Help!? 17" LCD for photography work

    Evening All,


    I'm starting to go mad with trying to find the right 17" panel and this board looks like a good place to get advice.


    I'm a photographer and use Photoshop a lot - I need a monitor which can be colour calibrated well and doesn't change too much when viewing the screen from different angles.


    From researching it sounds like I need an s-ips panel, but what are the options at 17"? I'm on a limited budget, so the luxury end is out of the question. I live in London if that helps.


    Are there any specific reasons not to go for 17" as opposed to 19" - I'm constrained on space and would prefer 17", and I'm guessing they are cheaper - so i need a good reason to go to 19".


    Kind Regards,
    R

    You'll have a hard time finding a 17" TFT with an IPS panel, because afaik IPS panels are no longer manufactured in 17" size. LG still specs its 17" L1720P as an S-IPS but that is undoubtedly incorrect (LG is notorious for this kind of "mistakes" in its specs). If you're in the US, you can still buy the 17" NEC 1700NX from the NEC outlet store, this one has an IPS panel but be aware though that it's contrast and response time are not up to current standards.


    I see two options:


    - Go for a 19" S-IPS monitor, e.g. the Iiyama E481S is pretty cheap, around 380 euro currently.
    - Go for a 17" MVA/PVA monitor, e.g. the Eizo L568, the Samsung 173P (or its successor), the Iiyama H430

    Nickynick, thanks for your reply - I'm finally getting somewhere.


    So, if I'm going tol buy a 19" for photography work, then the recommended option is the Iiyama E481S. A few questions:


    a) Is there a 19" s-ips that is as cheap without the speakers? Any other 19" favourites for photo work?


    b) I searched on the reviews for s-ips and 17" and it listed a lot of screens.....are these old or no longer available?


    c)The other 17" recommdended (Eizo L568, the Samsung 173P (or its successor), the Iiyama H430) - how good are they compared to s-ips for colour fidelity?


    d)A bit off topic, but which colour calibration device would you recommend? Eyeone, Spyder, etc?


    Sorry for all the basic questions - I'm new to this.


    Thanks again for any help you can give,
    R
    (London)

    I understand that the Iiyama E481S is about to be discontinued. I was considering this monitor a few weeks ago but the integrated speakers put me off and then finding out that it was going to be discontinued removed it from contention.


    Iiyama have a great reputation but their TFT's just don't do it for me.


    My number one choice at the moment is the NEC 1980SXi-BK but I can not justify spending over GBP500.


    Have a look at the NEC TFT's


    a) The Iiyama is really the cheapest one. If you want a 19" IPS without speakers, you might look at the NEC 1970NXI but many people on these forums have reported uneven backlighting on this monitor - although I am sure that in many cases people just expect too much; in a completely dark room a completely black screen tft will always reveal some uneveness; especially for photo editing you should have some lighting in the room. In any case, to be on the safe side you should make sure you can return the monitor if the backlighting is not satisfactory for you (slightly uneven backlighting is considered normal and does not fall under warranty). It's price is about 450 euro. LG and Philips make monitors with the same IPS panel inside but I have no idea how good they are. Another good option is the Lacie Photon19IIVision, however its price varies greatly from country to country (in some countries you have it for 400 euro, in other countries it's at 600 euro).


    b) Yes, those are older models.


    c) PVA/MVA have a slightly smaller color gamut than S-IPS. Their color fidelty is very good when you look at the display straight on, however they have more color and gamma shift with varying viewing angles (so at the same viewing angle, an S-IPS has less color/gamma shift than a PVA/MVA). If your work is not extremely color critical, you may find this acceptable. Again, make sure you return the display if you find the color shift too strong (or try before you buy).


    d) I don't have first-hand experience with the different devices, however most reviews report that the i1 is better than the spyder.

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von nickynick ()

    Again - Thank You to Nickynick for your very useful post.


    As an aside - A friend mentioned OLED (organic LED) as being very good at colour. However, he said it's new technology that needs to be developed into larger screen sizes and that it would probably be very expensive if available.


    Hope you all have a good holiday break if you get holidays over Easter in your country.


    Rav

    folks I've same aims(I'm in digital photography and limited on budget so looking for 17" model), Samsung 173P or 173P+ looks like a good options although it has no controls on the screen and since I'm using Linux there would be no way I can use MagicTune...
    I've find few other models using VA technology
    BenQ FP785, BenQ FP72V, Fujitsu-Siemens P17-1, Fujitsu-Siemens P17-2


    Unfortunately I was able to find only BenQ models available for ordering, I still looking for Fujitsu-Siemens but seems that they are not shipped in my country...
    I wonder how good are they, does anybody use or had any exprience with any monitors mentioned above?
    Thanks!

    What about the Eizo L568 ? Has the same Panel as 173p and even better technology. Linux should be no problem and you've got 5 years warranty.



    Ciao Rinaldo

    _.+*" Mind Expanding Species "*+._.+*" Estar De Viaje "*+._


    "Begegnungen, die die Seele berühren, hinterlassen Spuren, die nie ganz verwehen."

    Have a look at the Fujitsu-Siemens (FSC) C19-4, if it's available at your location. It uses the very same Panel as the VP191, but lacks Pivot and DVI.


    Costs 300 Euros here, while the VP191 costs about 460 Euros. So this could be just the bargain you're looking for if you don't need Pivot and can live without DVI.


    If you don't need Overdrive at all (no video editing, no gaming) you might be able to find an older model of the VP191 (or any other screen), which surely should be cheaper than state-of-the-art models.

    We're all mad in here...

    2 Mal editiert, zuletzt von Timur ()

    Zitat

    Originally posted by tm101
    Maybe you can find an older VP181, which is an 18" display with an LG IPS Panel.


    thanks for your reply tm101! I've already check for Siemens-Fujitsu but the only model I've manage to find is 19-1 and it is available for $853.82 8o So guess it would be hard to find bargain here...
    What about BenQ models, do you have any good bad opinion about this brand(BTW fp72v use samsung matrix from what I know, not sure if it's good or not :P )? since it seems to be the only affordable choice for me now.


    BTW maybe you could tell which technology S-IPS or MVA/PVA have advantage in colors, since one sources tells that *VA is better, and other that it produce wrong colors so I'm not sure which is truth, or it's all depend from particular monitor?

    Both wont produce wrong colors once they are calibrated I guess, it largely depends on the display, not necessarily on the type of panel.


    has done several reviews on TFT displays including some colour accuracy test (before and past calibration for many models). also includes colour accuracy tests.


    Reading through the threads my general impression is that IPS panels are less varying in viewing angles while VA produce higher contrast (deeper black levels).


    You might not be happy with the dot pitch of 19" models though, since it's the largest among all display-sizes. Largely depends on your personal taste though.

    We're all mad in here...

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von Timur ()

    Zitat

    Originally posted by tm101
    Both wont produce wrong colors once they are calibrated I guess, it largely depends on the display, not necessarily on the type of panel.


    has done several reviews on TFT displays including some colour accuracy test (before and past calibration for many models). also includes colour accuracy tests.


    Thanks for links! I've already come through all their reviews to see if I can get some model on local market, but unfortunately they are revewing high cost models or those which are not presented in our shops at all.


    BTW I've arranged all things which I've found about LCD monitors in post on my forum, e.g. it contain monitor models and matrix they are using(it's based on Russian post which was translated) and other useful URLs, maybe someone would find it useful when choose LCD:


    Zitat

    Reading through the threads my general impression is that IPS panels are less varying in viewing angles while VA produce higher contrast (deeper black levels).


    yes I've got almost same feeling although some tells that colors are better on VA and other that IPS is superior, that's why I asked you, as for black level there is no second opinion from what I see.


    Zitat


    You might not be happy with the dot pitch of 19" models though, since it's the largest among all display-sizes. Largely depends on your personal taste though.


    of course I prefer smaller dot pitch, my pocket as well ;) So guess that I would try to look for Nec 1700NX a bit and if not would go with BenQ FP785 or BenQ FP72V. Too bad that I couldn't find any reviews of this displays :P so I probably had to buy cat in the bag...(all LCDs are have to be preordered in shops, all monitors which are available on stands are TN+Film based ones)

    The Benq 91E looks promising, but some users didn't seem to be perfectly happy with it. Didn't read through the threads though.

    We're all mad in here...

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von Timur ()

    By the way, you wont have to buy it in England. Transport from Germany to England costs about 30 Euros, maybe you can find an even cheaper opportunity somewhere else.

    We're all mad in here...

    Zitat

    Originally posted by tm101
    By the way, you wont have to buy it in England. Transport from Germany to England costs about 30 Euros, maybe you can find an even cheaper opportunity somewhere else.


    Unfortunately I live in Ukraine not UK, otherwise I had better selection in choosing LCD models ;)
    I already thought about ordering Viewsonic VP191B from which have offered by good shipping rates and price itself but I'm not sure how customs would treat my package and what would be if I need to send it back for warranty reasons.]
    But thanks for willing to help me and advices you given!