Another photographer looking for 19" LCD

    Hello guys,
    Congratulation on this excellent and very informative forum!
    I'm photographer. My current display device is an ordinary LG Flatron 795FT 17" CRT monitor. I can't complain about color (hardware calibrated) but I complain about sharpness and I'm also concerned a bit about electromagnetic radiation since I'm sitting in front of the monitor 8-10 hours every day.
    So I'd like to buy a 19" LCD panel. I tried to read all the FAQs at your site so that I don't ask what has already been answered but please read my post so that you could comment on it.
    My CRT is not dying yet. I have time to choose the LCD. I want 19". The native resolution of 1024x1280 will be optimal for me, I don't like to work in very high resolution. I don't play games. I rarely watch DVD. I surf a lot on the Internet and I'm working with digital photograps and Photoshop several hours a day. The monitor must calibrate well with a hardware calibrator (for exampe Eye One 2), I need black blacks, very good color fidelity, wide looking angle and smallest color shift, details up to deepest shadows and very good gradations of color. I need an LCD which can be compared to good CRT (not Artisan, but let's say LaCie Electron Blue in color fidlity and contrast).
    Since I surf a lot, I'd want the LCD not to smudge when scrolling and I need sharp, sharp fonts.


    From what I read I want Eizo L768. But somewhere on this site I also read that if I'm photographer, what I really want is an IPS panel which the Eizo isn't. Now I'm cofused. Eizo with 1000:1 and saturated colors or other (samsung?) with 500:1 and more faithful colors?
    Is any LCD very close in image quality to the Eizo but cheaper? Is there any cheaper and better (some say Viewsonics are).


    Since I don't have to buy the monitor immediately: is this THE time to buy an LCD for photographic work? Will 6-12 month change anything? Is the current price level a "go for it" level or can we expect further price reductions in the next months?


    Form what I saw on Photokina, LCDs are already capable of very good photographic reproduction but since I would be deeply unhappy if my photos were displayed incorrectly, I'm asking my question to experienced people once again so htat I can make a wise purchase.


    Best regards


    Tomek

    Personally I believe that IPS panels are better for photo work than MVA/PVA panels. Due to the way the light is transmitted through the liquid crystals in an IPS, they have the highest color accuracy and the color/gamma shift in function of increasing viewing angle is less steep than is the case with MVA/PVA panels. The disadvantage of IPS is a less good black level than MVA/PVA. This doesn't mean that their contrast would be "bad" or "not good enough", it is typically 450-500:1, which is IMO certainly high enough for photo work. Both IPS and MVA/PVA calibrate well, overall IPS will show lower deltas, except in the blacks. That being said, it is a fact that all TFTs for professional color graphic work use IPS panels.


    If you want the blackest black possible on a TFT, you'll need a MVA/PVA and the Eizo L768 is in that case undoubtedly the best choice, but be aware that these will generally smudge while scrolling (I've seen it on the Eizo L768). Maybe the Eizo L778 is better in this respect with its overdrive circuit - although this monitor is more targeted at video display. Cheaper than the Eizo and just as good? Hmmm...maybe the Dell 1905FP, this one uses the same panel I believe.


    If you want to go the IPS route, the best choice for you would probably be the Eizo CG19, the Eizo L797 or the Nec Spectraview 1980. All three of them have IPS panels, and the first and last one are hardware-calibratable (which is better than software calibration). But they are all expensive (>1000 euro). If you want a cheaper IPS, I would wait and see how the new NEC 1980FXI turns, or wait until the L797 goes down in price. If you want an IPS now, look at the NEC 1980SXI. Viewsonic may have a similar device but I'm not familiar with their product line, so I can't help here and I don't want to advice you about a monitor I haven't seen or don't know.

    Zitat

    Originally posted by nickynick
    Personally I believe that IPS panels are better for photo work than MVA/PVA panels.
    If you want the blackest black possible on a TFT, you'll need a MVA/PVA and the Eizo L768 is in that case undoubtedly the best choice, but be aware that these will generally smudge while scrolling (I've seen it on the Eizo L768).
    If you want to go the IPS route, the best choice for you would probably be the Eizo CG19, the Eizo L797 or the Nec Spectraview 1980.


    Thank you, nickynick. From what you write I draw the conclusion that an IPS panel may be better for photographic needs. I also see that most of the photographic quality panels are indeed out of my price range.


    I have some specific questions:
    what does it mean that "overall IPS will show lower deltas, except in the blacks"? I don't know what you mean.


    You say that I should take a look at Nec Spectraview 1980 but you don't specify the "suffix". Do you mean the SXi version as the one of interest?
    This one is about 1000 Euro anyway, so it's out of my range. I can wait a little more for my flat panel but I'm just tired of unsharp text on my current CRT and it's a bit too late to buy another CRT, I think.


    Anyway I'd appreciate any further recommendations on flat panel for photography, considering Eizo L-768 as the most costly unit I can afford.


    Regards


    Tomek

    By deltas I mean the delta (difference) between the actual color and the target color during calibration. The smaller the difference, the better of course.


    The Spectraview 1980 has no suffix. In fact, it is based on the 1980SXI but (probably) with different firmware inside which allows the 10-bit lookup table in the monitor to be written via software. There is a test about this monitor on TrustedReviews.com


    It's not IPS is worlds apart from PVA/MVA regarding color accuracy. Unless you are a professionally working in the prepress / photography / graphics business, I think you would be fine with either a PVA/MVA or an IPS panel. PVA/MVA is really not that far behind and is actually better for blacks. But it has ghosting.


    The best thing is to try and look at those different types of monitors yourself in a shop or so. It's the only way to find out what will suit your purpose best.