Looking to get a new monitor and wondering what the pros are using these days. I currently have an EIZO, but it's about 8 years old and doesn't hold it's calibration any more. Not sure I could justify the cost of another EIZO for the amount of color work I do these days anyway. Not to mention how so much of what I do being digital and having no control over the way it's viewed. I do however still have the occasional need to critical color work which is why I'm in the market. In addition to the EIZO I have a 2 year old or so Benq that I use when working in-house for one of my bigger clients. I like the color on the Benq and have thought about just going that route, but I really don't like the lower screen resolution and the way it handles hard contrast edges. For what it's worth, I also use an apple cinema display and I actually like it quite a bit. Everything except for that fact that it's not calibratable. A combination of the Apple and the Benq would be actually be about perfect. So anyway I was thinking about trying one of the new Pro 4K monitors this time. Maybe something in the $1000 to $1500 range. Anyone found something they really like?

Mike

I don't know what EIZO you use (there are different series) but normally each device needs periodic re-calibration (e.g. once monthly). If it has become so unstable that it can't hold it for a day and displays weird color worse then a Benq that means you should bring it to a repair service. Re. your need for color critical work - I don't think there is anything that can beat EIZO CG series. Also remember that a monitor is not only color and resoluton. There is uniformity, stability, temperature and voltage in-variance, internal hardware feedbacks etc. EIZO really handles them well. If you are limited in budget and still need the best - look for a second hand EIZO CG. Remember they have a counter for hours used, so you can check that with the seller.

I just searched on eBay: there are a lot of EIZO CG's within the $1500 range, even new ones.

I'm a big fan of the NEC PA series. For imaging work they seem to fit between the better apple/benq displays and the EIZO's as far as quality/features.

10 Bit panel, hardware calibration, 99% adobeRGB etc for $1000-$1500 depending on screen size

Info - https://imagescience.com.au/products/mo … c-monitors

http://www.necdisplay.com/p/desktop-mon … 242w-bk-sv
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?a … mp;Ntt=nec

Only Eizo ColorEdge and NEC PA series have homogeneous panels(color/luminosity), all others are a lottery...
The calibration software for Eizo ColorEdge and NEC PA are also much superior...
If you do not mind some of lack homogeneity, the ASUS PA329Q(4K/wide gamut) looks very interesting.
Check the review http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/test/20 … a329q.html

Even more interesting is the Dell UP2715K(5K/wide gamut and needs 2 DisplayPorts for 5K)
http://www.trustedreviews.com/dell-up2715k-review
Amazon has now in promotion for $1,256.30
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-210-ADRZ-DE … B00R420SU4

The best monitor review sites:
http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/testberichte.html
http://tftcentral.co.uk/

I have one of the Eizo CG-248 4K models.  What is interesting about it is that the color settings are set by Eizo and the internal calibration it uses references back to their standard, say their default "Web design" vs. "Printing" or "Photography" in their Color Navigator 6 software so you are not using an external plug-in piece of hardware to calibrate but their reference.

You can get close with your monitor to the Eizo as a separate profile that emulates your monitor, but I find even doing that with an i1 PhotoPro 2 that the monitors will not agree completely as the color space overall may not match each other, or the brightness density on the screens is uneven (Which Eizo claims superior evenness as their built-in calibrator measures near the edge.).  Also, one may be 96% Adobe RGB and another may be 99% Adobe RGB.  The Eizo rep told me their monitors may be more than 100% RGB in that they cover more blue of the  Adobe RGB rnage, but not quite as much of thee green so they are conservative on the RGB part and may say 99% Adobe RGB.  Evidently HP's DreamColor series is true 100% Adobe RGB in that it covers that missing green part of the Eizo, but will lag in the blue against the Eizo.

Only thing is your eyes and maybe a reference ColroChecker and move it between display and see how it goes.  Trying to see the same image, even calibrated, is difficult according to xrite even between the same monitor models.  Even emulated I can see the blues being a bit more punchy on the Eizo CG in the following reference shot against the so-called 100% RGB calibrated non-Eizo computer screen.



Color is maddening at times, and so are calibration programs that have different thoughts as to what is correct: Xrite vs. BasICColor for example.

The   Asus ProArt series     is worth a look

https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Monitors/PA329Q/
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-PA328Q-3840 … B00YWD9ZZM
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ … n_led.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asu … ,4685.html
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Review/42 … onals.aspx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6nsUk2HzUU

I'm waiting for the BenQ SW2700PT. It got a TIPA award, well. But i dont know, i cant afford that 1000+ for a monitor.