Monitor Suggestion please

[derita]

Hi everyone!

I am trying to start my own photo business, so accurate appearance of the photos is important. I have a laptop at the moment and from what I've read, in order for me to be able to see "true" colors, I have to have a monitor. I don't have $1,000+ to spend on the best monitor, so my question is, do you have a suggestion on a good not so expensive monitor that can be easily calibrated if necessary? I know it is better if it has an IPS matrix, so I am looking to buy a monitor that has that. I was looking at LG 21.5'' or 23'' (they are both IPS and have the same resolution). My only concern is that they are LED. I've heard LEDs have problems with displaying the white color correctly and thus throwing all the other colors off. I've also heard they are hard (if not impossible) to calibrate. From what I've seen, LCDs are much more expensive.

Sorry for the rambling.

If anyone has any suggestions at all regarding the monitors, I would really really appreciate it!!!
Thank you so much!!!
- Olga

 

[KmH]

Unfortunately, inexpensive IPS, TFT-LCD displays usually can not display a sufficiently wide gamut of colors for critical image editing.
NEC makes a range of wide gamut displays, but their prices do start at about $1000 for their 20+ inch displays. NEC includes calibration hardware with many of their wide gamut displays.

It doesn't make a lot of business sense to scrimp on the performance of tools you need that are critical to the production of your work product.

Dell's line of Ultra-Sharp IPS displays are likely what you are looking for but you will need to add the cost of a display calibration tool as your display will need to be regularly re-calibrated.
Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor
For display calibration I recommend the X-Rite CMUNDIS ColorMunki Display

If you haven't already read them, you may find this group of tutorials useful - Tutorials on Color Management & Printing
They include a tutorial on calibrating your display and a tutorial about soft-proofing.