Dell 2408WFP Impressions

ian lucero

ian lucero

Well-known member
I went from an aging 19inch Apple Studio Display (from 2003) to a brand new 24inch Dell 2408WFP. My main draw to this monitor was its connection options. It might help with future things that I'll eventually need to connect to it and also with existing hardware (HD/SD Cameras, DV deck) and that I've heard many and seen good feedback on the 07 models. Price was a consideration as well and to be honest I originally did not want to spend this much on a monitor. I wanted to spend between $350-$450 but after shopping around and considering my options I decided to spend a little bit more for something which I hope will be a good investment.

(Short background: I do work in video FC Studio, a little bit of Lightroom/Photoshop. Machine is a Mac Pro 2.66 10.4.11 NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT)

Since this Dell is a pretty new display I'm having a hard time finding any reviews or reactions to it. I find lots of spec wars and people in forums basically begin to discuss the 08 models and end up bickering over 07 models what the 08 model needs to be. And also I am finding it hard to find professionals or non-gamers (on a Mac) that are discussing this monitor. So I would like to start a discussion on how the Dell 2408WFP compares to any/all Apple Displays and/or other pro/semi-pro LCD monitors. I am aware of more pro LCD's like Eizo which I've seen in many pro photo stores and from being discussed in other forums where users seem to swear by them. I can't afford a monitor like that nor do I feel I need something like that for what I am doing.

I would like to hear people's (designers, video editors, photographers) feelings about the higher-end Dell monitors and/or the 2408WFP - for instance I'd like to hear what it was like to calibrate it, working time with the monitor, or if a friend has one and you've had a chance to try it, you've seen it at a store, you actually have one sitting in front of you. Everyday use to anything else you can think of.

Basically I'd like to get a sense of what the Mac users think of hooking up this monitor to their machine as oppose to a Apple monitor or a PC user hooking it up, well to their PC. There are many of those. I want to hear Apple people talking about this monitor.

I will also add my experiences with this monitor as I get a chance to use it the next few weeks.

Thanks for any replies.
 
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I have several of the 2407s, and consider them a great economical option to the more expensive ACD.
 
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I've got a 2405 and think it's a brilliant computer monitor. It's a *terrible* video monitor, don't use the component video inputs on it, but as a computer monitor it's great. And I find myself using the USB ports and card readers far more than I ever thought I would!
 
Follow Up to Dell 2408WFP

Follow Up to Dell 2408WFP

So I've had the Dell 2408WFP Monitor for a little over 2 1/2 months.

I am liking the size, build quality, and consistency of colors. I've been using it to work in Lightroom, Photoshop and of course, Final Cut Pro. The move from a 19" Apple display to the Dell 24" display has opened up a whole new way for me to work. Even though I've used a dual monitor set-ups previous to the Dell, I am enjoying this single monitor configuration just as much. I am quickly getting use to the amount of desktop space, the fact I can leave app windows/tabs open without having to minimize as often (ie. Sountrack Pro or Lightroom) is a pleasure. Being able to stretch a long timeline across the bottom of my screen and not have to scroll as often is also a time and workflow saver. Basically I spend less time clicking and moving things around or closing/minimizing things and more time creating, editing, working.

What I have found a bit annoying about the Dell is color and lack of easy calibration. Although the brightness levels are really nice I think colors come out a little too saturated. I know I mentioned above that I enjoy the consistent color. Yes. There isn't a bright or dark or dim spot on the panel that I can detect. The fluttering, weird dimming, or colors going off after a few weeks of use. I would say it is just as solid as my old Studio Display. It is in the calibration that I find difficult to adjust correctly.

Because this panel is so damn bright, I can't use Apple's monitor calibration tools. I think either the increments of brightness and/or contrast are not fine enough or I need to use better calibration software. I can pretty much get it to look very similar to my Apple display but I'm sure those old panels have lost some of its brightness and oomph. So I'm stuck with just guessing and using what I know to look "right".

I do like the multitude of connections and ports and the SD card reader. I use that a lot. The HDMI and other digital in I haven't used (yet) but I like that they are there for whenever I need them. I like the black bezel although I had to black gaff tape the Dell logo and the thin 4mm silver strips on the top and bottom just to make it completely black. Now it looks like it floats in space. The stand is very sturdy. I like that I can use it vertically if I needed to. It was fun using it in that position for web sites. It was just amazing being able to see that much of a web page at one time.

All in all, I like this monitor. Is it worth the $600? Yeah. I think so. I am yet to see what this thing looks like with a nice DVD player (or Blu-Ray Player) hooked up to it. That's coming soon. The connections are there. I would love to see what a real Pro HD production monitor looks like compared to this. You know, something I would use to monitor my projects. Right now I am using a Sony PVM-14L2 with images going to it via firewire via DV deck. Playback of HD (1080 or 720), although colors look good, is choppy. Is that a limitation of the firewire connection or my Mac? (Mac Pro Dual 2.66 w/ NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT)

If I were to expand my desktop I would probably get a lesser quality/price but equal in size monitor. But if I had enough money and the job called for it, a good production LCD to monitor the HD projects that I'm slowly starting to have more of.
 
I have the 2408 and like it. Optional calibration was done at ~ 140cd/m2 of white with brightness control set to 7-8, contrast 50%, R = 96, G = 92, B = 100. This is by no means a universal recipe as models vary. AdobeRGB. Manual setting.
http://monitortest.blogspot.com/
 
I just got one of these as my extendd desktop for my Macbook Pro. Love it. I used xray's calibration suggestions as a starting point, and with a little more tweaking I am very happy with how it looks.

Has anyone used this monitor with the Matrox MXO? I am thinking of recommending that my organization buy that so that I can do some accurate color correction...
 
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