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Author Topic: 21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer  (Read 4765 times)

jturner421

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21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer
« on: May 29, 2007, 01:59:59 pm »

I realize this topic has been beat to death in this forum, but I'm curious about the response from non-professional advanced amateurs.  I have a Lacie 19" Electron Blue that is on it's way out and I have no choice but to upgrade to an LCD.  I have a Revision A Eye-One photo package that automatically profiles my monitor and I get almost perfect monitor to print matches from my Epson 2200 with the profiles I created. All of these are attached to a Apple Dual G5 Tower.  I bought all of the above at great discount (Eye-One) or refurbished (Epson, Lacie, Mac) so while I enjoy using professional equipment, I don't always have the latitude to purchase it and sometimes need to wait for newer products to make the price points lower.  This is my hobby, and although I'm passionate about it, I do not make money from it nor do I intend to.

Sorry for the preamble, but after pouring through this forum and others, it seems in order for me to match my Lacie I need to get either an Eizo or NEC LCD both going for over a $1,000.  I want a 21" monitor so I'm looking at the CE210W or the 2190UXI.  I'm toying with the Samsung 214T, Apple Cinema 20" (Government Discount) or Dell 2007FPW which is considerably less at the expense of color accuracy. I know the Eizo and NEC can be hardware calibrated which is a plus and the NEC seems to be the monitor of choice on this forum.   My question is what am I really giving up by looking at the lower cost monitors? How much less color accurate are they?  Will Eye-One calibration get me 90-95% there with the lower cost solutions?  Is there another monitor that I've overlooked?

Thanks in advance for you responses.

--Joel Turner
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BernardLanguillier

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21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2007, 11:33:27 pm »

Wasn't there also a new Samsung using leds like the Nec?

Regards,
Bernard

feppe

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21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2007, 05:32:53 am »

I had the same choice a few months back. I decided on a widescreen Samsung 215TW with a 3-year warranty, which is a true 8-bit S-PVA panel - ie. excellent value. You can use it vertically, it has all the inputs you need (VGA, DVI, component and composite) and even has speakers. I use the Spyder2 to calibrate, and get excellent color. The only minor complaint I have is that there's some brightness funkiness going on in the corners, no idea if there's a technical term for it. It's only really noticeable when the screen is black, and doesn't bother me at all during normal work.

Nill Toulme

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21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2007, 08:47:11 am »

One thing to consider that might help you a little on cost is that you might be perfectly happy with a 20" rather than 21".  LCDs' actual viewing area is larger relative to their nominal size than CRTs'.  My 2090uxi is — subjectively, at least — as large as and perhaps slightly larger in terms of actual viewing area than my old 21" Trinitron CRT.  And the native resolution for the 20" and 21" models is the same — 1600x1200.

Nill
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jturner421

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21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer
« Reply #4 on: May 31, 2007, 09:04:11 am »

Thanks for all the responses.  I'm still considering the Samsung but leaning towards the NEC or Eizo.  There is a new Samsung that uses LED's but the pricepoint is much higher than what I am willing to spend. Nill, the going rate on the NEC 2090UXi is about $975.00 while the Eizo is $1198.  I have some confusion about the NEC. Do you need their Spectravision software to perform the hardware based  calibration or will the Eye-One software suffice? My undestanding with the Eizo is that their calibration software is bundled into the price and will woek with the Eye-One.
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Geoff Wittig

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21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2007, 12:49:32 pm »

I have a contrarian view that may merely demonstrate my ignorance, but here goes...
Having a color-calibrated monitor is very helpful because it reduces the number of uncontrolled variables along the road from capture to monitor display to final print. However, the gross disparity between additive/illuminated monitor color and subtractive/reflected print color to my mind outweighs any perceptual differences between high-end very expensive monitors with full hardware calibration versus off-the-shelf consumer monitors calibrated with something like a Colorvision Spyder 2 or an i-one. You can get an awful lot more monitor real estate per dollar if you relax your standards just a little, and all of the LCD monitors out there come from the same 5 factories in China & Taiwan. I bought a Gateway 24" wide format LCD dirt cheap when my faithful CRT finally died. Calibrated with a Spyder 2 the colors seem at least as accurate, and the vastly bigger screen makes image editing a delight. Soft-proofing is certainly good enough for me. So I think your dollars may be better spent on a much bigger but slightly less precise monitor, unless you're doing something like fashion or furniture photography where extreme color accuracy is mandatory.
Just my 2¢.
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Nill Toulme

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21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer
« Reply #6 on: June 02, 2007, 12:37:45 am »

Joel you can profile the NEC very well with the Eye One software — and do it in DDC-CI mode — but to do the internal hardware calibration you do need the NEC software.  It's available separately for about $150, or you can get the SV version of the monitor which includes both the software and an Eye One puck, for less than what you'd pay for those items separately.

Nill
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BradSmith

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21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2007, 03:47:07 pm »

Quote
.......So I think your dollars may be better spent on a much bigger but slightly less precise monitor, unless you're doing something like fashion or furniture photography where extreme color accuracy is mandatory.
Just my 2¢.
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Geoff,
My old CRT is still hanging in there, but what you say sounds reasonable to me.  I'd be really interested in seeing two well calibrated monitors next to each other displaying the same image - a high end and an "adequate" end monitor.  Has anyone been able to see this type of setup?  
Brad
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budjames

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21" LCD Monitor for the Advanced Amatuer
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2007, 05:59:27 am »

Check out monitors from Formac. Better specs than the Apple Cinema displays for less money.

I purchased the 2010 Gallery display about 5 years ago and the color calibration using EyeOne was excellent. I used in on 2 different Dell PCs before switching to Mac earlier this year.

I replaced with monitor with an EIZO ColorEdge CE240W in January, however, the Formac is doing a great job as a welcomed "upgrade" for my kids' game PC.

The EIZO is awesome and more highly rated than Apple Cinema displays, but it was not cheap at $1,500 for a 24" display.

You can get the Formac 21" for half that price.

Cheers.

Bud James
North Wales, PA
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Bud James
North Wales, PA [url=http://ww
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