My first computer was an Atari 400.  I don’t even remember the year ... it was a long time ago.  Since then I’ve owned dozens of different computers and have programmed on several platforms.  I bought my first Mac in 1986, and since then I’ve always had a Mac.  We have over 1400 computers deployed throughout my company, most doing imaging software, and most are PC’s.  On the management side, everyone uses a Mac.  The PC’s perform specific functions in the process through the studio, and each one is normally dedicated to a single task. You can’t even see any thing on the screen other than our software’s information.  Not even a menu bar.

When the glossy screen was introduced on the Mac a few models ago, I decided to give one a try.  I read all the naysayers that labeled this bad for photographers, but decided I had to try it for myself.  I’ve come to the conclusion that most who criticize the glossy screen are probably falling victim to the “assumptions” that seem logical, but really haven’t used one for an extended period of time.

I just upgraded to Apples latest MacBook Pro, complete with a 7200rpm 200 gig hard drive, LED backlit display, and you guessed it ... a glossy screen.  This is now my third MacBook Pro with a glossy screen, and I’ll be honest ... I doubt very much if I will ever order a matte screen again.

I thought I would at least try to express some thoughts about why I like it better than the matte, and some counterpoints to all the opinions about why it isn’t good for photography.

Their are two main reasons I see used most of the time when I read messages about why the glossy screen is not a good choice.  The screen is “too” saturated .. blacks are too black, colors are overly saturated.  The other reason is reflections ... they are annoying, distracting, and hard to deal with.

A matte screen is less contrasty mostly because of light flare ... the light hitting the screen is dispersed in a way to prevent reflections.  The real disadvantage of a matte screen is the amount of contrast varies with ambient light.  Since a laptop computer is generally used in a wide variety of circumstances, the matte screen is actually a major problem in trying to create consistent image quality when working with images.  In a totally black room with no ambient light, I’m not sure you can see the difference between the two screens ... they would be pretty minor.  I’d test it out, but pretty much everyone I know has switched to the glossy screen after seeing mine.

Both screens reflect light, but the glossy screen reflection is specular ... pretty much like a mirror.  If you look at a glossy screen with the computer off or the screen dark you would think it would be impossible to use ... the reflections are so obvious.  But once you start using one, the advantages of the property of that reflection makes a difference ... a difference which is substantial.

When the matte screen reflects the light hitting it (understand both screens reflect the same thing), it disperses it in the matte surface.  The reflection becomes a property of the screen itself.  When you focus on the screen, you are also focused on the reflection.  You can’t ignore it ... it affects the contrast of the image, and the amount of that affect increases as ambient light and thus reflection intensity increases.

A glossy screen reflects the light much like a mirror.   This means as you view and work on the screen, all of those reflections are out of focus to your eyes.  Since the screen is pretty close, they are way out of focus.  Amazingly enough, normally you don’t even notice the reflections unless you choose to look for them.

In addition, if you have a particularly bright reflection, you can often tweak the screen angle slightly and it’s gone.  That doesn’t work as well on a matte screen, since the matte screen is dispersing the light at all angles, some of it remains no matter how much you tweak the screen.

The end result is a screen that is far more usable and far more consistent in a variety of settings.  One anecdotal example I have is a recent road trip to California.  I have on several occasions ridden in a car to San Diego and often get out the laptop while riding.  Prior to the glossy screen, it was difficult to use the laptop,, it’s just hard to see in the middle of the day in the front seat of a car.  I was surprised to find that with the glossy screen I could even turn the backlight down and still see the screen. The glossy screen handles bright conditions far better, and ambient light has far less affect on image contrast and quality.

I personally feel the deep black and extra contrast of the glossy screen is a much closer match to the photo papers I tend to use on my Epson printers.  Of course, very few images end up with final editing on the laptop ... we need to be honest and understand that no laptop offers the quality of a good stand alone monitor.  A good laptop at least offers the ability to do some effective editing, and the glossy screen allows that experience to be more consistent as ambient conditions change.

So there you have it.  My personal viewpoint is I’ll never go back.  I’m sure many will choose to disagree with me, but I wonder if they’ve even tried it.  Granted, hard to spend the money just to try it, but as one who has owned at least 15 different Powerbooks/MacBooks over the years,  you may wish to at least consider my reasons and why I’m now a glossy screen convert.