Just a quick survey: Eizo ColorEdge 21' or Apple Cinema 30' ?

Just a quick survey. If you were getting a monitor for Photoshop use mainly,

would you go for the Eizo ColorEdge 21-inch Widescreen for $2000 or the Apple

30-inch Cinema Display for $2500 ? As a comparison, the Apple 23' is only

$1300. (Assuming that you have the budget of $2000-2500). (BTW, these prices

are in Australian Dollars---and yes, things are expensive here). And WHY would

you choose either one ?

I faced a similar decision last year. I ended up buying a 20" Dell monitor for around $500 AND 150 rolls of film AND a bunch of chemistry AND 5 packs of EEM to proof on AND an assortment of good paper for final prints AND a supply of ink carts. AND I had money left to go places and photograph.

 

I recalibrate the monitor every month or so. My prints and my monitor always match and that's good enough for me. Most importantly I can burn film as if I have a father who works for Ilford. I process film like I have a mother who works for Kodak. And I can print like I have a wife who works for Epson.

 

When I look at the quality of the work I've done in the last year, there is no doubt I spent my money wisely. As always, YMMV.

I'm using a 30" monitor (Dell) and it would be difficult to go back to anything smaller. You get used to the working space.

I had the opportunity to buy a 30" but went for the 23" Cinema Display instead. Not so much

for reasons of price but because I find it difficult to take in so large a screen from a position

seated at my desk. Although I'd always love the additional space, just like I like a large desk,

the smaller screen is easier for me to see in a glance without stepping back.

 

Godfrey

I have seen both of these beautiful monitors. However I personally am a "Two Monitor" guy. I use a 23"cinema Apple LCD for the "image" and a second monitor 19" VCR for ALL the menus. I found that with one large monitor, I was still always moving the menus around, or they were always getting in the way of the image as I re-sized up or down size the "image".

 

A two monitor setup is a much "cleaner" layout I believe. I do have both monitors calibrated. It's just very logical. All modern Mac's come with dual monitor capability. I also use this same set-up with my Pro-Tools audio application. Try it you'll never go back.

 

Best regards

Rono

Eizo any day of the week...unless you like wildly varying colour across the field, brightness all over the place and paying for a pretty aluminium shell.

 

The 30' ACD might cut it as a telly but they're not up to professional colour work.

 

The Eizo CG, on the other hand, while much smaller, is accurate and steady - a joy to use if photography is your goal.

 

Go the CG and a cheap secomndary palette monitor from dell or wherever. great, colour accurate setup that craps all over a 30' ACD.

I have both an Apple 30" Cinema dislay and an Eizo CE240W monitor. I love the cinema

display for playing DVD's and general graphics and web browsing, but the Eizo monitor is so

more consistent from edge to edge when doing Photoshop edits. This is really pronounced in

B&W images - the Apple bands quite heavily at times and changes from magenta to green

depending on where the image is viewed - the Eizo is perfect from edge to edge, has a much

better viewing angle and much smoother gradations. As a basis, both monitors are calibrated

and profiled using an x-rite eye one display2 with Gretags Eye-One match.