Best Display?

[Rick Eames]

I know this question probably comes up a lot...I'm currently using a 2 year old Dell 30" with my MacPro, and I'm looking to upgrade myself this summer to something newer.

What are the current "best color matching" monitors on the market today? I've looked around, but I haven't found a good head to head review of monitors for photographers. EIZO and LaCie make specific ones, but they are 24", and Dell's new 30" looks nice, but I need a good review of it.

Maybe if Apple were to revamp the Cinema Display I would consider it, but right now, they are too old for me to honestly consider.

 

[santa]

I think maybe eizo has a 30" now. I'd also check NEC. dunno if they have a 30" but they do have good monitors.

 

[JasonReplica]

Hi Rick,

My personal vote, and cash, went to the Eizo CG241W, backed up by a 15" MacBook Pro which is great for tools and printer queues!

I also have a 23" Apple Cinema Display which gave me 4 dead pixels at just over 14 months old and Apple refused to replace it so it now sits on my G5 as a general use screen. Not generally a bad screen but you can get better for the same money.

With both screens calibrated with the EyeOne Pro the Eizo definetly has the edge over the Apple for very high-end work which I do all day so didn't mind paying the extra.

Also Eizos warranty is much better and their software solution, ColorNavigator, allows a massive amount of control and accuracy. I can count every step on a greyscale test image between levels 2 and 254, this is when calibated and profiled at 85cd/m2 gamma 2.2 and whitepoint of 6000k. Give superb match to printed output on eitehr our in-house inkjets or commercial press prints.

Also have a look at the NEC 2690, I've spoken to a few users who have these and they rate them very highly. As for the 30" displays I personally think they're to big for most users but you're obviously use to using one and are aware of the pitfalls so I'll not go down that road right now.
--
Regards
Jason
Replica Imaging Limited
Derbyshire UK

 

[karel210186]

I'm using the NEC 2690 with SpectraView which I really like. They do have a 30" version as well with similar quality. The Eizo certainly is a nice monitor as well.
--
Karel

 

[talephotos]

How about....What's the best non-glossy mac screen ever produced for photographers?

--
'If you ever get a camera up your bum, it'll probably be an Olympus' - nomix
'pictures not photos' - myself realising my username is wrong
'© Douglas Symon' - applies to all the photographs I post
http://cherrytreeblog.talepictures.com/
Olympus as teacher...
Four Thirds forum for Finnish speakers http://neljakolmasosaa.dakuva.net/

 

[gazza73]

Eizo Coloredge or NEC Spectraview are the only two monitor ranges you really need to look at. There are others cheaper and others much, much more expensive but not worth the effort researching IMO as the above two brands are so good.

There is nothing between these two manufacturers apart from the difference in the LCD panel they use.

Putting it very simply........

Eizo use PVA panels producing deeper blacks giving the appearance of greater contrast.
NEC use IPS panels giving much greater colour accuracy when viewed off axis.

 

[Tom_N]

How about....What's the best non-glossy mac screen ever produced for photographers?

If by "mac screen", you're limiting it to Apple-brand screens, then the 30" Apple Cinema Display (now going for $1699, originally almost twice that) would be a leading contender for the prize.

Otherwise, you also need to consider high-end S-IPS and H-IPS displays from the likes of Eizo (spelling?) and NEC.

 

[talephotos]

Tom N picked up my point. Question was specifically to Apple displays. I had assumed all the recent displays are glossy so was wondering if there was any of the previous displays that were regarded as better than others. But thanks to Tom for pointing out the cinema display - expandability of USB/firewire ports is certainly handy.

--
'If you ever get a camera up your bum, it'll probably be an Olympus' - nomix
'pictures not photos' - myself realising my username is wrong
'© Douglas Symon' - applies to all the photographs I post
http://cherrytreeblog.talepictures.com/
Olympus as teacher...
Four Thirds forum for Finnish speakers http://neljakolmasosaa.dakuva.net/

 

[Kiwi5d]

Are any of these displays using LED technology? You get much better blacks with LED instead of LCD.
--
The light at the end of the tunnel is sometimes hard to capture!

 

[Tom_N]

Are any of these displays using LED technology? You get much better blacks with LED instead of LCD.

The Apple 24" LED Cinema display uses LED backlighting and takes MiniDisplayPort input. It is a glossy display. I believe that the Apple 30" Cinema Display is a matte display that takes dual-link DVI input and is not LED-backlit.