mjm6 Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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My opinion is that the iMacs don't really have a very good monitor for photo editing. They are pretty contrasty and even with calibration, I feel they don't do a great job of representing what you can expect to see in a print from the image. This makes them look great for video and web browsing by producing a lot of punch in the display, but if you are trying to reproduce (or predict) what an image is going to look like on a piece of paper, they don't hold up too well.
However, you could add a second monitor to an iMac to use for this purpose. Have the image on the second monitor and the palette etc. on the main iMac screen when it comes time for careful editing. You will need a calibrated monitor to do that best.
You mention the NEC or BenQ monitors. Both of those are better than the iMac, even though they aren't 4K or 5K monitors. In fact, for photo editing, I'm doubtful that a 4K/5K monitor is all that useful to be honest.
I have a 27" iMac 5K from about 2014 right now and I'm planning a computer upgrade. I'm looking at a 2K 27" monitor like the two you mention or possibly the similar Eizo, not a 4K or 5K monitor. If I end up with an iMac, I'll have the 5K in that, but the other one will probably be a 2K monitor, choosing from one of the three I mentioned.
I've had a NEC monitor that is similar to the PA line since about 2005 and it has been a great performer (but it has a smaller gamut and lower resolution, and is getting pretty old now). I'm not sure that I would want to step back to a Benq because they do not have the same level of uniformity across the screen that the higher end monitors do. I feel like it is a bit of a crapshoot going there, but I may take a risk on one.
If the MacMini had a better processor (and a few other things that I feel are missing), I'd go that route, but in my opinion, the only real good option for photo editing with high MP cameras is the iMacs (not the iMac Pros!) and possibly the new Mac Pro computers (but those are insanely expensive for the performance you get for photo editing). The sweet spot is the iMac 27" computers. Also, don't bother with the new Vega cards unless you want it for another purpose. Little benefit for LR/PS.
It's a very different answer for video editing, by the way!
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