 92% (most lcds are 75%) if at all possible.

In saying all that, it wouldn't really be a problem unless you need an accurate display for professional use, esp print work, and you don't mind the reflectiveness of the glossy covering It will prob be miles nicer than your last monitor so that's the main thing

Ah right i see! Learn summit new every day - i know naff all about monitors!

These are the specs on mine:
Display Size 22"
Resolution 1680X1050 WXGA
Panel Technology TN film
Projection Technology Active Matrix TFT
Brightness 300 cd/m2
Color 16.2M (6 bit color)
Pixel Pitch 0.282mm
Contrast Ratio 800:1
Response Rate 5ms
Horizontal Viewing Angle 160°
Vertical Viewing Angle 160°
Backlight 4 Lamps
Video Signal “Dual Input (DVI w/HDCP)”
Video Mode Support VGA, SVGA, XGA, SXGA, VESA, NEC and Apple
Internal Speakers Yes, 1.5Wx2 Speakers
Plug & Play DDC 1 & DDC2B
Power Management VESA DPMS On:50W Off:1W Standby:1.5W
Power Input External AC 100-240 V
Power Consumption 50W
Front Panel Controls brightness, contrast, picture position, pixel clock frequency, color
select and adjust, 5 lanuages reset mode,power on/off sw,power
led,function +/-,adjust +/-,

Wallmount (VESA) Supported. 100mmX100mm

Kensington Lock Supported

Dimensions (WxHxD) 512x433x174 mm
Weight Net: 6.8Kgs / Gross: 9.2 Kgs
Certifications CE,FCC,UL,VCCI,CCC,TUV-GS, TCO03,ISO13406-2,Ctick,
BSMI,WHQL


I have calibrated mine - meybe thats why m not getting much colour diff on print outs???

Yeah calibration would certainly help The pics you have posted recently all look ok too

Thanks for those replies guys, I bought the 24", I know it has the glossy screen....this appeals to me, but I will watch for the contrast levels etc....I'll let you know what its like!

Cheers Azz.

Let us know how you get on with it Aspire. You looking forward to getting it??