Formac LCD's -worth the money?

[ellen devito]

I've been looking at the Formac 20" 2010 LCD monitor ([url]www.formac.com[/url])

specs and reviews claim superior image quality, but on CNET, some 50% of the users claim "horror story" situations where it is a total dud out of the box.

No, I DON'T want a CRT, nor an Apple LCD. If you can recommend the Formac, or another PC display, please do.

thanx!

[d. wade thompson]

LCD monitors are not known for working well with graphic programs like PS. they are very hard to correct for color and the screen will change depending on your angle. if you are looking to do a lot of graphic work stick with a crt. i know you say you dont want one but they are still the best for this kind of work.

wade

[YrbkMgr]

However... The Formac is an exception. It is an outstanding digital monitor and Ian Lyons, someone I respect greatly for his understanding and explanations of color management claims it is exceptional. When used with a digital card, it is supposed to be better than CRT.

Here is some forum info...

Stuart McCoy "Flat Panels recommendations for Windows" 5/13/03 6:30am </cgi-bin/webx?14@@.1de91a5b/1>

Ian Lyons "Using a flat screen with Photoshop?" 3/17/03 11:35am </cgi-bin/webx?14@@.1de851eb/10>

Ian Lyons "Is there a 17" LCD monitor suitable for *web* image work?" 2/17/03 12:37pm </cgi-bin/webx?14@@.1de7e3d8/2>

Peace,
Tony

[ellen devito]

thanx-

I guess I'm in a "closed loop" situation, I just do my own prints for the most part. Today I noticed on the Apple 23" Display that the second darkest black I could discern was in the 30's, this was much poorer than a Sony I saw today, which was in the teens, not so far off from the 10 or 11 2nd darkest black I can usually print @ home anyway. The 20" Apple seems much better than the 23".

BUT check out these SPECS:

cd/m2 Contr. Dot MS

PLANAR PL201M 250 500:1 .255 15
FORMAC 2010 250 600:1 .255 15
IIYAMA AU5131DT 250 500:1 .255 25
Samsung 213-T 250 500:1 .27 25
ViewSonicVP211b 250 600:1 .297 25
APPLE Cinema20" 230 350:1 .258 ??

has anyone used the Planar? it has the best specs, and is some $400 cheaper than the others @ only $920.

can you trust Specs? the Planar has the advantage in that it can also do portrait mode, which the Formac can't...

[Ian Lyons]

Ellen,

Today I noticed on the Apple 23" Display that the second darkest black
I could discern was in the 30's, this was much poorer than a Sony I saw
today, which was in the teens, not so far off from the 10 or 11 2nd darkest
black I can usually print @ home anyway. The 20" Apple seems much better
than the 23".




Either we're talking about different things or your viewing environment is awful.

With sytem calibrated uing i1 Display or Pro I can descern distinctions between level 3 and up on the 23" Cinema Display. The Artisan will be Level 0 and up.