How critical is this? Non-critical, of course. But generally, the 16:9 format works a lot better for sharing my screen with others.

2Kresolution

Where D is the full display image dimensions (either horizontal or vertical), and d is the target dimensions (either horizontal or vertical).

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Field of view defines the maximum area of a sample that a camera can image, determined by the focal length of the lens and the sensor size.

8Kresolution

Let's set the scene for the scope of this post. I am talking about the monitor types, not a specific brand or model. Additionally, I am not using the built-in monitor stands but an Ergotron LX Desk Monitor Arm. That makes all the difference in the world for positioning my monitor and not being limited to the angles of any built-in monitor stands.

This means that the distance of the focal length is determined by how strongly the light is converged by the lens in order to focus the subject being imaged. This, in turn, influences the angle from the horizonal of light that can be captured by the lens. This is known as the angular field of view (AFOV) and is required to determine the overall FOV. The AFOV is the angle between any light captured at the horizonal, and any light captured at the edge (as shown in Figure 2). If you have a fixed sensor size, altering the focal length will alter the AFOV and therefore the overall FOV. A shorter focal length provides a larger AFOV view, and therefore a larger FOV. The same is true but vice versa for longer focal lengths, as indicated in Figure 2.

I particularly like the ultrawide form factor because the height isn't as high as the typical 16:9 monitors. However, the difference is relatively minor, mainly because I can move it around using the Ergotron monitor arm.

You get a lot of pixels spread out horizontally. Usually, the ultrawide monitors are 3440x1440, which is pretty poor compared to a 4K monitor in terms of pixels. For me, this was one of the deciding factors.

The focal length of the lens describes the distance between the lens and the focused image on the sensor. As light passes through the lens it will either converge (positive focal length) or diverge (negative focal length), however within cameras the focal length is predominately positive. Shorter focal lengths converge the light more strongly (i.e. at a sharper angle) to focus the subject being imaged. Longer focal lengths, in comparison, converge the light less strongly (i.e. at a shallower angle) in order to focus the image.

Since I made the switch to a 4K with the typical 16:9 form factor, I got many questions about the considerations, why I made that switch, and if I missed the ultra-wide format.

During discussions in the last two years with many who had to start working from home due to the pandemic, it became clear that numerous people developed a "home office anxiety". Perhaps I just made that term up, but the point is that there seemed to be a trend of focusing more on looking great and having an excellent setup than on enabling productive and valuable work. Ultrawide monitors were a big part of the hype – and to be fair, they are amazing. They're just not for me until they are 4K or above in resolution.

See how others are using our high-performance cameras, spectrographs and optics-based solutions to advance their research and application.

After spending considerable time with both form factors, I will try to outline the main pros and cons as per my experiences.

There's nothing important in the screens above, but it should showcase how I mainly use my single monitor. You can, of course, design your zones any way you want.

This allows the FOV dimensions (i.e. vertical and horizontal distances) to be measured without knowing lens focal length or sensor size. The image created, including the target, is then displayed on a monitor, with the target image being a subset of the full image display. This allows the FOV to be approximated as:

Field of view (FOV) is the maximum area of a sample that a camera can image. It is related to two things, the focal length of the lens and the sensor size. Figure 1 shows a comparison between the field of view and the size of the sensor. Assuming that the focal length of the lens is the same, the larger the sensor the larger the field of view.

With the laptop next to my main monitor, I have no need for an additional monitor for those odd occasions where I feel I need to view something on a different monitor.

4Kultrawide monitor

Sensor size is determined by both the size of the pixels and number of pixels on the sensor. This can be optimized for each application, with larger sensors optimal for sensitivity limited applications, and smaller sensors optimal for resolution limited applications.

The sensor size is determined by both the number of pixels on the sensor, and the size of the pixels. Different sized pixels are used for different applications, with larger pixels used for higher sensitivity, and smaller pixels used for higher spatial resolution (find out more on Pixel Size and Camera Resolution).

For the last eight years, I have used a single monitor. Mostly the ultrawide, and now the 4K monitor. I see no need for additional monitors, as you can perfectly well fit everything on your monitor if you scale things appropriately.

Reviewing the pictures, we see that the latter image has a narrow and slightly higher screen than the ultra-wide. Meanwhile, the ultra-wide gives us a lot of horizontal room to spread our apps - but not by a lot.

4k widescreen resolutiongaming

If you work more individually and aren't as concerned with sharing your screen and collaborating with others, this could be a non-issue.

However, now and then, using the laptop as a secondary monitor is helpful when I need to read and write simultaneously or have reference documentation open or when doing presentations and need to keep tabs on something in the backend.

To set the scene, I want to clarify my use cases before you continue reading. Here's what I normally spend time on when I'm at the desk:

To help maintain a good work environment on my screen real estate, I use PowerToys and the FancyZones capabilities to split my screen into multiple virtual monitors or areas. It works wonders, and entirely diminishes the need for that second monitor for me.

There are two processes which can be used to enhance UV sensitivity for wavelengths >200 nm: UV photon conversion, and anti-reflection coatings.

Figure 3 shows a simplified version of how these assumptions allow for AFOV calculation. By using trigonometry, the AFOV can be expressed as:

Moving down from 34" to a 32" didn't make any difference here, as the pixel density on the 4K is incredible. I can put more things on the screen with the 4K monitor, even in the 16:9 form factor.

The focal length of a lens converges light so that the image of an object is focused onto the sensor. This determines the angular field of view, a parameter of the overall field of view. This is defined as the angle between any light captured at the horizontal and any light captured at the edge of the of the object. All of these parameters play a role in determining the FOV of a camera and can be measured using either trigonometry and the angular field of view, or via an optical test, in which a black body is utilized to create a virtual image

The gain relates the number of photoelectrons released to the gray levels displayed, and can be used to enhance contrast for low-light imaging.

This review is not scientific; it's only based on my experiences. However, since this is a discussion coming up every so often, I'm noting my observations here.

Below is a picture of my setup when I used an ultra-wide monitor. It sure looks great on the desk and has several benefits in sleek design.

4k widescreen resolutionreddit

With the 4K resolution, I increased the windows display ratio to 150%, and voila - everything is super clear, and I can't see the pixels on text and fonts, images, and applications. You can see that on the 3440x1440 monitors.

There are many subcategories of UV light, each which need different sensor requirements. These include both physical and chemical sensor changes.

However, this post is not about the monitor stands or my Ergotron arm - it's about my experiences with these types of monitors in general, so let's continue.

4K resolutionvs 1080p

I don't care much for the specs like refresh rates and response times. It doesn't matter when you work with documents, architectural designs, compliance requirements, security forms, and the like; it's irrelevant for me.

A portion of collaborating with others is screen sharing and virtual meetings. Using the ultrawide monitor posed challenges more often than not with certain types of sessions.

I mentioned that I don't play games. Instead, I spend most of my day collaborating with others or working on projects independently.

I have used a 3440x1440 ultra-wide monitor from LG for eight years. I recently needed to try something else, and I "downgraded" to 32", but with 4K, which made all the difference.

Also, I do not play any video or computer games. If you're looking for a statement on monitors for gamers, you're looking in the wrong place. I can only speak for my productive work setup.

I don't often buy new gadgets or peripherals. I like minimalism in practice and in the mind, and I like things clean and tidy – all at the same time as I'm making a commitment toward a more sustainable future.

4K resolution

Acton optics and coatings provide ultra-precision optical components and coatings with an emphasis on the UV/VUV spectral regions.

I position my windows in various zones depending on the type of work I'm doing, but here's an example just showcasing some of the windows automatically snapping into their zones:

4K resolutionin pixels

To measure the FOV of UV, visible and infrared cameras, optical tests are commonly used. During the test, light is focused from a black body (an object that absorbs all light that falls on it) onto a test target at the focal place. By using a set of mirrors, a virtual image can be created that is at an infinitely far distance.

Ultrawide monitors are something to like. But, the quality of a 4K monitor just beats any 3440x1440 monitor, and any ultrawide monitor with a higher vertical resolution at this point is way too pricy for the average consumer.

On Windows, I use a scaling of 150%, which works very well. The quality of the 4K monitor heavily outweighs the ultrawide monitor, and with a 150% viewing experience, it looks excellent. You can fit more things if you scale down to 125% or even 100%, but then it's a lot harder to read anything on the screen if it's at a decent distance from your eyes.

Hi, I'm Tobias! 👋 I write about Microsoft Azure, security, cybersecurity, compliance, cloud architecture, Microsoft 365, and general tech!