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You are here: MacNN Forums > Enthusiast Zone > Art & Graphic Design > which LCD / TFT is good for imaging etc?

which LCD / TFT is good for imaging etc?
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mak_attack
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Jan 29, 2005, 10:22 PM
 
hi,

i am in the market to get a tft monitor as my current crt is beginning to annoy me. it will be used with a powermac.

i do not play games on my computer and only use it for work (internet, documents, multimedia/graphics based stuff, dvds).

i would like a 24-bit / 16.7 million colour display as i work with images, designing various things and video. this is most likely to give the best colour.

budget can range from �200-330 ish

i would like either a 17" or 19".

the most important thing is clarity - be it for text or images. the colours have to look right as possible.

any recommendations?

i have been mainly looking at LG and Sony 17" and 19" models as they seem to offer 16.7 million colours. Also some Viewsonics and Samsung.

thanks,
     
Goldfinger
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Jan 30, 2005, 06:19 PM
 
At that price. None.
Get a CRT.

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godzookie2k
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Jan 31, 2005, 12:45 AM
 
what gold finger said. The only LCD's worth purchasing are the apple ones, every other brand is subpar for quality.

me being a luddite, I'll take a pair of CRT's any day though, but thats because color correcting on an lcd is annoying and unpossible.
     
york28
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Jan 31, 2005, 03:13 AM
 
I'm sorry, but no, Apple LCDs aren't that much better than some other brands. Better then BenQ and the other cheapies? Probably. But I've seen Samsungs that are just as good, and I know that Dell makes a screen with the same LCD panel that Apple uses.

I have a Samsung 17" that is awesome. Samsung also now has a zero-dead pixel policy. (There are other companies that make decent LCD's, but I have no experience with them.) I have it next to a 19' Lacie CRT and I have to admit that while the color is more accurate on the CRT, I find myself doing most of my work on the LCD because it is sharper, and then checking it on the CRT.

If you want good color you are going to need to buy or frequently borrow an external usb calibration kit. So if color is your goal, get a good CRT (Lacie, etc.) and an EyeOne.
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infinite expanse
     
godzookie2k
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Jan 31, 2005, 06:13 PM
 
I'm just going off of personal experience. I like the apple displays I've used more than the others, including samsung, and think they're the bees knees. (obligatory YMMV)
     
MacME
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Feb 3, 2005, 05:38 PM
 
no LCD will represent colour properly due to the technology behind it. as technology improves, it will probably come close though. LCD filters white light to create colour, that's why LCD never has TRUE black colour representation. while CRT and Plasma technology uses RGB to create white light.

if colour accuracy is important to you, then a CRT will always be your choice over an LCD. that of course is if you don't select varying quality of CRT and LCD monitors to compare with.
     
Rick Wells
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Feb 17, 2005, 07:09 PM
 
I have 3 G5. Each one runs 2 monitors to keep palettes, toolbars etc seperate. The three side monitors are 15" or 17" lcds but colour accuracy is not important - desk space is ! With my first G5 I so much wanted a flat panel main monitor for space and looks so I bought a LaCie lcd 20". I could not get the colour right even though I bought an external ( "spyder") calibrator. The lcd colours were just too saturated. I then bought a G5 for home use. I fell in love with a NEC 2080UX lcd monitor after seeing one in use with a mac. The same problems existed with this lcd but the colours were slightly more accurate when set up "out of the box".
When I bought a second G5 for the office, I went back to crt, purchasing a LaCie 21'. For sure the colours are much more accurate to the finished printed job and I can feel, once again, confident that what I see on screen is very close to what the customer is going to get in print. With lcd monitors you can only run them at the native resolution. Any other resolution and text looks 'wooly'. However they score highly re eyestrain because you don't get the screen flicker associated with crts. Cheaper lcds may be a problem with video since they may not redraw the screen fast enough. A good crt is now quite cheap to buy and if you've got the space you can't go wrong.
If you value the amount of working space on your monitor rather than a wide screen, then go for the traditional 4:5 format. The apple 20" wide screen display runs at 1680px X 1050px. A Lacie 20" lcd runs 1600 X1200. That's nearly 10% more screen area.
     
siMac
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Feb 18, 2005, 03:23 AM
 
Originally posted by Rick Wells:
That's nearly 10% more screen area.
Err, you mean 10% more pixels.
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Rick Wells
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Feb 18, 2005, 01:20 PM
 
Err...yes. But look at the physical screen areas. Mac 20" is 17'' X 10.75" = 182 75 sq". The LaCie is 16" X 12" = 192 sq". So you've got 9sq" more with the old 4:5 format. Not a big deal but just a point worth noting when you see the diagonal screen size quoted. Given a diagonal dimension, the area becomes smaller as the proportion becomes more landscape.
     
rslifka
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Feb 28, 2005, 09:04 PM
 
Judging by the number of Apple displays in use by professional graphics shops / departments, certainly they're "good enough" for people who are most likely more discerning than many of us.

Rob
     
Westbo
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Mar 3, 2005, 11:18 AM
 
Originally posted by rslifka:
Judging by the number of Apple displays in use by professional graphics shops / departments, certainly they're "good enough" for people who are most likely more discerning than many of us.

Rob
If you are a graphics professional, color accuracy is essential and a good CRT is going to be more accurate. Also, changing the screen on a LCD to anything other than the default resolution tends to make things to go soft. I'm currently work with 2 monitors: A 20" Apple cinema used for pallets and a LaCie 22" as the work surface. The color calibration on the LaCie is much more accurate.

I also have an NEC2080 mentioned by Rick, on a separate Mac. Indeed it is an excellent monitor and I'd venture to say more accurate than the Apple. But it too will soften if the screen is set other than at default resolution.
     
ph0ust
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Mar 11, 2005, 08:53 PM
 
graphics work can mean a lot. if it is illustrator type stuff for the web, well then most lcd's are arguably "good enough". if you are doing photo work, or something that will print output, which is output oriented and color critical, well then apple and most others are subpar. the new eizo lcd displays are supposed to be some of the first real color critical options from what i understand. they are relatively new and more expensive (well not more expensive than some apple displays), but i am told worth it. most photographers i know consider the eizo's to be their first real lcd option that isn't a compromise.

why in the world would you consider the apple displays the only real good choices?!?!?! i love apple and all, but gimme a break. their displays are average at best nowadays.
     
PixelPete17
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Mar 27, 2005, 11:53 PM
 
To whomever posted the original post...

Most of the replies thus far are only partly helpful and partly innaccurate. I'm a pro designer (www.jasontolis.com), that has worked on national ad campaigns,run my own business for the last three years, and best of all...just know what I'm talking about. I get perfect color on offset litho presses, with very little adjustments being necessary on press. VERY little. My photography work is also printed to near-perfect color based on the color accuracy of the monitors I use. (I use both 21" CRT's and 22" Apple Cinema Displays)

The bottom line is that a CRT can be superb if calibrated, but so are Apple Cinema Displays for the vast majority of print design work. Many many many top design firms are stocked to the gills with Cinema Displays, and these are the firms that are putting out the most visible ad campaigns (print and multimedia).

I personally wouldn't buy a non-Cinema Display LCD, but some of them can be profiled to be quite nice. Eizo in Japan is currently the dominant favorite, and only because they are excellent too. They are more money in some cases though.

Personally, for your budget I think you'd have to buy a used 17" Apple Cinema Display, but in your case, for that same money and purpose, for now I'd just buy a 19" CRT that is flat front and buy a color calibrator as well. Then just save your money for when you can afford a 20" or 23" Cinema Display for about $1000 or $1600 respectively.

Hope this helps you in some way,

Jason
www.jasontolis.com
     
   
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