Topic: Disappointed with Eizo! (Read 25813 times)

mitchino · « **on:** July 27, 2012, 06:10:27 am »

I have been thinking about buying a hi-end monitor for a long time. After much research, I bit the bullet and bought an Eizo Coloredge CG275W. The unit arrived yesterday, and out of the box, the image was very impressive. However, I hate the anti-glare coating. Any white or light areas in an image look like they have a fine noise in them. If I pan an image around using the hand tool in Photoshop, I find the effect really intrusive. I understand that most IPS panels have this effect, but for me it's a bit of a deal breaker. The unit cost £1640, yet my 27" imac, which cost the same and also has an IPS panel, does not display this effect, and I can get it looking 95% as good as the Eizo. It also came with a free Quad Core 3.4GHz computer with 32GB RAM!

I work in a dark room, so reflections are not a problem for me.

Are there any top-end IPS or otherwise displays that don't have this crappy Anti-Glare sparkle? Or is there a fix for the Eizo, or do Eizo do special orders without the coating?

Tony Jay · « **Reply #1 on:** July 27, 2012, 06:19:15 am »

I have to say that I have not experienced this issue with NEC Spectraview monitors.
Someone with more technical knowledge in this area may correct me if I am wrong but as far as I am aware the baseline panels are the same (NEC and Eizo).
It is possible that the anti-glare coating that you are referring to is added as a proprietary feature.
I am sure that there will be several posts to follow on the issue.

Regards

Tony Jay

mitchino · « **Reply #2 on:** July 27, 2012, 08:19:56 am »

Actually I've heard the Spectraviews are worse than the Eizo's in this regard, I'm willing to be corrected though. Some people don't seem to notice it so much, maybe my eyes and brain are hyper sensitive to the 'sparkle'.

Farmer · « **Reply #3 on:** July 27, 2012, 08:02:06 pm »

Don't mean to sound nasty, but did you make that investment without actually viewing one first?

Mostly, though, it's about getting used to it - then you won't notice it and if you go back to the "old" style you'll be uncomfortable with that, most likely.

mitchino · « **Reply #4 on:** July 28, 2012, 03:08:19 am »

Yes, foolishly I hadn't seen one before I bought it. ::)I'm in a rural area, and I don't know any fellow pros nearby who use one, nor are there any at the dealers I occasionally visit. I needed a high end monitor for an urgent major retouching job, and when you are told that this is the 'ultimate' monitor for a photographer and retoucher, one that gets 5 star reviews everywhere, and one that a lot of the top pros swear by, you do think it's got to be outstanding in every regard. I just find it weird that none of the reviews I read mentioned the AG Sparkle, to me it's a MAJOR flaw. I don't think I can get used to it to be honest, and I'm angry that something so expensive is (to my mind) so let down by this 'feature'.

Farmer · « **Reply #5 on:** July 28, 2012, 04:10:46 am »

Rural in the UK? We have flood waters bigger than the UK ;-)

Ultimately, if you think it's not for you then that's no one's call but yours. There's no "fix" for it. Most photogs (not all for sure) tend to dislike the glossy screens such as the iMac.

Sorry there's no better news

Hopefully it let you get your urgent job done, though!

Rhossydd · « **Reply #6 on:** July 29, 2012, 05:46:23 am »

Quote from: mitchino on July 28, 2012, 03:08:19 am

I'm in a rural area, and I don't know any fellow pros nearby who use one, nor are there any at the dealers I occasionally visit.

I know your pain.
Comparing monitors before purchase is almost impossible as there are hardly any dealers with display stock in the UK and those that do are unlikely to have any specific two models side by side.
Colour Confidence in Birmingham maybe worth a special trip, call first to check they've what you're interested in stock.
The good opportunity to see kit like this is the annual Focus on Imaging exhibition at the NEC, again in Brum.

The other answer is to buy mail order from a reputable dealer who will take kit back if you find it unacceptable, Amazon are probably the best option for that.

FWIW I find the very small amount of AG on my NEC Spectraview acceptable now, although it did worry me a bit when new. However it's so, so much better than the vertical suspension wires and shadow mask screens that we were lumbered with on CRTs I like to keep things in perspective.

Czornyj · « **Reply #7 on:** July 29, 2012, 07:33:28 am »

I compared EIZO CG275W side by side to NEC SV271W, and there's virtually no difference in AG coating.

Some people are hipersensitive to "sparckling" & "clouding" effect of AG coating, and in such case they won't find any satisfying display for color-critical application. In the past there were a few models (NEC 2190UXi, EIZO S2000) with "satin" AG coating, that was less agressive than current "matte" AG coating, but now it's gone for good - all modern NEC PA, SV, EIZO SX, CG are the same.

Onslow · « **Reply #8 on:** July 29, 2012, 07:47:25 pm »

I use the NEC MultiSync LCD2690WUXi2 26" monitor. I used it for a few weeks and was pleased with it but I then added an anti glare hood. They made quite a difference to me. I'm not sure if it would address your concerns. Do you use an anti glare hood?

mitchino · « **Reply #9 on:** July 31, 2012, 03:12:51 pm »

I've got a decision to make tonight about whether to return the Eizo - I bought it from Colour Confidence, and they have a crappy return within 7 days at your expense return policy, so tomorrow is the deadline.

I've done a day's retouching on the unit and I'm still not liking the AG coating, I just keep thinking my white's are muddy. Will I get used to it? It's just SUCH a lot of money to spend. I've just got a feeling that I'd rather have a display that might not be as colour accurate, but at least it won't have this bloody coating, and it'll be half the price!

I ought to point out that I rarely make my own prints so print matching is not important. What I do do, is a lot of retouching for press and I work a lot in CMYK.

Help!

Ellis Vener · « **Reply #10 on:** July 31, 2012, 03:54:34 pm »

I think you will always be unhappy with it so return it. Try the NEC. if it is better , keep it, if not...

Bill Koenig · « **Reply #11 on:** August 05, 2012, 06:16:26 pm »

I went through the same thing with my NEC PA 271W. The problem to me is the fact that the AG coating is on a different plane, the AG coating is on the front surface, but the picture is below that, and can trick your eyes trying to focus on one or the other, especially in large white areas, and it does interfere with reading small text on a light background, like Lr or PS menus or in the file manager, I just have try harder to focus on the text.
I had no choice but to get used to it as that's all your going find in any of the high end monitors.

Dustbak · « **Reply #12 on:** August 09, 2012, 04:55:02 am »

I bought the CGW30 last year, coming from the Apple screen I was initially disappointed by the Eizo. It appeared duller, different colors almost as if it had a grey veil over the screen.

I needed several weeks to get used to the screen, now I would not want to go back to another screen. The prints that derive from the images I deliver to the people/companies I work for have never looked better

Anyway, not sure whether you have already returned the thing. It is all a personal preference but IME every new monitor you need to get used to before you can like it.

Czornyj · « **Reply #13 on:** September 03, 2012, 01:09:35 pm »

I just recieved new EIZO ColorEdge CX240 for testing, and have very good news - the satin finish is back, and in combination with LED backlight it gives perfectly clean picture - there's no trace of "clouding", "sparkling" or "noise"!

ycms · « **Reply #14 on:** October 01, 2012, 12:02:49 pm »

... have to say I've experienced the same. I have a brand new CG27w and the AGC material is visible in the whites. ( noteably far less 'granular' than the similar sized NEC panels ) It seems that monitors in this class and size / it has the least offensive AGC.

* Quick update (12-07-12) : after some back and forth - I had an Eizo engineer acknowledge the 'speckle' on the 27in. monitor - they've swapped mine out for the new CG-246 ( to which - is fantastic ) a month ago. * Finally a solution - although a bit smaller - that is just fine.

elliot_n · « **Reply #15 on:** October 01, 2012, 02:22:53 pm »

I have an Eizo CG275W and I was initially distracted by the anti-glare coating. For the most part I've got used to it. I tend to notice it after I've been using my Macbook Air extensively. The Air seems to have the anti-reflective coating they put on spectacles (i.e. smooth, but not totally effective). I'd like to see something similar on a proper monitor. If I was doing beauty retouching I would find the Eizo (or any other monitor with a granular anti-glare coating) distracting.

psandison · « **Reply #16 on:** November 03, 2012, 11:03:42 am »

I spoke to Jigsaw24 about the new EIZO range before settling on the CX240 & picked up an X-Rite i1 Display Pro calibrator at a bargain price from them too!

Thankfully it doesn't have the aggressive 'sparkle' that I have seen in some of the older models - it's a very clean & calm image, even on whites. Apparently the up and coming CG246 should have the same coating as the the CX so here's hoping that will be just as good. Interesting to see if the new 27" models are the same too.

If you're worried about the AG coating defiantly take a look at the CX240, I'm still playing around with it but it's looking great!

Bart_van_der_Wolf · « **Reply #17 on:** November 03, 2012, 11:00:01 pm »

Quote from: Farmer on July 28, 2012, 04:10:46 am

Rural in the UK? We have flood waters bigger than the UK ;-)

Then we have to assume that your roads are straight ..., unlike in the UK.

Cheers,
Bart

MarkLinfield · « **Reply #18 on:** November 13, 2012, 03:26:00 am »

At last! I've been following this thread without chiming in until now but I'm one of the (many?) people who loathe the two extremes of high gloss and strong AG. Annoying reflections and eye strain on the former make them unusable which is why I could never buy an iMac even for domestic use and the intrusive sparkle of the AG on previous Eizo models was the reason I sent my Eizo SX276W back after only one day. It seems like a sensible middle ground might be returning at last with the CX range and hopfully future CG models (please, please Eizo apply this to future CG models).
Mark

Jeff Magidson · « **Reply #19 on:** November 13, 2012, 05:39:40 pm »

The New iMacs announced 2 weeks ago (in stores later this month) are reported to be much less reflective but still glossy like new Mac Book Pro Retina. Perhaps that technology will migrate to the high end display manufactures.

~ Jeff

http://artslidesboston.com

Author Topic: Disappointed with Eizo! (Read 25813 times)