Looking for New Monitor

[Wbuik]

Hello,

I am looking for a new monitor.  I have been looking at the Dell ULTRASHARP 2408WFP but I seem to have read that its color is pretty bad.

I do a lot of digital image processing [usually for print] and graphics design [sometimes for print but more often for web pages].  I don't do this professionally, but I am a very enthusiastic hobbyist.

Does anyone know if the 2408WFP can be color calibrated to any kind of decent accuracy.  For my purposes it doesn't need to be perfect [nor can I probably afford something that is].

Any thoughts (or other monitors that might be better suited to my needs)?

Thank you,
-Wbuik

[DarkPenguin]

The NEC 2490 and 2690 are both really nice.  For cheaper two 24" HPs come to mind.  HP LP2465 and HP LP2475.  the 2475 can be reviewed over at TFT Central...  http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/hp_lp2475w.htm

Most monitors out there are TN panels these days.  I like HP now because they have clearly decided to keep both PVA and IPS panels in their lineups at reasonable prices.

[mbalensiefer]

Hi!

 Can you simply define

TN
PVA
   and
IPS?

Thanks!
Michael

[DarkPenguin]

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/panel_technologies.htm

[David Sutton]

The 2408WFP gets a good review at http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=3302&p=1.
You should also check out their LCD forum at http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.as...hreadid=2049206
It's up to about page 277 I think.
For once http://prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html has nothing on this monitor, but has other useful reviews.
I have a Dell 2007FP and it works fine, but you have to turn the brightness down to zero before calibrating if you don't want to burn your eyeballs out, and I believe the 2408 may be the same. I found Dell service to be very very good.
I  have also been looking for a second monitor and have ordered an HP 2475.
But it was a close call to make between the Hp and the Dell.
Cheers, David

[DarkPenguin]

If you could report back on that hp it would be great.

It appeared in HP's US store the same day my can-only-be-returned-for-store-credit HP 2465 shipped.  

(Edit: Not to say I don't like my 2465.  I do.  I would like to have gotten an IPS panel if I could have.)

[peterpix2008]

Love my NEC 2690.  Is being used by JP Caponigro and others. Just made 40 large ABW prints on Epson poster board with epson 3800. Monitor profiled with  eye-One and results were great. for the price could not be happier.

Peter

[Steve Gordon]

I have the 2408WFP and yes, it does calibrate surprisingly well using Spyder 3 elite (which I chose specifically because of it's reputation at calibrating wide gamut monitors)

Detail and color are spectacular, as good as I've seen on Eizos (I haven't seen the top of the range NEC's so can't comment)

My only concern is the slight color shift when moving my head a bit from one side of the monitor to the other. (There's a name for this effect on LCD's but I can't remember it!)

I would regard it as a "top of the mid-range" LCD's which was the impression from my research before buying.

My intention when I bought it was to try it and if not satisfied, move it to the general family computer and stump up the extra cash for a NEC or Eizo. I've been very satisfied, especially with calibration, and the rest of the family have to put up with smaller and older fare!


steve

[Wbuik]

Well, The NEC 2490 and 2690 look absolutely beautiful, but they are a few hundred bucks out of my price range.  

It appears that the 2408WFP has pretty calibrated good color rendition especially for its price according to http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=3302&p=1.

Right now I am still kind of leaning towards the 2408WFP.

Are there any great differences between the panels in the 2408WFP and the HP 2465/75?

[DarkPenguin]

According to tft central the 2408 is a S-PVA panel as is the HP lp2465.  The HP lp2475 is an H-IPS.  Although I think their site reports it as an S-IPS.

[Wbuik]

I have the 2408WFP and yes, it does calibrate surprisingly well using Spyder 3 elite (which I chose specifically because of it's reputation at calibrating wide gamut monitors)
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I have been looking at the Spyder 3s for color calibration, but if I go with the 2408WFP would it be better to go with the elite over the pro?  Is the pro less able to calibrate wide gamut monitors?

[digitaldog]

I have been looking at the Spyder 3s for color calibration, but if I go with the 2408WFP would it be better to go with the elite over the pro?  Is the pro less able to calibrate wide gamut monitors?
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You really should consider the integrated package from NEC even if its a bit over your budget (don't skimp on the most important component in your digital darkroom, prints that output differently than you believe will soon remove any cost savings). In fact, the entire package with software and puck is generally not much more (and sometimes less) then getting an inferior ala carte package.

[jerryrock]

I have been looking at the Spyder 3s for color calibration, but if I go with the 2408WFP would it be better to go with the elite over the pro?  Is the pro less able to calibrate wide gamut monitors?
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The hardware is the same, the software for the Elite package allows more customization and manual selection of B/W luminance levels, white point and gamma.

The ability to calibrate/profile wide gamut monitors comes from the color filters built in the colorimeter.

[Chris_Brown]

Any thoughts (or other monitors that might be better suited to my needs)?

I'm considering the Samsung XL24 for the simple reason is that I've installed several Samsung 245T monitors as second monitors on our workstations (next to aging Sony Artisans) and they are performing very well (i.e., they offer individual RGB calibration prior to profiling, a huge luminance range and currently hold a Delta E value of ~ 0.1 with their ICC profiles).

Aside from still photography, the 245T offers excellent playback for video editing, and as an added bonus have an HDMI connection for those times when our PS3 is needed to break some monotony.  

[pcox]

I've used the Dell panels myself, although not the 2408. In general they're pretty competent and I've heard good things from friends of mine who are using the 2408.

Myself, I use the NEC 2690 and its Spectraview software for calibration (with a DTP94). I like the display, it has a great viewing angle range without appreciable tone or colour shift. However, I find it to be a little unstable as far as calibration goes.

I calibrate it every week where I'm used to going a month or so with previous displays. It tends to shift towards the warm end of the spectrum quite appreciably. I set the white point to 200 cd/m2, which is higher than my preferred setting of 120 cd/m2 - but at the lower setting it doesn't stay neutral for more than a day.

So if you're prepared to put a bit of work into managing the display, the 2690 is great - but I sure wish they'd fix that problem. Not what I expect from such a pricey display.

Cheers,
Peter

[Wbuik]

Ok, if I do perhaps just bite the bullet and get a NEC 2490 (I don't think I want a 26 inch monitor).

Is it a worth while investment/worth the extra money?  If I do go with it would it be better to use their color calibrating system or something else like the Spyder?

[pcox]

I'd say that it's probably not worth the extra money due to the instability I mentioned before.

If you do get one, you need to get their Spectraview software. You can use it with a variety of colorimeters - for example I already had a DTP94, and I believe it works with the Spyder too - but check that out in advance.

The reason is that NEC don't publish the DDC routines for the monitor, so there's no way for third party software to control the brightness/contrast of the display.

Cheers,
Peter

[Mike Guilbault]

It'll depend on your budget... but also check out Eizo monitors.  I bought one a year ago and absolutely love it.  I believe it's the CE210w (I'm not at the studio so can't check) and was around $1500.  Beautiful colour, no dead pixels or ghosting and is easy to calibrate.