Since a year I have a HP w2448hc 24'' 1920*1200 native resolution. It was 400€ expensive but in the end all of its money worth. Even if my eyes are just 20cm distant from the screen I still can't see single pixels.
The monitor has different modes, esp. the one for video (w/ dynamic contrast ratio on), photo (more "bright" pics and better colours), text (decreased brightness) are very fiting. They really make out a great difference.
Plus the monitor has an ambient light sensor and is able to adjust brightness automatically to its surroundings.