New 24" iMac instead of Mac Pro?

[Jerry Skrocki]

This has gone way off topic and I am partially to blame for that.
I just wanted to clarify the issue raised about LED displays which seem to be the leading "green friendly" display technology. Apple will be converting their entire line of displays to LED in 2009. Samsung has produced the XL line of (RGB) LED displays ranging from 20" to 30".

My experience with the white LED backlit display on the MacBook Pro has been very positive. It calibrates both easily and accurately with a colorimeter designed with the proper filter array to profile it as well as the newer wide gamut displays (DataColor Spyder3 Elite).

Andrew thank you for clarifying the need for specialized filters in the colorimeter to accommodate the newer displays. I'm sure the other manufacturers of colorimeters will soon fall in line with this new standard.

[JohnLund]

OK guys...despite your best warnings above, I took a chance and bought the new 24" iMac with full load.

So far I love it! It is fast, takes less space, and with some juggling of 600 gigs of photos, I was able to get Parallels + Win XP, Time Machine with 1.5Tb external hard drive etc operational with not too many headaches.

As to the iMac monitor thoughts raised above, I have a dumb question.

If my past images imported from my old PC, which had a calibrated monitor, all look perfect on the new iMac, is there any real need to try to calibrate the iMac using the specs and calibration tools you mention above?

Just wondering.

John Lund

[Edmond_Terakopian]

Hey John,

Glad you're happy with your iMac; its a great machine.

To answer your question; yes, definitely try to calibrate it as best as you can.

Cheers,

Edmond

[David_Buzzard]

Always calibrate your monitor. You'll really see the difference, especially when you switch back and forth from the un-calibrated to the calibrated view.

I was in a large graphic design studio the other day, and every single work station in it was a 24" iMac.

David Buzzard

[Scott_Witcher]

I've re read this entire thread a few times because I'm in a similar situation as Mr. Lund. I've been considering an imac but I don't quite understand why it would be so hard to calibrate. I know I can't trust my macbook's screen, that's why I have a Lacie monitor on my current machine. But I would think that if you were to set up the imac in a way that there is no light sources glaring of the glass it would work just fine. Am I missing something, or am I the only one who does processing in the dark?

[BobSmith]

The biggest calibration issue is simply that the displays are way too bright... especially the new 24" iMacs... even when turned all the way down. This is true for many newer monitors.

Bob Smith