Is an Eizo the right monitor for me?

katabatik

Weaksauce
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Hi guys

I've been looking for a new 24"@1920x1200 for a while now and after having owned a Dell U2412M, I've become paranoid with AG coating. I truly hated the Dell's AG coating. From what I've gathered here on the forum, hard AG is problem with all IPS panels. So, I've started a search for an high quality VA panel.

After doing some research on the net, I think that Eizo might fit the bill. Here's its intended uses, in order of % of use:

- MS Office
- Web browsing
- PDF viewing
- Photo retouching (B&W mostly)

On the later intended use, I should probably say that I used to do photography professionaly in the days of film. With the transition to digital, I dropped photography altogether, but now I want to start shooting digital, albeit not professionally. However, I'm still pretty demanding when it comes to photographic quality, even if I'm shooting just for art's sake.

I'm considering the Eizo S2433W, the FX2431W and the CG241W, mainly because they are VA panels and, hopefully, have smoother AG coating. Smooth AG is of paramount importance to me.

Lastly, I'll be connecting my laptop to it. It only has HDMI out, so I'll be using an HDMI to DVI cable.

Thanks in advance.
 
It's so unfortunate that you are oversensitive to AG coating because this way you miss best monitors suitable for all purpose including photographic quality requirement.

VA Eizos have somewhat smoother AG coating than most IPS monitors (except NEC 2490WUXi and glossy IPS).
However, they do not provide photographic image quality due to intrinsic PVA color shift and poor viewing angles. What makes things even worse is that they are wide color gamut without proper sRGB support.
And finally S-PVA pixel structure is not optimal for sharp text rendering.
And on top of everything they are overpriced junks.
c-PVA are better than S-PVA for MS Office/Web/PDF but they are too small (1920x1080 max), no WG issues but the same colorshift and poor viewing angles.

Have a look at Samsung SA850 24".
This is a PLS which is IPS with a smooth AG coating.
You'll get the best available AG coating and at least get rid of VA colorshift.
This model has color rendering issue too (sRGB mismatch) but not as bad as WG monitors (except NEC PA series).
 
The famous Samsung SA850 24" is not available locally and judging from what I've read, it is hardly a good choice for photographic retouching.

I can understand that there are better options than the VA Eizos if you go IPS, but calling them "junk" sounds a bit extreme, considering all the good reviews I've read about Eizo's VAs. I can get the Eizo S2433W for 780 Euros. Not cheap, but at par with NEC offerings.

Speaking of NEC, I can still get hold of a NEC 2490WUXi2. Is this model's AG coating as soft as the NEC 2490WUXi?

How is NEC's new IPS panels AG coating to Dell's AG?

Thanks.
 
From what I've read, EIZO applies a very similar, non-agressive AG coating to their IPS screens as well. To be more exact, I've seen that this is the case with the EV2335 model, which is a cheap e-IPS office monitor.

I own two Eizo VA based screens and both of them indeed do have nearly immaculate AG coatings.
 
The famous Samsung SA850 24" is not available locally and judging from what I've read, it is hardly a good choice for photographic retouching.

I can understand that there are better options than the VA Eizos if you go IPS, but calling them "junk" sounds a bit extreme, considering all the good reviews I've read about Eizo's VAs. I can get the Eizo S2433W for 780 Euros. Not cheap, but at par with NEC offerings.


Did those "good" reviews tell you about their flaws (color shift, viewing angles, WG artefacts, irregular pixes structure)?
If not, how can they be good? They are ads.
"Junk" is a red flag. You are buying inferior product for superior price.


Speaking of NEC, I can still get hold of a NEC 2490WUXi2. Is this model's AG coating as soft as the NEC 2490WUXi?
No, top IPS models from NEC (including 2490WUXi2) and Eizo have regular AG.

How is NEC's new IPS panels AG coating to Dell's AG?
Same thing.
 
@albovin
I haven't even mentioned which sites I read the reviews on and you qualify them as "ads". So, according to your logic, for eg., Prad reviews, the several photo magazine reviews I've read and the numerous user opinions prasing Eizo quality are all ads? 'Cause they all agree that Eizo does make quality monitors, even if they also agree that the price is steep.

I'd also like to hear other opinions of people who have used Eizo monitors in the fields I intend to use them.
 
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You seem to read just a half of my posts.:)

It's not a matter of my personal preference. My only preference is image quality. I am mentioning exact facts about monitors.

You don't have to mention review sites. I wrote: If not ... (cover essential flaws of the monitors being reviewed) then... it's a slapdash job at best.

Review sites sometimes make mistakes and critical omissions. Prad is not an exception.

Eizo is famous for their high-end IPS models, not PVA which just share reputable brand and high price tag.

As a potential user I would rather welcome critical facts than sweet stories.

Best of luck on your search.
 
Thanks for the input albovin. I didn't mean to flame you or anything. Perhaps I just misinterpreted your post. The sites I visited do mention flaws (there are no perfect monitors), but the overall impression is good/very good, that is what I meant to say.

If Eizo VAs are a bad option, then I'm more or less stuck in a dead end. Everything else photography oriented is IPS. Maybe I'm asking too much flexbility in terms of use from a single monitor. If I could find a fairly cheap monitor that excelled in displaying text (I work 6 to 8 hours a day with text) I would perhaps go for a two monitor solution: a good monitor for text only and a good monitor for photo editing. The AG coating bothers me, mostly, while reading text.
 
I work 8-10 hours each day writing on an Samsung 244t. I have an HP LP 2465 at another position, hooked up to the Internet. I have an NEC LCD2470WNX in storage that I have used for writing and photo work. All three displays use the same S-PVA panel, a Samsung LTM240M2.

I have an NEC LCD2490WUXi (1, not 2) which sees some use for photo editing and text work. So I am in a position to compare.

Based on albovin's post above, the rap on S-PVA is this:

PVA Color Shift--Not sure what this means, as distinct from the next item in the bill of particulars. With calibrated monitors, I don't see different colors. The NEC 2470 is especially close to the 2490. On a scale of 100 I would rate them as 90 and 95 respectively.

Poor Viewing Angles--A bigger problem on early S-PVA panels than later. The Samsung 244t has a bit more of it than the HP LP2465 or the NEC 2470. The problem is principally limited to looking at the image head-on--the infamous "black crush." If the image seems dark, try moving your head horizontally. It does represent a minor problem, especially for editing black and white photos. I also find that the higher contrast levels of S-PVA monitors may potentially result in photos that have less apparent contrast than desired when seen in other venues, such as on the web or at a camera club slide show. But again, you learn to deal with it, and it is minor.

Text not sharp--I've seen the blowups of letters showing PVA vs. IPS (?) pixel structure and the criticism makes sense to me. But I question whether it is a material difference. Again, I work with the 244t all day long (12 point text at actual size, i.e., the page in front of me measures 8.5 x 11, which you can do on a 24-inch display) and do not find that it is displaying fuzzy text.

I assume the comment about overpriced junk was aimed at Eizo and perhaps also at wide gamut. Certainly, unless you need the graphics professional features of the CE or CG series, it is overpriced. The CE240W and a couple of other sRGB Eizo models, for instance, use the same panel as the displays mentioned above. You can find a used Eizo CE240W on Ebay for $650. You can find a used NEC LCD2470WNX for $250. I have inquired about the mileage on the latter and like some others the vendor cannot be bothered to power it up and check. But I just bought a backup HP LP2465 from an individual who was kind enough to check the hours, which were low.
 
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