| Joined: | Wed Apr 11th, 2012 |
| Location: | Melbourne, Australia |
| Posts: | 525 |
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Hi Rich, I think there are arguments for and against ultra high definition screens.
The usual viewing distance from a screen tends to be around 600 to 700mm. At that distance I can't 'see' the detail that the extra definition provides, except the image looks crisper. I did take a look at these in the Apple store recently. My retina iPad which is viewed from much closer, say around 400mm seems pretty crisp.
What I am asking myself is when do I NEED to see that detail during processing?
The only time I really need to get down to pixel level editing is when I am cutting through layers to reveal other layers beneath, for example with the 'Oakdale' IR image which has about six layers. When I erased the top layer to reveal underlying layers around the rigging of the boat I did have to zoom in close, right down to maybe 400% or closer to keep the edit clean, other than that I don't think ultra high definition helps but even then I would have to blow it up even more just to see the image pixels.
Other than that I like to see the entire image at a reasonable size and assess the effect of any adjustments I am making across the entire image. Whether seeing the individual pixels at 1:1 helps that I don't know, I guess it can't do any harm, it's probably good when sharpening. I tend to sit right back when making adjustments so I see the entire image rather than focusing on the detail.
The ultra high def certainly produces a crisper image but for close in pixel level editing I don't see it as a solution, I would still need to zoom in to very high levels of magnification.
Other than that the iMac is a very capable machine for image editing, especially with a decent amount of RAM and a Fusion Drive.
I feel far more important is to have a second (cheap, smaller and low res) monitor for the tool pallets and other 'clutter' which otherwise obscures the image, no matter how large the main screen may be. This is a breeze with an iMac, a £25 adaptor and an old PC monitor does the job perfectly. Most households have old unwanted 17" screens lying about, they can get a new lease of life and become an inseparable companion for the main screen.
I'm thinking of actions like sharpening where you need to view the image at 100% to see the effect, otherwise the internal resizing for the view gets in the way. This would allow you to do that whilst still seeing all the image on screen (at least up to 14MP - a D800 will still be more than 1 screen).