Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Computers & Peripherals => Topic started by: woof75 on February 18, 2009, 07:17:31 am

Title: apple cinema display
Post by: woof75 on February 18, 2009, 07:17:31 am
How are they, how do they compare to Eizo's do they calibrate well, does anyone know anything about the,m?
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: ddk on February 18, 2009, 08:40:22 am
Quote from: woof75
How are they, how do they compare to Eizo's do they calibrate well, does anyone know anything about the,m?

Depends what you need it for, I have the Apple 30" Cinema Display side by side with an Eizo CG 241W and its great for everything except critical photo use, then the Eizo is streets ahead in color accuracy, specially with Adobe RGB files.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: woof75 on February 18, 2009, 09:11:51 am
Quote from: ddk
Depends what you need it for, I have the Apple 30" Cinema Display side by side with an Eizo CG 241W and its great for everything except critical photo use, then the Eizo is streets ahead in color accuracy, specially with Adobe RGB files.

Well, I was hoping for super accurate color. I guess I just have to figure out how to pack my Eizo and travel with that.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: digitaldog on February 18, 2009, 09:53:35 am
Quote from: woof75
How are they, how do they compare to Eizo's do they calibrate well, does anyone know anything about the,m?

Not even close. Nothing special. Apple left the higher end display business years ago.

Accuracy is kind of a buzz word I try to avoid.

If you're looking for a good reference display, that is, a unit that's got high end internal LUTs and an integrated system for calibration, Eizo or NEC is the direction you should be looking.

I have nothing against Eizo other then the price. I've yet to see what the premium buys over a SpectraView using the NEC software and a good, supported instrument.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: woof75 on February 18, 2009, 10:00:08 am
Quote from: digitaldog
Not even close. Nothing special. Apple left the higher end display business years ago.

Accuracy is kind of a buzz word I try to avoid.

If you're looking for a good reference display, that is, a unit that's got high end internal LUTs and an integrated system for calibration, Eizo or NEC is the direction you should be looking.

I have nothing against Eizo other then the price. I've yet to see what the premium buys over a SpectraView using the NEC software and a good, supported instrument.

I have an Eizo which I've had for a few years now and I love it but I hate traveling with it as it's so bulky.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: Ken Bennett on February 18, 2009, 05:23:47 pm
All of the above is true.

However, remember that many of your clients -- the art directors, magazine photo editors, graphic designers, etc., -- will be viewing your photos on a 30-inch Apple Cinema Display. So it helps if your perfect images also look good on that.

Finally, I've been using a 30-inch and a 20-inch ACD for several years, and getting very good results in both fine-art prints and offset printing. Part of that is simply an old-school, never-trust-the-monitor, check-the-numbers work flow. Part of it is that they aren't bad monitors.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: digitaldog on February 18, 2009, 05:52:43 pm
Quote from: k bennett
However, remember that many of your clients -- the art directors, magazine photo editors, graphic designers, etc., -- will be viewing your photos on a 30-inch Apple Cinema Display. So it helps if your perfect images also look good on that.


Assuming they are all calibrating their displays to same target (or at all). Every Cinema display, like all displays differ from each other even when the end user doesn't muck around with them.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: ddk on February 18, 2009, 10:25:02 pm
Quote from: digitaldog
Not even close. Nothing special. Apple left the higher end display business years ago.

Accuracy is kind of a buzz word I try to avoid.

If you're looking for a good reference display, that is, a unit that's got high end internal LUTs and an integrated system for calibration, Eizo or NEC is the direction you should be looking.

I have nothing against Eizo other then the price. I've yet to see what the premium buys over a SpectraView using the NEC software and a good, supported instrument.

As far as I know NEC only has one Adobe RGB capable Multisync unit which costs more than equivalent CG series monitors, the rest are sRGB space only and they're similarly priced to 2nd tier Eizos with similar specs.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: digitaldog on February 18, 2009, 11:04:05 pm
Quote from: ddk
As far as I know NEC only has one Adobe RGB capable Multisync unit which costs more than equivalent CG series monitors, the rest are sRGB space only and they're similarly priced to 2nd tier Eizos with similar specs.

They have at least four wide gamut displays I can think of off hand. Three are close to Adobe RGB gamut depending on how you wish gauge this (percentage of Adobe RGB metric is not vague). One exceeds the gamut.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: mcfoto on February 19, 2009, 03:05:29 am
Been working at one of the best retouching houses in Sydney. They use the Apple 30' & preferred it over the Eizo. The reason being that with the newer Eizo if the client is looking at the screen from a 30 degree angle which is most cases the picture looks totally different, very flat. Looks good to the retoucher but not to the client, with the apple it looks the same. We shot a job & had the same problem with the Eizo & used the Apple cinema instead. Looking on an angle as you do when you are shooting & the Apple was better.
Denis
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: woof75 on February 19, 2009, 08:12:29 am
Quote from: mcfoto
Been working at one of the best retouching houses in Sydney. They use the Apple 30' & preferred it over the Eizo. The reason being that with the newer Eizo if the client is looking at the screen from a 30 degree angle which is most cases the picture looks totally different, very flat. Looks good to the retoucher but not to the client, with the apple it looks the same. We shot a job & had the same problem with the Eizo & used the Apple cinema instead. Looking on an angle as you do when you are shooting & the Apple was better.
Denis

And how about accuracy for the retoucher compared to the Eizo? I'm not super interested in massive gamut displays, a display is just a reference for me, my printers gamut is smaller than rgb too so I'm probably as well missing some gamut on my display.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: digitaldog on February 19, 2009, 09:12:48 am
Accuracy defined how and using what metric?
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: woof75 on February 19, 2009, 09:20:00 am
Quote from: digitaldog
Accuracy defined how and using what metric?

I'm a photographer and have little interest in the hypotheticals of it (as I guess you are aware).  I need practical advice. The only thing I care about is does my monitor look like my print. I profile my eizo with a gretag eye one and output to an epson and it looks the same, I send a file to the magazine with their profile attached and the magazine page looks like my monitor and my epson. Thats all I need a monitor for and thats all I need to know.

Title: apple cinema display
Post by: digitaldog on February 19, 2009, 09:37:00 am
Quote from: woof75
I'm a photographer and have little interest in the hypotheticals of it (as I guess you are aware).  I need practical advice. The only thing I care about is does my monitor look like my print. I profile my eizo with a gretag eye one and output to an epson and it looks the same, I send a file to the magazine with their profile attached and the magazine page looks like my monitor and my epson. Thats all I need a monitor for and thats all I need to know.


Your monitor will never look exactly like your print, ones emissive, the other reflective. But then your chrome and your print never did either. But you produced a simulation you accepted as a match.

You say you use the above equipment and they look the same. That's the bottom line. Has nothing to do with accuracy since that's a term that expects some kind of metric to say its within some accuracy spec. My ruler is more accurate than yours because we compared both against a reference grade measuring instrument of known specifications. That's an accuracy metric we can agree on.

Any decent display with the proper tools should produce what you ask for. Lesser quality displays might show more banding in smooth gradients at a fixed zoom ratio. Some displays may require calibration more often. Some displays may have better if I can use the term, viewing angles. Some have wider gamuts. None of this has anything to do with accuracy.

More users analogize over the so called accuracy of their displays then concentrate on proper viewing conditions of the print, or fail to properly setup a soft proof. I will say in this context, having a display that provides control over the calibration of a contrast ratio is probably going to produce a more "accurate" (closer visual match) then one that doesn't. Displays have far greater contrast ratio's than prints, having the ability to target this really helps to produce screen to print matching.

My practical advise based on working with a lot of display technology over the years, and working with those who design them is to look to an integrated solution (display with mated instrument and software designed from the ground up with these accessories). I've seen the best print to screen matching, with proper setup and use from such displays as Barco Reference V, Radius PressView, Sony Artisan and NEC SpectraView, all such integrated solutions. In terms of accuracy, this time measured using known, reference grade devices, such solutions again fall into this camp.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: woof75 on February 19, 2009, 10:00:12 am
Quote from: digitaldog
Your monitor will never look exactly like your print, ones emissive, the other reflective. But then your chrome and your print never did either. But you produced a simulation you accepted as a match.

You say you use the above equipment and they look the same. That's the bottom line. Has nothing to do with accuracy since that's a term that expects some kind of metric to say its within some accuracy spec. My ruler is more accurate than yours because we compared both against a reference grade measuring instrument of known specifications. That's an accuracy metric we can agree on.

Any decent display with the proper tools should produce what you ask for. Lesser quality displays might show more banding in smooth gradients at a fixed zoom ratio. Some displays may require calibration more often. Some displays may have better if I can use the term, viewing angles. Some have wider gamuts. None of this has anything to do with accuracy.

More users analogize over the so called accuracy of their displays then concentrate on proper viewing conditions of the print, or fail to properly setup a soft proof. I will say in this context, having a display that provides control over the calibration of a contrast ratio is probably going to produce a more "accurate" (closer visual match) then one that doesn't. Displays have far greater contrast ratio's than prints, having the ability to target this really helps to produce screen to print matching.

My practical advise based on working with a lot of display technology over the years, and working with those who design them is to look to an integrated solution (display with mated instrument and software designed from the ground up with these accessories). I've seen the best print to screen matching, with proper setup and use from such displays as Barco Reference V, Radius PressView, Sony Artisan and NEC SpectraView, all such integrated solutions. In terms of accuracy, this time measured using known, reference grade devices, such solutions again fall into this camp.

"Any decent display with the proper tools should produce what you ask for". So an apple display will work well for me?
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: digitaldog on February 19, 2009, 10:12:49 am
Quote from: woof75
"Any decent display with the proper tools should produce what you ask for". So an apple display will work well for me?

If the question is, using a good software and hardware tool, can you calibrate it so you get a good screen to print match, the answer is yes.

Would I purchase a different unit within the same price range, yes.

The other thing that drives me nuts about Apple displays is the lack of control over the height.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: Jack Flesher on February 19, 2009, 10:25:04 am
Another vote for the Apple Cinema display.  No, it isn't as "good" as an Eizo from a gamut standpoint, but as pointed out above, most (but not all) of your customers are going to be looking at their own Cinema display, and it is less prone to viewing angle issues.  One other point -- I have found that if the image looks good on a Cinema display, it looks good on the Eizo too, but not necessarily true for the other way around...  

Cheers,
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: Professional on February 19, 2009, 10:25:46 am
I was considering to buy Apple CD 30" but seems i have to add Eizo into consideration, i just want to use it for retouching and workflow and not to show or view for clients and so, i had worked on Apple CD 20" in our photog club and the quality and clarity is incredible amazing, so i don't know if there are much better quality monitors than ACD but also not so much expensive then it will be great.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: woof75 on February 19, 2009, 11:06:57 am
I don't need clients to like my work on there monitors, I want them to like it when it comes out in the magazine. Color, brightness and contrast accuracy is the important thing for me, my lacie is great for that when it's calibrated correctly. BUT, it's awful to travel with as it's so bulky, apple monitors are very slim and have a very small stand which is a great advantage but will i be able to calibrate it to a standard that I'm happy with?
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: jjlphoto on February 19, 2009, 12:21:37 pm
Clients wreck the files anyway, so the Apples are good enough for most.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: Jack Flesher on February 19, 2009, 01:06:52 pm
Quote from: jjlphoto
Clients wreck the files anyway, so the Apples are good enough for most.

LOLOLOL! Yep.  On a similar note, I have this really nice (read expensive) color-managed viewing station and I used to obsess about proofing with it and getting print colors exactly right.  Then I realized that most of my customers hung them under halogen or worse (tungsten) lamps anyway.  So now I have a $10 hardware store lamp housing with a "kitchen white" GE bulb in it if I want to run a quick 'reality' check
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: woof75 on February 19, 2009, 01:53:53 pm
Quote from: jjlphoto
Clients wreck the files anyway, so the Apples are good enough for most.

Mine don't, they are actually remarkably good. I'll often like the printed magazine page as much as the inkjet.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: woof75 on February 19, 2009, 02:01:03 pm
Hmm, just heard, apple has just stopped making the 20 inch version. Maybe there about to release there super light super thin super tough 20 inch screen with built in calibration? Or not.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: mcfoto on February 19, 2009, 05:10:48 pm
Quote from: woof75
And how about accuracy for the retoucher compared to the Eizo? I'm not super interested in massive gamut displays, a display is just a reference for me, my printers gamut is smaller than rgb too so I'm probably as well missing some gamut on my display.

Hi
We have been working on a series of jobs for magazine & the Ad industry using the Apple Cinema display. This retouching house have a lot of them. They tried the Eizo out for a week & sent it back. Try looking on an angle with the Eizo (it  sucks ) & clients sit beside the retoucher ( an angle), we had the same problem shooting tethered with the Eizo, so we used the Apple cinema instead. This company has no problems using the Apple cinema for professional work.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: tomrock on February 20, 2009, 09:03:37 am
I noticed Apple dropped the 20" display yesterday. Maybe they're finally getting ready for an update.
Title: apple cinema display
Post by: Professional on February 20, 2009, 10:02:18 am
Good that they dropped 20" and not 24" or 30", in all cases i don't look at 20" as my next monitor, but i am torn between 24" and 30", maybe i lean toward 30" more, but now they produce new 24" LCD so i will wait if they will produce new 30", if not then i am not sure if i should go with old 30" or new 24".