Posted on by Terry White

My New Lightroom Tethering Display

When I shoot in studio I'm usually shooting tethered to Lightroom 3 99% of the time. While my 15" MacBook Pro has been adequate all these years, I decided to go with an external display in my new studio. The question was, "which one do I get?" Right about the time I asked this question, I saw that Dell (yep, Dell) had just introduced a NEW 24" Display. You might be asking why would I get a Dell monitor for my Mac? Good question. The main attraction for me to this particular display is that it "rotates!" The display can be used in either portrait or landscape orientation. 

It has all the latest bells and whistles including: LED, IPS (in-plane switching) for wider viewing angles, Display Port, USB Hub, DVI, Adjustable Height and a 3 Year Warranty. 

For those of you old enough to remember the Radius Pivot Displays, you'll probably remember that back then the display would auto adjust based on the rotation and the driver on your computer. In the case of this new Dell there is no such magic for the Mac. However, manual display rotation is built-in to Mac OS X's Display Preferences. While it would be a slight pain to have to manually switch this setting every few seconds I find that I leave it in Portrait "most" of the time. If I shoot a wide shot, it displays it, but it just doesn't fill the screen. If i'm going to be shooting a long series of landscape oriented images then I'd make the System Pref adjustment.

 

Lightroom's 2nd Display Feature

Lightroom 3 natively supports dual displays. This means that I can set the second display to Loupe view, full screen with no overlays. It works GREAT!  This also means that I DON'T mirror the displays. I treat the Dell as a second display/virtual desktop.

 

Why not just shoot to an HDTV?

That question comes up a lot and I've tried it. My Nikon DSLRs have HDMI out and I could plug right into a nice big HDTV. The problem I find with this mostly is that the colors, brightness, contrast, etc. don't look the same. This means that after doing a shoot and importing the images into your computer they could look really different than what you adjusted for during the shoot. Since my shots are going to end up on a computer more often than a TV, I'd rather tether into my computer to begin with.

 

Dell? Really?

If you know me, you know that I've rarely if ever mentioned Dell on my blog (or anywhere else), but this time I gotta say that I'm currently a happy Dell customer. I'm actually surprised with all the accelerometer tech that Apple uses in iDevices that they haven't done this with their computer displays. Oh well, for now "it's a Dell."

You can check out the Dell UltraSharp U2412M "W Display here.

I also bought this Display Port to Mini Display Port cable. Of course after I ordered it I remembered that monoprice.com probably has it cheaper and they do.

15 Replies to “My New Lightroom Tethering Display”

  2. Very neat idea to do!

    Just last week I got myself a new main display (27″) and guess what, I’m another happy Dell user with my MacBook Pro. They do make great displays actually.

  3. Terry, very interesting article. I had just read about this new Dell display a few days ago. I am actually in the market to replace my aging Apple 23″ ACD display and wondered if this Dell would be a good move? I have been looking at some of the NEC’s but we are talking $1000 plus (which I am willing to spend) if they are that much better. Hope you are enjoying your vacation time!
    Regards,
    Paul

  4. Terry, would this new Dell isplay be a good choice for color critical work? I am thinking about replacing an Apple 23″ ACD? I have been considering one of the NEC’s but they are $1000+
    Thanks,
    Paul

    1. I’m probably not the person to ask as I’ve never compared displays for color critical work. I would say that if the NEC cost $1,000+, there is a reason. You might want to stay that route if color accuracy is a must and your paid work depends on it.

      1. Thanks Terry! like you say – you don’t get something for nothing. Enjoy your time off. I know you are having fun setting up your new studio.
        Regards,
        Paul

  5. Terry thanks for the monitor idea. Truthfully I wanted something like that to. And I love that you did it. Thanks for telling us. Also can’t wait to see shoot with up on the photo walk this year.

  6. Nice! We use Dells at work as well, and they are pretty sweet. The price tag isn’t as high as one would think either.. how is the color correction on the monitor?

  7. I remember the Radius. What you have to remind all of the kids these days is that those were CRTs. Image rotating a CRT – I think the Radius was 14″ or so.

  8. This monitor is really great. I have tested it in the studio of my friend who is also photographer. I’m mainly in the graphic and vector design, but I think one of these is perfect for my works šŸ™‚ I hope to get my hands on one soon. Thanks for the good review.

  9. Thanks for the timely review, Terry! I’ve also been looking at this to replace my 23″ ACD, which is starting to look a little fuzzy.

    How does this monitor do with text? The majority of my work is print-based (InDesign, etc.) and these aging eyes need all the help they can get.

    1. The monitor is great for text and images. However, the thing you’d have to see for yourself is text at the high 1920×1200 native resolution. It may be too small for you and only you can judge that.

  10. IMHO the best thing about Dell Ultrasharp 24″ displays is that they’re 1920×1200. The vast majority of 24″+ displays out there are only geared for Full HD, so they display 1920×1080, robbing you of about 250,000 pixels. Now, if I could only find enough coins in my couch for one of those!

  11. I agree Terry. I’m a fan of Dell monitors, too. I tested the Dell 2408wfp a few years ago and thought it was awesome, 5 stars. A few people raised eyebrows but I stand by it. Looks a neat set up you’ve got.

    Paul.

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