Monitor help...choosing between NEC and Eizo and more info

[twolf13]

1.  First, hi all, and thanks..been 10 years since I was around here and dpreview....picking up my photography again, now.

2.  I am looking to get a good monitor that I can calibrate the colors on.  I was set on the NEC PA271W and then ran across the Eizo cg279x.  I know from the past, that Eizo was always right up there with the cream of the crop.  But I have also discovered that NEC has a wonderful offering in the PA271.  I have read all that I could find on the internet about both, including many posts here on LL. 
    One of the things I read here was by digitaldog, who I know, is a big NEC fan, that I, admittedly did not understand at https://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=129474.0 .  But that thread had me concerned about the PA271, which leads to 3 below.

3.  Can anyone point me to a resource that I can read up on, so that I can understand more of the calibration and what each thing, delta, etc means?  This is really new to me.  But I do want to be able to print what I see.

4.  I have read that the Eizo calibration mechanism is the greatest and some folks had problems with the spectroview on the NEC.  I don't have a problem getting an 3rd party calibrator and using it.

5.  And lastly, any thoughts on which of these two monitors would be the better purchase and last longer.  Preferably from folks who have hands on experience with either or both, and I will continue to read on here and any new stuff I can find.  I had wanted 4k, I thought, and considered the Benq sw271, but read some pretty bad things about that monitor, and decided, I would prefer to have a quality, great, monitor for my photography, and really did not need the 4k. 

thanks all!  Tim

[Chris Kern]

I have no experience with any of the Eizo monitors, but I've been using NECs for quite a few years now and have only once seen any deterioration: an old PA241 developed a minor but irritating "smudge" after the unit was well out-of-warranty.  It still calibrates accurately and it is now attached to an equally antique Apple Mac Mini that I use solely to drive a printer.  My current post-processing configuration is a NEC PA271 and a NEC PA243, both of which I'm very pleased with.  Spectraview is a pleasure to use.  You can just fire it up and let it do its thing or you can go to Andrew Rodney's site and read various tutorials that will explain color management in sufficient detail that you will be able to decide what specific parameters make the most sense for your environment.  But the default settings work well for me and I suspect they will for all but the most fastidious photographers.

[twolf13]

Thank you Mr. Kern.

I was all set on the NEC, but then read about the Eizo and it being decent for some video.  I don't do 4k, just home movies and so forth, but wanted something I could do both on, and not get 2 monitors.  And I read about that one problem, white point, I believe in that link I postted and figured I had better educate myself a little more, as I only want to make a purchase once and want to get what I need. 
So thank you for your thoughts on your NEC, they echo 99% of what I have read on that monitor. 
And thank you again, for the link to Mr. Rodney's site for my education on this topic. 

Something else that you mentioned, and I tried to find more on it the other day...I don't use a Mac, I use a PC, and most of what I found on the NEC was Mac users.  But I do know it will work with either.

Thanks again for your encouraging thoughts and advice...tim

[tonysiciliano1]

I've had a NEC 302 for years and have never had trouble using Spectraview. The only fiddling I had to do was figuring out the correct brightness (cd/m2) to get my prints looking right, which in my case is 80 cd/m2. Not sure if it matters, but this NEC has 10 bit color.

[twolf13]

Hi Tony and thanks...it might matter, I did a lot of research, wanting a true 10 bit.    But from what I read the NEC is a 10 bit (8 bit + FRC)....maybe someone can clarify.  Is the NEC a true 10 bit or an 8 bit +?  I know that even the Eizo is not true 10 bit...

My other concern is the NEC is listed at 97.1 % of Adobe color.  And I shoot Adobe colorspace mostly and want the highest percentage of that space I can get.  And 97.1 is probably a non issue compared to 99.  But this is all stuff I have pondered, tried to research and am digging into. 

Thank you sir..tim

[tonysiciliano1]

I can't really get a good sense of the practical difference between true 10 bit and 8+2. For what it's worth, here is a link to a discussion I started awhile ago on the subject of 10 bit: https://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=131859.0
Andrew Rodney, the resident color management expert here posted a color patch to test to see if there was banding with my monitor, and if there wasn't that it was 10 bit. It had no banding. So whether or not it has true 10 bit or only 8+2, it is good enough for me.

[twolf13]

ok, thank you..will read that thread.  Yes, I have come to the conclusion that 8 +2 should suffice.

Thanks again,...tim

[jmlphotography]

The NEC PA271Q is 10 bit.  You will need a NIVDIA Quadro card (or other manufacturer's equivalent) to make use of that capability.

[tsinsf]

Nvidia Quadro cards used to be the only player, but now the line of GeForce video cards also support 10 bit. They are half the price of Quadro cards. See:

https://petapixel.com/2019/07/29/nvidia-unveils-new-studio-driver-with-support-for-10-bit-color-for-creatives/

[jmlphotography]

I spoke directly with a NIVIDIA Tech Rep about this to confirm what I had heard from others.  Unfortunately, Geo-force cards do not support 10 Bit. They do support "30 Bit" color which can be activated in PS Preferences, (10 x3, i.e., RGB) but that is a software enable enhancement and is not the same thing as the Quadro 10 Bit that you and I thought we were getting with NVIDIA's announcement.  Rather than debate here, I suggest those who feel strongly one way or other just call NIVIDIA and see what they say.  Maybe the tech I spoke with didn't know what he was talking about.  I'd be happy if that were true.