Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore my hulking great 21" Trinitron & don't intend to part with it until it dies (which will probably be a veeeeery long time from now) however it simply cannot reach the required contrast ratio to be viable for photo editing. It's not a problem with settings or calibration (both OSD & driver level), it's more a problem with the monitor itself (it was even worse with the last one I had). The problem is that detail just disappears into the shadows on dark/contrasty photos.
So I'm thinking about another monitor to run alongside it, replacing the ageing 17" NEC MultiSync LCD that currently sits there. The ideal choice would be a Dell 2408WFP, but a.) I don't need 24" & b.) there's no way I can afford the ~£380 price tag, even if Santa is extra-generous this year. The Dell 2009WFP looked perfect at first, however I then discovered that despite bearing the 'UltraSharp' badge it actually has a TN panel. The department has recently bought several hundred of them for lab upgrades & they're not particularily wonderful to look at, especially from the sides (whites take on a bright pink tint!).
So I'm looking for a ~20" LCD with a non-TN panel (so VA or IPS) which doesn't cost a fortune. I couldn't care less about input lag or ghosting, because I've got a 1600*1200 100Hz monster for anything that needs speed, all I'm concerned about is accurate colour reproduction & a good contrast ratio. I don't really want to hunt down a refurb 2007WFP because it'll be pot luck with the quality & when it breaks under warranty they will probably replace it with a TN 2009WFP
Any ideas?