Apple Thunderbolt Display. Photo and Video editing set up.

This is the new set up for my Video editing and photography.

I bought an Apple Thunderbolt display this week, and I have to say its bloody brilliant!

My MacBook Pro has the, no longer available, Hi-Res screen option and its very good for photo editing and video work, but there is no substitute for size, as they say, and the 27" inches of Thunderbolt goodness is a dream to work with.

The Apple Thunderbolt Display is rather expensive and before buying I read everything I could on alternatives from Dell and Eizo, many of which use the identical,  27 inch, TFT IPS active-matrix LCD panel, and all cost less than the Apple display. 

However, simply plugging in the Thunderbolt connector and the MagSafe power is so quick and easy; when I used an Iiyama 24" PC monitor the DVI cable and Thunderbolt to DVI breakout box as well as the MacBook Pro power supply meant I was trailing cables all over the place.

The Apple Thunderbolt Display also has decent loudspeakers in it. For accurate editing and processing I use a pair of Beyer DT770 headphones but for general editing and playback to clients, the Display speakers are just perfect. 

Taking into account all these factors meant that there was only really one logical choice.

I like glossy screens. There I've said it, I don't like anti-glare matt screens, they reduce the contrast too much. I'm typing this now in normal room lighting and cannot see any reflections on the screen at all.

I adjusted the brightness so it matched my MacBook Pro screen and use the Default Apple colour space which, to me, appeared identical to sRGB. I'm happy to edit on sRGB screens, I shoot in sRGB and almost all my images are viewed on computer monitors and the internet lives in sRGB so why bother with anything else. For fussy printing there is always Apple ColorSync.

I also like the Apple wired USB keyboard, like you used to get with the old iMac. Its really well made, the angle is perfect for typing and its heavy enough so it doesn't slide all over the table. it has two USB sockets on the back as well.