Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanG
I just spent the past two hours comparing images between my NEC 2690 and my older Samsung 213T.
The major thing I noticed is when viewing deep foliage and other shadow detail on the Samsung. My Samsung has a PVA panel and the shadows varied depending on whether I looked at the image straight on or from a slight angle. So if I staired perpendicular to a tree, it seemed darker than if I just shifted my head over two inches and then looked at the same tree from that angle. (I'm about 15-20 inches from the screen.) The Samsung is about a two year old model so I don't know if this is the same on more recent Samsung S-PVA panels. (These newer S-PVA panels should have a better viewing angle.)
The NEC with an IPS panel does not change at all and seems to have more accurate shadow detail. My laptop has a TN panel and the shadow detail doesn't vary that much from slight angles side to side but varies greatlly when the angle of view changes from top to bottom.
As for color, I calibrated my Samsung with an older Monaco Optix device and software. It looked very close to the NEC but was darker. I turned brightness up a bit and the two monitors seemed very close if not exact. I couldn't see any color cast differences and all colors seemed to be almost identical between the two. (Depending on how I held my head when looking at the Samsung.) I looked at a number of greyscale images and they seemed to match also.
Once I got what I thought was a match between the two in calibrated mode, I tried the NEC in factory default sRGB emulation mode and looked at the same sRGB images on both monitors. I couldn't see any color differences so it seems to me that the NEC sRGB emulation is pretty good but a bit brighter than my NEC or Samsung calibrated settings. (I guess this figures because all uncalibrated monitors seem to be set too bright before calibration.)
So my opinion is that the IPS panel in the NEC affords a much more even and therefore a more accurate view of images than does my Samsung. Whether this applies to the Eizos that use Samsung PVA panels, I can't say. And while there may be advantages in using an sRGB monitor for sRGB images, I couldn't spot any differences in fine delicate skin tones between the two. Plus I think if I had to, I could use the NEC 2690 in sRGB emulation mode and get good results once I set some kind of standard and did a few tests.
So I'm happy, but if all you plan to do is adjust sRGB images, then following Sean's (and Dr. Lang's) advice is probably a good way to go. Before buying those Eizos or any S-PVA panel monitor, I'd look at it from various angles closely to make sure the image is very even. (Those of you who own one could say.)
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I found the same thing with PVA vs. sIPS panels. I've decided I'm an sIPS guy myself and my 2490 behaves just like your 2690 when viewed off-angle. That is to say, it's still viewable just as a good CRT screen would be.
Cheers,
Sean