Thank You: The Final Decision

I wanted to thank those of you who patiently answered my questions regarding the selection of an external monitor exclusively for photo image editing.

After pouring over numerous reviews & sorting through the myriad of forum threads, I have narrowed the field to 2 contenders: the NEC EA231WMi & the Dell U2410. Neither of these monitors are perfect & both have their strengths & weaknesses.

And regardless of my final selection, I will get an Eye-One Display 2 colorimeter.

As a final call for input, if anyone has any strong opinions regarding either of the above monitors, please let me know.

Again, thank you for your thoughts & suggestions.

The Dell U2410 by virtue of it's 12bit internal LUT. If the value of that is not clear to you, we haven't done our job. If it's of no value to you, go with the NEC.

Your point is well-taken, as well as being a major difference from the NEC. However, the well-documented color tint issue with the Dell is troublesome.

ChasP505 wrote in post #9499703
The Dell U2410 by virtue of it's 12bit internal LUT. If the value of that is not clear to you, we haven't done our job. If it's of no value to you, go with the NEC.

i hadn't known about the issues with the Dell prior to receiving mine, which works perfectly, but learned about them later & read some of them just to know what I may have missed. So far try as I may I can't fault it, and they do have a 3 year warranty, which seems like good protection too. One has to wonder just how many good ones are out there vs those with an issue. No one is going to start threads about the good ones like those with problems so the ratio will never be known, but it seems that Dell wouldn't keep selling them if they hurt their reputation.
I guess it's the same worry we all have, but to put it in perspective how many problems have you read in the EOS forum relating to Canon Camera problems, and yet we stilll seem to buy & use them.

ChasP505 wrote in post #9499703
The Dell U2410 by virtue of it's 12bit internal LUT. If the value of that is not clear to you, we haven't done our job. If it's of no value to you, go with the NEC.

I just read an in-depth review on the Dell U2410 by TFT Central. Interestingly, the author concluded that the 12-bit internal LUT made little difference (see below). After repeatedly hearing that 12-16 bit LUT is so important in print matching, I'm scratching my head a bit.

http://www.tftcentral.​co.uk/reviews/dell_u24​10.htm

There are far too many things in life to stress over than deciding between two relatively affordable monitors. You've done the research with reasonable diligence. You've identified two models which would meet your needs. Now flip a coin and pick one. If you don't like it, simply return it and move on.

It's not like buying a house or getting married...

Indeed, you are correct. Stress? Nah. This has been a great learning experience for me. The goal isn't just to select a monitor; it's the journey getting there. Thanks for the ride.

ChasP505 wrote in post #9502993
There are far too many things in life to stress over than deciding between two relatively affordable monitors. You've done the research with reasonable diligence. You've identified two models which would meet your needs. Now flip a coin and pick one. If you don't like it, simply return it and move on.

It's not like buying a house or getting married...

Just blundered onto this thread and thought I'd add a little confusion to the mix (Happy to be of service!).

I notice that the NEC EA231WMi is out of stock at several of my favorite vendors, such as BH Photo and Newegg, but I believe it's still available at Overstock.com, and the Dell seems to be available in the Dell store.

But upon reflection, I have a LaCie 320 on my main machine which, calibrated with an Eye 1, provides me with near-perfect photos on my Epson 3800. So I’m considering another possibility, a LaCie 324. It's a couple of hundred more than the Dell at BH Photo, but based on my experience with the 320 I don't think I would regret it. If I go through with this, I expect to use it on my main machine and use the 320 to edit photos with my laptop. I had the laptop custom-built about a year ago, and although I'm mostly satisfied with it, the screen is barely adequate for photo editing, so I would be much happier with a better one.

And anyway, I haven't exercised my natural spendthriftery yet this year. My obsessively frugal wife is beginning to worry about me!

I have no doubt that there are several really good displays in the price range of the Dell & NEC that I am considering. Given the inherent trade-offs, I simply have to take my best shot.

BillyR wrote in post #9504322
Just blundered onto this thread and thought I'd add a little confusion to the mix (Happy to be of service!).

I notice that the NEC EA231WMi is out of stock at several of my favorite vendors, such as BH Photo and Newegg, but I believe it's still available at Overstock.com, and the Dell seems to be available in the Dell store.

But upon reflection, I have a LaCie 320 on my main machine which, calibrated with an Eye 1, provides me with near-perfect photos on my Epson 3800. So I’m considering another possibility, a LaCie 324. It's a couple of hundred more than the Dell at BH Photo, but based on my experience with the 320 I don't think I would regret it. If I go through with this, I expect to use it on my main machine and use the 320 to edit photos with my laptop. I had the laptop custom-built about a year ago, and although I'm mostly satisfied with it, the screen is barely adequate for photo editing, so I would be much happier with a better one.

And anyway, I haven't exercised my natural spendthriftery yet this year. My obsessively frugal wife is beginning to worry about me!

Maybe I should have said earlier that the Dell U2410 has 12 bit "Internal Color Processing" while the NEC model doesn't. The implication is that the Dell is actually hardware color adjusted internally, while the NEC relies on adjustments at the video card only, usually with loss of color information.

OTOH... Both monitors have DDC/CI capability, but Dells are notorious for not working with popular 3rd party calibration software products. Most notably ColorEyes Display Pro. This just means that with the Dell you have to use the OSD with the physical controls on the monitor, but it would be nice to have calibration software automatically adjusting that 12 bit internal color processing.

ChasP505 wrote in post #9505297
Maybe I should have said earlier that the Dell U2410 has 12 bit "Internal Color Processing" while the NEC model doesn't. The implication is that the Dell is actually hardware color adjusted internally, while the NEC relies on adjustments at the video card only, usually with loss of color information.

Could you please quickly clarify... "while the NEC relies on adjustments at the video card only..."? Does this in any way negate the use of calibration hardware (e.g. Eye One Display 2) on the NEC? Or am I talking oranges & apples.

Thanks.

No. That is the default way of working: The video card LUT is taking care of the adjustments (calibrating), together with the .icc profile (profiling).

However, the video card LUT is 8 bit. Some monitors have an 10 or 12 bit internal lut which can be "set" by DDC. It is a better way of adjusting, since the video card LUT can stay "straight"

http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Display_Data_Ch​annel

kitjv wrote in post #9505451
Could you please quickly clarify... "while the NEC relies on adjustments at the video card only..."? Does this in any way negate the use of calibration hardware (e.g. Eye One Display 2) on the NEC? Or am I talking oranges & apples.

Thanks.

You cannot adjust the 8 bit internal LUT of the NEC monitor. (Neither can I adjust the internal LUT of my Dell 2209WA). Calibration of the Dell U2410 is actual modification of the monitor's physical characteristics. Then the profile created by your calibration system will already be linear. So a linear profile gets sent to the video card LUT. This goes very far to eliminate banding and posterization.

The bottom line is with the NEC, you're adjusting the video card. With the Dell, you're adjusting the monitor.

For my money, if I was down to choosing between two monitors, it would be between the 24" Dell U2410 (plus calibration device) and the 22" NEC P221W with Spectraview II calibration. I think the NEC comes out significantly ahead for price, even when the Dell is on sale.
NEC P221W-BK-SV

Dell U2410 plus EyeOne Display 2

Chas,

You're the kinda guy I like. First, you tell me to "fish or cut bait". Then you toss me yet another monitor for consideration.

For some reason, the NEC P221W somehow slipped under my radar. After reading a handful of reviews (& comparing specs), it appears that the P221W raises the bar above the NEC EA231WMi while avoiding the color tint issue of the Dell U2410.

You are making the coin toss a lot easier, mi amigo. Thank you!

kitjv wrote in post #9505730
You're the kinda guy I like. First, you tell me to "fish or cut bait". Then you toss me yet another monitor for consideration.

Well a lot of people reading my rants may say "That guy is talking out of his ass. If he's recommending a $600 monitor, why does he only use a cheap Dell 2209WA?".

Actually I'm in the same position as you are. I work in the marketing/advertising department of a large real estate comapny and part of my job is "spec'ing" and maintaining the equipment and software used. We all know that 2008-2009 were some rough years for this industry which meant we had to hobble along with our aging Samsungs. We now seem to have freed up enough budget to bring in a couple new monitors, so I'm petitioning the Purchasing Manager to order a couple NEC P221Ws. I'm also still looking to get one for personal use but I put all unneeded purchases on hold until the real estate market picks up. No sense in whipping out the credit card today and being layed off next week!