# Monitor Shopping...Could Use Advice



## RawHope (Sep 28, 2010)

Hello. I have a question that isn't LR-specific, hope you don't mind. I've found this forum very helpful so far for LR and I know you'd have some good advice for me on this as well.

I have a MacBook pro and am in the market for an external monitor. (I can't get the calibration right on the laptop as some of you might remember from an earlier post) I'm fairly new to digital photography and know nothing about choosing a monitor. My goal is to buy one that is very color accurate and accurate with lights and darks, etc. so I can get great screen-to-print matches. (After proper calibration of course.) I know you get what you pay for as far as monitors go but my budget is up to $1'''...hopefully a little less. I have no clue what specs to look for so if you have any general advice for me on that, that would be great. 

I've been looking at the following monitors. If any of you work on one and get excellent screen-to-print matches with it (after proper calibrating of course), please let me know. I think hearing some personal experiences with any of the following will help me choose.

1) NEC MultiSync 2'9'UXi 2'" LCD
2) NEC MultiSync PA241W-BK 24" Widescreen LCD
3) NEC MultiSync 269'WUXi2 25.5" Widescreen LCD
4) NEC MultiSync 249'WUXi2-BK 24" Widescreen LCD
5) HP / Hewlett-Packard LP2475w 24" LCD
6) LaCie 324 - I read on shootsmarter.com, this one is great for color accuracy but "has troubles with b&w tonality and photos that are low in color saturation / tinted b&w" Any experience with that?

Also, here's something that confuses me...

Some monitors say they're perfect for sRGB, some say they display a certain percentage of Adobe RGB. I want one that displays a wide gamut of Adobe RGB but that of course means those monitors also are good for sRGB, correct?? 

Thanks!


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## Braders (Sep 28, 2010)

I have number 3 - NEC MultiSync 269'WUXi2 25.5" Widescreen LCD.

Great for the money.


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## RawHope (Sep 28, 2010)

> I have number 3 - NEC MultiSync 269'WUXi2 25.5" Widescreen LCD.
> 
> Great for the money.



Thanks. How's the screen-to-print match? Do you get accurate colors? Also, I'm concerned about prints coming back too dark. I'm assuming that's not a problem with your monitor?


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## Victoria Bampton (Sep 28, 2010)

I'd vote for one of the NEC's - excellent monitors. General consensus on a pro wedding photographers forum I frequent is that number 2 - PA241W - is currently best of the bunch with number 3 - 269'WUXi2 - being a close second. 

Have you thought about how you'll calibrate it?


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## ukbrown (Sep 28, 2010)

Victoria has indirectly said what I was going to do. It is generally regarded that an IPS type panel device is better for photographers. I bought a dell one 4 years ago, none of the newer (non ips) panels at work touch it for colour reproduction (and I have calibrated lots of them as well).

The NEC one looks very good on paper. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_pa241w.htm I don't always believe reviews, but opinions on this forum count for a lot.

With regards to your other issues, the review does say "when calibrated properly" it's excellent


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## RawHope (Sep 28, 2010)

Thanks for the opinions.  Looks like I might go with an NEC. Are they ALL ISP panels?? 



> Have you thought about how you'll calibrate it?



Yep, I have an Eye One Display 2. I bought it for my MacBook last month, calibrated it several times and have been trying to get good screen-to-print matches. Can't get the color tones even close on some images. It's been so frustrating I'm giving up after reading everywhere laptops are hard to calibrate.

Can someone please answer these 2 question... 

1) Some monitors say they're perfect for sRGB, some say they display a certain percentage of Adobe RGB. I want one that displays a wide gamut of Adobe RGB but that of course means those monitors also are good for sRGB, correct??

2) What is response time? I'm reading that everywhere about monitors. Is it an important spec to consider?


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## Replytoken (Sep 28, 2010)

HI,

I have two NEC monitors that are both IPS Panels. If you want to save yourself some money, you can look at NEC's web site and buy overstock or refurbished monitors at a fraction of their original cost. I purchased an 2'9'Uxi for approximately $25', although that was two years ago. It had almost no hours on it, and it looked brand new. Due note that not all NEC monitors have IPS panels, so choose carefully. Their web site is: http://www.necdisplay.com/Products/Storefront/ . Stock changes frequently, so check back often and buy it if it is what you want.

Good luck,

--Ken


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## RawHope (Sep 28, 2010)

> If you want to save yourself some money, you can look at NEC's web site and buy overstock or refurbished monitors at a fraction of their original cost.



Hmm...interesting about buying them overstock or refurbished. To be honest, that kind of scares me a little just because there was something wrong with them before. BUT, I read about the refurbed products on their site and it sounds like they're returned to like-new condition. It also says they have low return rates which is encouraging.



> Due note that not all NEC monitors have IPS panels, so choose carefully.



I thought all of NEC's are IPS panels. Do you know which ones on my list are NOT IPS?


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## Replytoken (Sep 28, 2010)

I believe that #1,3, and 4 are IPS panels. Key things to look for, but are not always a guarantee, are the small "i" in the model name, and a viewing angle of 178 degrees. The latter is a trait of an IPS panel, but again is not always a guarantee. NEC does a reasonably good job with their refurbished monitors. As I mentioned, my 2'9' had approximately 14 hours on it. My second monitor had a few more, but nothing outrageous.

Good luck,

--Ken

P.S. Apple's Cinema Displays used to all be IPS panels. If you can find a refurbished or used one, give it some consideration.


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## RawHope (Sep 28, 2010)

> I believe that #1,3, and 4 are IPS panels.



Hmm...I thought #2 was too. It seems like it is from what I read here:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/monitors/2'1'/'5/'5/nec-multisync-pa241w-monitor-review/1


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## Replytoken (Sep 28, 2010)

[quote author=RawHope link=topic=11172.msg75192#msg75192 date=1285696725]


> I believe that #1,3, and 4 are IPS panels.



Hmm...I thought #2 was too. It seems like it is from what I read here:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/monitors/2'1'/'5/'5/nec-multisync-pa241w-monitor-review/1
[/quote]

I did not comment on #2 because I was not familiar with it. It may well be an IPS panel, I just do not know.

--Ken


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## Braders (Sep 28, 2010)

#3 and some of the NEC's come with Spectraview II color calibration software and Eye12 Puck.


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## RawHope (Sep 28, 2010)

> #3 and some of the NEC's come with Spectraview II color calibration software and Eye12 Puck.



Do you mean #3 always includes the software and puck? This confuses me because on B&H, you can order #3 with or without the color calibration kit.

I already have the Eye-One Display 2 calibrator. Can I just use that to get a good calibration or is it recommended to use their Spectraview II thing??? Please let me know.

Thanks.


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## Victoria Bampton (Sep 28, 2010)

I *believe* the difference between MultiSync and Spectraview models is the inclusion of the puck/software. If you already have a puck, check out BasICColor or ColorEyes software, which are basically the same quality of calibration but with your existing puck. Depends on how big a price difference. I will say I saw a noticeable difference in the calibration between the EyeOne software and the BasICColor software when I upgraded a few years ago.


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## RawHope (Sep 28, 2010)

I noticed the following description of the puck that comes from NEC...


[i] "The NEC/X-rite iOne Display 2-based colorimeter features factory *custom* calibration for improved color accuracy for NEC wide gamut displays when used with the SpectraViewII software."[/i]


So...I already have an iOne Display 2 but I'm wondering if by them saying their version is "custom calibrated," does that mean it's somehow different than my Eye-One and would give you better results with an NEC monitor?? 

Do any of you know if it would be worth shelling out more money for their Eye-One puck (if it is infact better somehow) instead of using my regular old Eye-One?


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## Replytoken (Sep 29, 2010)

Not to further muddy the waters, but are you still looking at monitors that can display Adobe RGB? I know that NEC made a monitor that did so, but IIRC, there were some issues when it was being used to display sRGB. Unless absolutely necessary, I think that you would be best to stick to IPS panels that display sRGB.

--Ken


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## RawHope (Sep 29, 2010)

[quote author=Replytoken link=topic=11172.msg75228#msg75228 date=1285717959]
Not to further muddy the waters, but are you still looking at monitors that can display Adobe RGB? I know that NEC made a monitor that did so, but IIRC, there were some issues when it was being used to display sRGB. Unless absolutely necessary, I think that you would be best to stick to IPS panels that display sRGB.

--Ken
[/quote]

Ugghh...and in comes more confusion.  Yes, I am looking at monitors that display Adobe RGB. I was just assuming that they would display sRGB just fine! Not so? 

I honestly don't even know what I need. All I want is accurate screen-to-print matches. I'm planning on selling fine art photos and I get such specific colors on screen in my images that I want to see in my prints. I've been reading by using Adobe RGB for prints, there is a wider array of colors that can be printed so Adobe RGB is recommended for better prints. From what I've read online, Adobe RGB for prints, sRGB for web.


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## Braders (Sep 29, 2010)

[quote author=RawHope link=topic=11172.msg75225#msg75225 date=1285713549]
I noticed the following description of the puck that comes from NEC...


[i] "The NEC/X-rite iOne Display 2-based colorimeter features factory *custom* calibration for improved color accuracy for NEC wide gamut displays when used with the SpectraViewII software."[/i]


So...I already have an iOne Display 2 but I'm wondering if by them saying their version is "custom calibrated," does that mean it's somehow different than my Eye-One and would give you better results with an NEC monitor?? 

Do any of you know if it would be worth shelling out more money for their Eye-One puck (if it is infact better somehow) instead of using my regular old Eye-One?
[/quote]

The current puck you have does not work with SVII, hence the above statement.

For real questions answered may i recommend this feed on the LL.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?board=45.'

Not trying to send you away from here, we love to help where we can...but...There are about 1'' individual topics started just on the NEC multisync and SVII software, and probable many more color experts trolling that forum.


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## Braders (Sep 29, 2010)

[quote author=Braders link=topic=11172.msg75231#msg75231 date=1285731'59]
[quote author=RawHope link=topic=11172.msg75225#msg75225 date=1285713549]
I noticed the following description of the puck that comes from NEC...


[i] "The NEC/X-rite iOne Display 2-based colorimeter features factory *custom* calibration for improved color accuracy for NEC wide gamut displays when used with the SpectraViewII software."[/i]


So...I already have an iOne Display 2 but I'm wondering if by them saying their version is "custom calibrated," does that mean it's somehow different than my Eye-One and would give you better results with an NEC monitor?? 

Do any of you know if it would be worth shelling out more money for their Eye-One puck (if it is infact better somehow) instead of using my regular old Eye-One?
[/quote]

The current puck you have does not work with SVII, hence the above statement.

For real questions answered may i recommend this feed on the LL.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?board=45.'

Not trying to send you away from here, we love to help where we can...but...There are about 1'' individual topics started just on the NEC multisync and SVII software, and probable many more color experts trolling that forum.
[/quote]
Also, take your time (as dictated by your business obviously), but spend the time researching well before jumping in.

Here is one comparing dell, nec, eizo
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=4'3''.'

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=444''.'

Take note of anything 'The digital Dog' says.


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## Victoria Bampton (Sep 29, 2010)

Great threads Brad, thanks. I'm in the market myself, and tossing up between the NEC 241 or EIZO 243, so a very interesting read.

RawHope, don't panic! Yes it's a minefield, but there is a difference between real-world accuracy and ultimate accuracy, so you're not going to make a wildly wrong decision. The NEC monitors, calibrated with hardware controls (their own Spectraview software or the BasICColor software) will do a great job. Wide gamut monitors - yes they usually have an sRGB setting, but you shouldn't have a problem as Mac's are colour managed at an OS level.


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## Replytoken (Sep 29, 2010)

[quote author=Braders link=topic=11172.msg75232#msg75232 date=1285731453]
[quote author=Braders link=topic=11172.msg75231#msg75231 date=1285731'59]
[quote author=RawHope link=topic=11172.msg75225#msg75225 date=1285713549]
I noticed the following description of the puck that comes from NEC...


[i] "The NEC/X-rite iOne Display 2-based colorimeter features factory *custom* calibration for improved color accuracy for NEC wide gamut displays when used with the SpectraViewII software."[/i]


So...I already have an iOne Display 2 but I'm wondering if by them saying their version is "custom calibrated," does that mean it's somehow different than my Eye-One and would give you better results with an NEC monitor?? 

Do any of you know if it would be worth shelling out more money for their Eye-One puck (if it is infact better somehow) instead of using my regular old Eye-One?
[/quote]

The current puck you have does not work with SVII, hence the above statement.

For real questions answered may i recommend this feed on the LL.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?board=45.'

Not trying to send you away from here, we love to help where we can...but...There are about 1'' individual topics started just on the NEC multisync and SVII software, and probable many more color experts trolling that forum.
[/quote]
Also, take your time (as dictated by your business obviously), but spend the time researching well before jumping in.

Here is one comparing dell, nec, eizo
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=4'3''.'

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=444''.'

Take note of anything 'The digital Dog' says.
[/quote]

As much as I am not a fan of DPReview's forums, there used to be an NEC employee who posted there, and he had some very good advice. I do not remember his name, I do not believe he is working for NEC any more, and I do not believe that he is still posting. But, if you are really interested in Adobe RGB, he had some interesting information about NEC monitors that displayed it. Its probably worth a search by the monitor model number.

--Ken


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## RawHope (Sep 29, 2010)

Thanks for the link Braders! That's a great forum, found the answers I needed and have decided on the NEC PA241. Can't wait to get it.


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