Dell or Eizo - choice to make....

timk519 · November 5, 2009

I'm looking at a new monitor for my editing, post-processing, etc. and was wondering if there's that big of a difference between an Eizo SX3031W and a Dell 3007WFP-HC.

Both of them have the screen size I'm looking for, but at $3500 CDN, the Eizo is $2500 more than the Dell screen is ($1000 CDN) which is roughly the price of a new 7D.

On the one hand I want a big screen that'll give me the ability to see what an image'll look like when printed, as well as work well for my other endeavors, but can I get that with the Dell (or some other) screen w/out the price of an Eizo?

Ric Grupe · November 5, 2009

NEC Spectraview II Series

I have the 26" model for a year now...perfect!

Newsy · November 5, 2009

timk519 wrote:

I'm looking at a new monitor for my editing, post-processing, etc. and was wondering if there's that big of a difference between an Eizo SX3031W and a Dell 3007WFP-HC.

Both of them have the screen size I'm looking for, but at $3500 CDN, the Eizo is $2500 more than the Dell screen is ($1000 CDN) which is roughly the price of a new 7D.

On the one hand I want a big screen that'll give me the ability to see what an image'll look like when printed, as well as work well for my other endeavors, but can I get that with the Dell (or some other) screen w/out the price of an Eizo?

PRAD.de Reviews
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html

NEC LCD3090WQXi "Good" 2008-06-27
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2008/review-nec-lcd3090wqxi.html

Eizo SX3031W-BK "Good" 2008-04-30
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2008/review-eizo-sx3031w.html

Dell 3008WFP "Very Good" 2008-02-01
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2008/review-dell-3008wfp.html

HP LP3065 "Good" 2007-01-24
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2007/review-hp-lp3065.html

These all have a resolution of 2560x1600.

It is suspected that Dell is about to release a new U2711 27 inch monitor which will use the same IPS (e-IPS ?) TFT LCD panel as the new iMac 27" monitor that is getting a lot of attention atm. There is no clue as to if it will have an LED backlight as per the iMac's.

Being a 27" the resolution is likely to be 1920x1200.

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timk519 · November 5, 2009

It would appear the Eizo isn't worth the $ it's asking for

, and there are better alternatives.

Thanks for posting the reviews - I think I have my answer.

JimW · November 6, 2009

I own an Eizo CG series monitor, and it has been the single best photography purchase I have ever made. I think the reason is because it eliminates a major variable, which is guesswork . I do a lot of post processing for both the web and for ink jet printing. The Eizo saves on ink and paper, which is great. But it also saves time, lots of precious time.

I worked on one of those top Dell monitors at a friend’s place. I don’t care for the way they look, all hard-edged and chunky, very bright and contrasty. I would describe the Eizo, in comparison, as smoother, less glossy than the Dell. But, I am used to the Eizo look, so maybe that’s why, as we tend to like and defend the stuff we use.

If you don’t want to spend the extra money, which I can understand, then don’t ever work on an Eizo. It will spoil you and you’ll end up poor. But happy.

Hope this helps.

Jim

timk519 · November 6, 2009

JimW wrote:

If you don’t want to spend the extra money, which I can understand, then don’t ever work on an Eizo. It will spoil you and you’ll end up poor. But happy.

Well, the question isn't whether or not to spend the $, but if it's worth the extra $2K or so compared to other monitors.

I'm a firm believer in "pay a bit more now, or a lot more over time", so while I could digest the up-front cost with a bit of work, when I read a review that would seem to indicate that (a) it doesn't live up to the capabilities one would expect in a monitor in that price range, and (b) there are better, cheaper alternatives that do as good or better, then I have to stop and wonder.

Part of the problem is I don't have access to an Eizo - or any of the other monitors, so this purchase would be made 'sight unseen'.

eek1

Ric Grupe · November 7, 2009

timk519 wrote:

Well, the question isn't whether or not to spend the $, but if it's worth the extra $2K or so compared to other monitors.

I'm a firm believer in "pay a bit more now, or a lot more over time", so while I could digest the up-front cost with a bit of work, when I read a review that would seem to indicate that (a) it doesn't live up to the capabilities one would expect in a monitor in that price range, and (b) there are better, cheaper alternatives that do as good or better, then I have to stop and wonder.

Part of the problem is I don't have access to an Eizo - or any of the other monitors, so this purchase would be made 'sight unseen'. eek1

Save yourself some money and get outstanding performance with the NEC or ignor me...it's your loss. Do some homework.

timk519 · November 7, 2009

Ric Grupe wrote:

Save yourself some money and get outstanding performance with the NEC or ignor me...it's your loss. Do some homework.

Why do you think I'm here asking questions? On the one hand I've heard good things about Eizo's, but I haven't seen qualitative numbers to back it up, and can only wonder if their higher price is more of a triumph of marketing over performance.

BTW - the thread you referenced dates back to the 2008, which is quite a while in internet-years...

Ric Grupe · November 7, 2009

timk519 wrote:

BTW - the thread you referenced dates back to the 2008, which is quite a while in internet-years...

Still holds true...google is your friend.

timk519 · November 7, 2009

Ric Grupe wrote:

Still holds true...google is your friend.

Indeed - I've found some more recent reviews on CNET, but CNET doesn't provide an easy way to compare two arbitrary monitors. :cry

Newsy · November 7, 2009

Well.... if it is the NEC LCD2690 you are considering, a brand spanking new review was just released on Prad.de for the second generation of this monitor, the LCD2690WUXi2 (note the "2" at the end).

One significant difference from the first generation is that this latest does NOT have the A-TW (Advanced True White) filter/polarizer.

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2009/review-nec-lcd2690wuxi2-bk.html

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timk519 · November 7, 2009

I've found more recent reviews of the NEC product, but not of the Eizo products.

Still, it would take a lot for the Eizo to make up for the nearly $1K difference in price between a NEC and Eizo 30" screens.

Newsy · November 7, 2009

timk519 wrote:

I've found more recent reviews of the NEC product, but not of the Eizo products.

Still, it would take a lot for the Eizo to make up for the nearly $1K difference in price between a NEC and Eizo 30" screens.

The problem with those 30 inch monitors is that most of them were first introduced about 2-3 years ago and so they were reviewed shortly after. They're old news now so about the only place you'll see a comment is in a users' forum.

There is a German language review of an Eizo 24" on Prad.de that will be translated to English soon (~4 weeks).

http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/testberichte.html

If you run each page through the Google Translate service you can pick out a bit of info.

http://translate.google.ca/?hl=en&tab=wT#

This next site also has info on Eizo and Lacie monitors. You may see a pop-up when you first open it aksing if you would like to visit their UK or USA site instead. Don't. Click on "Continue".

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=119&mo1=388&p1=3597&ma2=89&ph=8

The key points of these monitors is that they have 14bit or 16bit processing of the image before they put it on the 8 or 10 bit panel. They have internal LUT's and usually come with a hardware + software calibrator that allows you t program that internal LUT.

It that worth it? Not for me where I'm totally amateur, post processing for web display and printing via a service that only works in sRGB.

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adbsgicom · November 12, 2009

On the Eizo monitors, what does the IPS technology do other than jack up the price between the 221 and 241 CG series? Is seems the only real difference is the $5K monitor hits 98% of aRGB vs 95%, which is either way, far beyond other monitors which cover about 75%.

My Dell2007WFP monitors are dying. I got a LaCie 324, but the color isn't consistent across the screen, so it will be going back shortly.

I am also looking at what the specs for the nec sv2 series are as well.

timk519 · November 12, 2009

adbsgicom wrote:

On the Eizo monitors, what does the IPS technology do other than jack up the price between the 221 and 241 CG series? Is seems the only real difference is the $5K monitor hits 98% of aRGB vs 95%, which is either way, far beyond other monitors which cover about 75%.

Here's a comparison of the two on Eizo's website:

http://www.eizo.com/global/iblick/compare/index.php?id=CG301W;SX3031W;

All I can think is that the difference pertains to issues we'll never have to deal with.

adbsgicom · November 12, 2009

It is a bit interesting/odd that the higher coverage of the aRGB gamut doesn't exist in the NEC monitors less than 26". I've traditionally had a dual-display setup which is very nice. I like the low/wide setup of the dual-display but I might be steered toward a 30" setup.

Newsy · November 13, 2009

adbsgicom wrote:

It is a bit interesting/odd that the higher coverage of the aRGB gamut doesn't exist in the NEC monitors less than 26".

I'm waiting on confirmation of what H-IPS panel the new 24 inch is using and also tested results for sRGB and AdobeRGB.

I suspect NEC may be dialing back the AdobeRGB to avoid the green/pink tinge issues that HP, Dell, and Philips have all had with the LG made LM240WU4 H-IPS panel.

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Dell or Eizo - choice to make....

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