[Imperial]

What is THE LCD panel to own? Or better yet, what do you think you wanna own? For photo work of course!
I'm sort of looking at getting a Eizo FlexScan S2431W lcd. But is it a better one out there, for less?


Imperial

[low.pfile]

Is your photo work ultimately end up as prints? or screen only?
I recommend hardware calibration device with any display you end up with.

The Eizo 2431 is an S-PVA panel. not the preference for color compared with an S-IPS. Though S-PVA panels are typically better for gaming/video.

Recently, I went with a 24" NEC 2490WUXI with spectraview software/hardware calibration for about $1200 also with the focus on photo work. Even wider color gamut is available with the NEC 2690Wuxi. Also I remember other Eizo display models rating higher than the S2431 for photo use...

lots here: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&enterthread=y
though my head hurts interpreting all this stuff.

[Imperial]

  Wow! It is double the price, but it indeed did look great that Nec and Nec there... aa!
Well, I'm gonna put my car at the garage soon for the bi-annual EU check. If it goes through with flying ...
colours (colors..) (that is won't flog me.. ......) we'll have to check out that Nec indeed!

I guess I have stuff to learn about those flat panels!  doo-dah doo-dah ...

Edit: How about Eizo Coloredge then low.pfile? Are they equivalent or something to the screen you got?

Imperial

[drphoto]

I've always been a big believer in hardware calibrated CRT's. I've had the Radius Pressview and the Sony Artisan. The Radius lasted 5 years before it wouldn't meet spec, the Sony, sadly, only 2. I'm bummed that these are no longer available.  I've never seen a properly calibrated flat display. All of the ones I've encountered have been WAY too contrasty. The thing that was nice about the Radius and the Sony was they controlled everything by adjusting the output of the electron guns, they didn't just fiddle w/ the color lookup table, which gave them a really pure, reliable display.

Hopefully the newer generation of LCD's have addressed these issues. There's nothing like a calibrated monitor to inspire confindence in your work. The bane of digital was the lack of a reference point for color and tone, at least in the early days. A monitor designed to meet press spec alleviated a lot of that worry.

Obviously there's a lot to be said for flat panel, less space, way less energy consumption, no flicker, and they just look cool. But if somebody had a stash of new Pressviews for sale, I'd buy 'em at almost any price. (I paid $1600 for mine, which was half off, as it was a Macworld demo back in '95)

[WerTicus]

i have 3 of the 30inch dells 3008's

very good, never had an LCD till this one came out as the specs were never good enough.  Its possible to have it calibrated to match adobeRGB at least.  Wouldn't go back to a CRT now, my old crt was the La Cie electron blue 22incher - so it was no slouch either.

Anyway the 3008 can do 114% colour which is only slightly down on LED backlights as they have a 'new' fluro tube technology in them.

also has fast refresh over all the colours even those difficult ones show no ghosting, usb, a nice stand, high res, full rgb colour control, kelvin control, HDMI, and hardware scaling for games etc, and many inputs, picture in picture. etc... does it all basically.

[nathanm]

Not too long ago I would have agreed entirely with drphoto's Pressview love, (I never got to see an Artisan though, I always wanted to)  but now I think flat panels have finally arrived and their image quality can dispense with the bulk and heat burden of big CRTs that we put up with.  In my old apartment I had two 21" CRTs running and it would get so damn hot in there it was almost unbearable.  The other thing I totally like about LCDs is the dead perfect geometry and the sharpness.  Most of my CRT-sharpened photos look way too crunchy on LCDs, though.  Not that there isn't room for improvement, though.  I really want to see one of those 200ppi displays that IBM made.  That's gotta be incredible, if mostly impractical given current operating systems and their fixed, bitmap-based GUIs.  Perhaps one day the art of typography will be reborn with ultra-high-resolution displays.  Where you will actually be able to appreciate serif fonts and such.

i have 3 of the 30inch dells 3008's

Damn! All on one machine?  I always thought that 3 monitors would be the ideal.  You don't want it too large so that you are always turning your head to and fro.  The center widescreen with two portrait mode monitors on the sides seems like it would rock, too.  Anyway, time to wake up from my daydream…

[drphoto]

Nathan, the Sony is nice (does have the perfecly flat screen rather than the 'near' flat) but like I said, it won't meet spec after only 2 years, which is really dissapointing. At least when the Pressview started it's downhill slide, it would give you the best calibration it could, with the Artisan, it just gives up and goes to an uncalibrated state.

It's funny, I always said I'd give up photography as a career when the Artisan crapped out and here I am getting ready to move on to pharmacy school. Just a coincidence, but maybe the monitor was trying to tell me something!