Monitor Comments/Feedback Please

[jason-l]

So I now have the budget for a new PC and monitor!
[starts plans for retiring PIII 700MHz 192Mb clockwork laptop]

I currently have a Dell/Sony Trinitron 17" CRT that's served me well the last 9 yrs... but time for a good LCD I think. Obviously, since I'm posting here in Photog forum, it needs to have accurate colour... and response for games/movies is not so important (don't play games, use a telly to watch movies ).

Models I'm considering at this stage:

Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP 24"
Eizo FlexScan S2110W 21"
Eizo ColorEdge CE210W 21"

The last one above is probably out price league - my money would be better spent elsewhere, eg. hardware calibration device/CF card/etc.

Anyone use either and could comment? Any other models I should include in my search? Can anyone tell me if the Dell auto adjusts for room light?

Any comments/feedback gratefully accepted

Jason

[_dobbo_]

Whatever monitor you get if accurate colour rendition is a priority you should budget some money for a monitor calibration tool of some description.

PC Pro have just done a review of monitors and they gave the edge to the BenQFP241W over the Dell 24", at roughly the same price point.

Dell are currently doing a rocking deal on their 22" widescreen which is probably hard to beat at that price. Is an extra 2" of screen worth 300 notes? Or would you be better off with 2x 22" screens and the leftover money on a calibration tool. Once you've worked with multi monitors you wont want to go back, I know which I'd choose.

Edited by _dobbo_ on Tuesday 13th March 13:35

[jason-l]

Thanks for your comments.

_dobbo_ said:

Whatever monitor you get if accurate colour rendition is a priority you should budget some money for a monitor calibration tool of some description.

Sorry, used a bad eg. Take it as read that I *will* be getting a hardware device regardless of monitor purchased

_dobbo_ said:

Dell are currently doing a rocking deal on their 22" widescreen which is probably hard to beat at that price. Is an extra 2" of screen worth 300 notes? Or would you be better off with 2x 22" screens and the leftover money on a calibration tool.

Thanks for the link... but TBH I would not consider a NON-UltraSharp Dell LCD - I'd be better off keeping my Trinitron CRT IMHO . Also worked with up to 6 monitors before (work not home!) and agree it's great, but I'd rather focus the budget on 1 outstanding monitor than 2 good monitors IYSWIM... or maybe add a budget flatscreen later.

_dobbo_ said:

Once you've worked with multi monitors you wont want to go back, I know which I'd choose.

And I guess you chose 2x monitors?

Edited by jason-l on Tuesday 13th March 13:55

[gregorio!]

I've recently used 2 x 24" widescreen Eizo's and they were the best monitors i've ever used, fantastic for looking through photos in Aperture. They display great colour and have a high quality feel to their build.
The dell ultrasharps are good too, but i've only used them in 17" laptop form.
HTH

[mneame]

Just about to buy a new telly that'll double as my monitor. Space or budget doesn't stretch to anything huge but 32" lcd should do the job. would that be an option for you?

anyone doing this at the moment?

[jason-l]

Thanks for replies so far, folks That dual Eizo 24" setup sounds expensive and desirable, Greg!

Anyone out there use the Dell UltraSharp or Eizo models I mention?

[fergusd]

I have a dell 2407 - I've colour calibrated it using a borrowed tool and it's fantastic, could never go back to a smaller monitor in pixels or inches and the widescreen format is very good too - plenty screen real estate. You will realise that your old CRT is long past it's best when you buy something new - tech has moved on - I had an old(ish) iiyama CRT and thought it was pretty good - it developed a failure so I replaced it - then realised it was cr@p ;-)

Fd

[jason-l]

Fergus

Does your 2407 have a sensor that compensates brightness for room light? Was reading that the Eizos have this...

(was gonna pick your brains tonight after reading your reply, sorry I missed you)

[gregorio!]

jason-l said:

Thanks for replies so far, folks That dual Eizo 24" setup sounds expensive and desirable, Greg!

It was a great setup, it wasn't mine though

[_dobbo_]

jason-l said:

Fergus

Does your 2407 have a sensor that compensates brightness for room light? Was reading that the Eizos have this...

(was gonna pick your brains tonight after reading your reply, sorry I missed you)

If the monitor doesn't have it I know some of the gretag macbeth calibration tools will do it for you - certainly mine adjusts the display depending on the room light.

I currently run with an ultrasharp 2005 and another 1505, works very well for me.

[ccharlie6]

i run an EIZO 19" flexscan if the quality of the 24" monitors is anything like this then it will be amazing, its an excellent monitor which does everything i need and has lots of nifty little features.

[jason-l]

Thanks all for your comments.

I'm still a bit torn - 21" Eizo vs 24" Dell. However, I was admiring a 24" iMac's screen today (the same panel as Dell's I believe) and it blew me away! So the extra real estate is probably gonna win my cash. (Shame these 2 monitors aren't easily viewable on the high street).

Will let you know my final, final, FINAL decision