Eizo ColorEdge CG303W 30" Widescreen Black Display

the_hilders · 23 Sep 2010 at 12:04

This is a beautiful super 30" screen but my pockets can not stretch to own such a screen.

Adrianr · 23 Sep 2010 at 14:50

rickh · 23 Sep 2010 at 14:59

£2400 is too much for any monitor unless you need it for your job.

The Asgard · 23 Sep 2010 at 15:35

What's better about this monitor over the latest offerings? It's not the price.

the_hilders · 23 Sep 2010 at 16:38

The Asgard said:
What's better about this monitor over the latest offerings? It's not the price.

Of course not the price however eizo,nec, lacie are a complete different class , come calibrated straight out the box, aimed at true photgraphers, cad designers for accurate colours etc.

The Asgard · 23 Sep 2010 at 16:51

the_hilders said:
Of course not the price however eizo,nec, lacie are a complete different class , come calibrated straight out the box, aimed at true photgraphers, cad designers for accurate colours etc.

Pretty sure most high end monitors can do this with some basic calibration.

PCM2 · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:01

Even the Dell UltraSharp series claims to be factory calibrated. Anybody who has reviewed screens by Dell, Eizo, LaCie, NEC etc. (including myself) will tell you that as soon as you take it out of the box and try to calibrate it yourself the colorimiter will make you question what exactly was calibrated in the factory. Variability in the age of the backlight, especially CCFL lamps, also menas that recalibration over time is necessary for optimal accuracy. The question here should be whether an extra 3 inches over the excellent PA271W P-IPS is worth an extra £1000.

Adrianr · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:05

The Asgard said:
Pretty sure most high end monitors can do this with some basic calibration.

Are you genuinely interested in what makes the Eizo a better monitor? Or are you making a point about it's price? I can't quite work it out from your posts :confused:

the_hilders · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:13

imo I think it is worth it if you have the money and need it, these high end screens are superb.

PCM2 · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:18

The NEC PA271W is superb. My Samsung XL24 is superb. But nobody has justified the question in my last post.

the_hilders · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:19

The Asgard said:
Pretty sure most high end monitors can do this with some basic calibration.

Hi asgard your hp screen is nice dont get me wrong even though it has no osd. However imo its just not as good as nec, eizo ,lacie monitors.

Duff-Man · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:21

As I understand it, calibrated colour accuracy is what sets the Eizo and NEC screens apart from their cheaper counterparts. No-one in their right mind would buy one of these screens without carefully calibrating it for their specific lighting environment.

These screens are aimed squarely at photo-manipulation professionals, for whom colour accuracy is absolutely essential. There seems to be no effort to bring down response times etc (it has a 12ms response), but then response times are largely irrelevant for photo manipulation. I have never seen one in person, but I struggle to imagine that they would be worth more than double the price of other high-end 30" screens for any other application. Certainly they are not gaming screens.

the_hilders said:
Hi asgard your hp screen is nice dont get me wrong even though it has no osd. However imo its just not as good as nec, eizo ,lacie monitors.

Have you seen both in action? And what application are you referring to? Gaming? Photo manipulation? For over double the price I would damn well expect it to be "better"...

the_hilders · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:25

No need to justify as everyone has there own opinions and different wallet size, you have budget end users and the opposite.

The nec pa271w is a nice screen my colleague has worked with one,the only downside to it is the average black depth and contrast ratio, the moderate input lag, and the slight backlight bleed.

But overall a good screen, the samsung again is a good screen enjoy it.

the_hilders · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:27

Duff-Man said:
As I understand it, calibrated colour accuracy is what sets the Eizo and NEC screens apart from their cheaper counterparts. No-one in their right mind would buy one of these screens without carefully calibrating it for their specific lighting environment.

These screens are aimed squarely at photo-manipulation professionals, for whom colour accuracy is absolutely essential. There seems to be no effort to bring down response times etc (it has a 12ms response), but then response times are largely irrelevant for photo manipulation. I have never seen one in person, but I struggle to imagine that they would be worth more than double the price of other high-end 30" screens for any other application. Certainly they are not gaming screens.

Have you seen both in action? And what application are you referring to? Gaming? Photo manipulation? For over double the price I would damn well expect it to be "better"...

Hi thats my opinion, ok the HP is much better and much better value, enjoy your screen....

PCM2 · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:34

I have used many LaCie screens and a couple of Eizo screens and I find the image quality on-par but certainly no better than the latest NEC screens. The input lag and responsiveness is a non-issue for the applications we're considering here and the CG303W is likely rather poor in that regard anyway. I still don't see any justification whatsoever for this one costing £1000 more than the PA271W unless it comes with a wiper-style calibrator like the CG245W. I know it is more comparable to NEC SpectraView screens but you shouldn't pay £1000 for an extra 3 inches of screen space and a hood to go with it. I can also say quite confidently say that the same kind of price seperation between the NEC PA241W and Dell U2410 is not justified by the end result of image quality.

It is also interesting to note that the CG303W uses the 30" version of the U2410's H-IPS panel but costs over 5x the price due to the extra screen size, fancy LUT and other hardware features. To be honest I think that's a bit steep. Now the difference in image quality you're likely to get from OLED screens. THAT is worth paying extra for.

Adrianr · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:41

It's not just photo manipulation that requires colour accuracy. In the most simple terms, if you don't know why these screens cost more, you don't need to worry yourselves about the advantages they provide. Nor justify or rubbish the price based on your experiences with cheaper monitors.

Not meaning to sound snotty, it's just every time this comes up we get the same stream of uninformed chatter about screens most people here have never used.

the_hilders · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:43

PCM2 said:
I have used many LaCie screens and a couple of Eizo screens and I find the image quality on-par but certainly no better than the latest NEC screens. The input lag and responsiveness is a non-issue for the applications we're considering here and the CG303W is likely rather poor in that regard anyway. I still don't see any justification whatsoever for this one costing £1000 more than the PA271W unless it comes with a wiper-style calibrator like the CG245W. I know it is more comparable to NEC SpectraView screens but you shouldn't pay £1000 for an extra 3 inches of screen space and a hood to go with it. I can also say quite confidently say that the same kind of price seperation between the NEC PA241W and Dell U2410 is not justified by the end result of image quality.

It is also interesting to note that the CG303W uses the 30" version of the U2410's H-IPS panel but costs over 5x the price due to the extra screen size, fancy LUT and other hardware features. To be honest I think that's a bit steep.

Ok thats your opinion/review once again , I have seen the nec in action and its an ok screen. Not gonna debate on which is better or cheaper value, its all to do with what the end consumer can afford and what they intend to use the screen for, however i respect your opinion my friend.

Duff-Man · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:44

the_hilders said:
Hi thats my opinion, ok the HP is much better and much better value, enjoy your screen....

I'm not looking for purchase validation - I'm happy with the screen I have, and I couldn't have bought a £2.5k monitor even if was perfect in every way and made me a cup of tea after every round of left4dead...

I'm just wondering what your basis is for saying that

However imo its just not as good as nec, eizo ,lacie monitors.

It seems to me that, when it comes to monitors, a statement of "x monitor is better than y" always needs to be qualified with an intended use. There is no "all-round perfect screen" for every possible application. At least not yet...

So what application is it you were thinking the eizo is better for, and have you seen it in action with this application?

PCM2 · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:45

Adrianr said:
It's not just photo manipulation that requires colour accuracy. In the most simple terms, if you don't know why these screens cost more, you don't need to worry yourselves about the advantages they provide. Nor justify or rubbish the price based on your experiences with cheaper monitors.

Not meaning to sound snotty, it's just every time this comes up we get the same stream of uninformed chatter about screens most people here have never used.

Hope you're not referring to my above comment. It is the most informed comment here so far (simply because I have used many comparable screens from every manufacturer being discussed here). No offense to anybody

the_hilders · 23 Sep 2010 at 17:48

Adrianr said:
It's not just photo manipulation that requires colour accuracy. In the most simple terms, if you don't know why these screens cost more, you don't need to worry yourselves about the advantages they provide. Nor justify or rubbish the price based on your experiences with cheaper monitors.

Not meaning to sound snotty, it's just every time this comes up we get the same stream of uninformed chatter about screens most people here have never used.

Exactly thats why i cant be bothered to debate in discussions, waste of time, obviously they take it personally and get offensive and I dont intend to be. Whether you used lacie, eizo in the past dont mean a thing to me either. PCM you can use all the monitors in the world but it does not mean i have to take your review for gospel because its your opinion.