Apple LCD image quality 17" tops, iMac worst
I finally took the time to look at all the Apple desktop LCD offerings, and from the samples I did look at, this is what I found.
1. The 17" Studio Display is definitely the best in terms of color depth, image crispness and ghost trails (none at all!)
2. The 22" Cinema Display is next. Almost no ghost trails, good color, good image quality over-all.
3 (tie.) The 23" Cinema HD Display is also nice, but not as good as the 17" and 22" in terms of ghosting images. The 15" Studio Display has the same ghosting issues.
4. I'm sorry, but the iMac LCD is definitely the worst. Not only does it wash out the whites, it ghosts like crazy.
Check the LCDs out side by side sometime. Drag a Finder window in OS X on the 17 incher, then immediately compare it to any of the other LCDs. Then compare the 15" Studio Display with the iMac display...I had to strain to see the pinstripes on the menubar with the iMac. It has terrible contrast.
The Cinema HD Display has size going for it, but the 17" Studio is definitely the most pleasing on the eyes. Nobody in his right mind would buy the 15" LCD. Spend that money on a good 19" CRT, or step up to the 17" Studio Display. Hopefully newer iMacs will be built with better screens, because at this point, I can't stand to use one for an extended time. A CRT with an 85 Hz refresh rate causes less eye strain.
[ 04-29-2002: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>
1. The 17" Studio Display is definitely the best in terms of color depth, image crispness and ghost trails (none at all!)
2. The 22" Cinema Display is next. Almost no ghost trails, good color, good image quality over-all.
3 (tie.) The 23" Cinema HD Display is also nice, but not as good as the 17" and 22" in terms of ghosting images. The 15" Studio Display has the same ghosting issues.
4. I'm sorry, but the iMac LCD is definitely the worst. Not only does it wash out the whites, it ghosts like crazy.
Check the LCDs out side by side sometime. Drag a Finder window in OS X on the 17 incher, then immediately compare it to any of the other LCDs. Then compare the 15" Studio Display with the iMac display...I had to strain to see the pinstripes on the menubar with the iMac. It has terrible contrast.
The Cinema HD Display has size going for it, but the 17" Studio is definitely the most pleasing on the eyes. Nobody in his right mind would buy the 15" LCD. Spend that money on a good 19" CRT, or step up to the 17" Studio Display. Hopefully newer iMacs will be built with better screens, because at this point, I can't stand to use one for an extended time. A CRT with an 85 Hz refresh rate causes less eye strain.
[ 04-29-2002: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>
Comments
- T.I.
i just hope apple doesn't give the whole line a different look when the g5's come out......
anyway, about the monitors....... the 17" is definitely nice.......
spec. wise:: shouldn't the 15" be @ top?
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Check the LCDs out side by side sometime. Drag a Finder window in OS X on the 17 incher, then immediately compare it to any of the other LCDs. Then compare the 15" Studio Display with the iMac display...I had to strain to see the pinstripes on the menubar with the iMac. It has terrible contrast.
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Did you calibrate each monitor first so they all had the same settings? Makes a big difference.
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Did you calibrate each monitor first so they all had the same settings? Makes a big difference.</strong><hr></blockquote>
it could be a calibration gimmick. i know in the tv dept, the sales ppl set the color/picture settings to look better on the tv models they want you to buy. (a friend who works there told me once.) they probably do this for computer monitors too.
<strong>Hopefully newer iMacs will be built with better screens, because at this point, I can't stand to use one for an extended time. A CRT with an 85 Hz refresh rate causes less eye strain.</strong><hr></blockquote>
There must be something wrong with my eyes then Eugene, because I completely disagree with you.
I use a 17" CRT running 1024x768 with an 85 Hz refresh rate at work, and an 800 MHz G4 iMac at home. I LOVE getting home to use the iMac and find the screen much easier to stare at for long periods of time.
I can't speak to the color differences though without another display next to it... but I've never heard someone comment on eye strain with the iMac's LCD.
Maybe you're just weird.
[ 04-29-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
On a side note, I've recently been saving PDFs from my Dell, and bringing them over for layout work on my iMac at home (and before that, my iBook). The gamma is so completely different on those two machines that the dark, low-contrast images I was getting on my Dell monitor were washed out on my Macs. Obviously, I just had to make some changes to the Dell's monitor and subsequent color profiles for the PDFs, but the difference was almost like night and day.
While I'm at it, the SRGB profiles on both my iMac and my Dell are far too high-contrast for me to do my work with, so I've been tinkering with custom profiles. Somehow, some day, it would be really nice to move from monitor to monitor would opening a can of worms in the process.
[ 04-29-2002: Message edited by: BuonRotto ]</p>
The aspects I listed above are consistent with each model no matter where I've seen them. I've been to Fry's, Apple Store Palo Alto, CompUSA, Elite Computers / ComputerWare. It's all the same.
If you think the 15" LCD in the iMac is better than the Studio Display's LCD, you are either lying to yourself or blind.
And it's not a calibration issue. Calibration doesn't affect ghosting. Calibration only effects gamma and tint (not depth.)
[ 04-29-2002: Message edited by: Matsu ]</p>
I can't imagine that a professional would want a screen that GHOSTS. Jeez, that's so 20th-century laptop tech!
Compare the 17" with the 15" or the 23" ... Fool with the calibration settings and brightness. I don't care. You will notice a huge difference.
<strong>Odd, that the High Definiteion monitor is not the absolute highest quality. Perhaps its settings have to be fiddled iwth, as suggested for the iMac earlier i in this thread, before it shows its true promise.
I can't imagine that a professional would want a screen that GHOSTS. Jeez, that's so 20th-century laptop tech!</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's what I couldn't understand when I first saw it.
<strong>I think the iMac's display is set too brightly. Turning the brightness down helps alot, and I really think calibrating helps. Just my humble opinion...</strong><hr></blockquote>
I agree totally. I have to lower my iMac to about half the maximum brightness for comfortable viewing.
<strong>I think the iMac's display is set too brightly. Turning the brightness down helps alot, and I really think calibrating helps. Just my humble opinion...</strong><hr></blockquote>
It's not just the iMac's LCD, at least IMO. I turn the brightness down on my 15" NEC LCD too. The only LCD I haven't is on my iBook.
Damn that iBook LCD is bright and crisp. BTW, I also keep my iMac's screen turned down a few steps.
For me, the main positive thing about the iMac's screen is the fact that you can reposition it so easily. I thought it was a little bit of a gimmic, until I started using one. I change the position ALL THE TIME. Sit back in the chair a bit, put the screen to the top... lean forward a bit, put the display right down and tilted back like a laptop... swing it over to show someone a photo... It's so much more useful than I thought it would be.
[ 04-30-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
<strong>For me, the main positive thing about the iMac's screen is the fact that you can reposition it so easily.
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Funny thing though is that you can do the same thing with the new eMac on a swivel stand.
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Funny thing though is that you can do the same thing with the new eMac on a swivel stand. </strong><hr></blockquote>
Yeah but that moves the entire computer, not just the screen.