Anyone using the Eizo ColorEdge CE240W

Mine is arriving tomorrow.

T i m

Tim,

What are your reasons for buying an Eizo.

I'm a professional illustrator http://timjessell.com (made w/ iWeb ;))
So, recommendations from pros in the graphics field pointed me to Eizo.

NEVER being flat out wowed by my 23" Apple CDHD (though I never had dead pixels or the dreaded pink cast, but I do have the slight yellowing at the edges --I actually think the slightly more reflective and smoother surface of my 20" Apple CD, plastic case, the old in the tooth has a nicer "smoother" look. But ColorEyes software (man, that was pricey software, but good stuff)and Eye1 display has gotten the best out of my screens.

I'll be honest. I assumed way too much how great Apple's LCD's were before buying compared to the high end competition.
Hence the technical specs of the Eizo blow the Apple's off the map, and working in often dark and rich colors the Eizo should greatly help the detail I can see in the blacks. The Eizo 5 year warranty is also quite the selling point.

I about chocked when somebody on these boards chided a Cinema Display owner w/ "you should always buy Apple Care". Jiminy Christmas, that's the whole point of buying Apple --Apple Care should be a measured option not a requirement (though I was ransomed into Apple care when our first generation G5 iMac has gone down...twice w/ the blown capacitors issue, and w/ the first liquid cooled G5 tower, I bought Apple Care.

I expect my Eizo, when it arrives, to be everything that's written about here

Please post
your experience with the CE240W when you can.

Will do. It'll probably echo the sentiments already here in this forum, if you've done a search.



T i m

I hear ya, but w/ two monitor set up, I can easily justify not going w/ the 30". And like your gut tells you --the specs on the 30" just don't hold up compared to what goes on at the Eizo factory and the warranty support. Currently, Apple can not compete (it's truly apples and oranges ;0), as a national color service pro told me "Apples displays are not for the next level, i.e. serious color content producers" (but painfully Apple's prices are still pretty darn high for what you get in displays) and you've heard that from other pros here. Wish I was clued into that a while back.

But I'll say this, from images on the web the Eizo's CE240W aren't much to look at, albeit the screen is, though. 😉 Nobody beats Apple's industrial design.

T

Okay, Steve, it's here.

First impression. The photos on the EIZO web site, make the monitor look more bulky old "star wars" looking (for lack of a better description), especially the silver white model than in the "flesh". In all black, the design is still rather understated and "industrial functional" (lines, grooves, and vent holes aren't as obvious). Not ultra slick like Apple, but not garish in anyway either.

There are no dead pixels, lighting is very, very even, etc. Blacks are indeed richer. No contest there (would Joe Blow notice? Probably not, but a discriminating eye does, easily). The screen has a much less annoying "grainy" look than the "new" Apple metal displays, smoother like the original Cinema displays. I like that.

I calibrated it to L* gamma (very cool and literally revealing gamma) w/ ColorEyes Software and my Eye One Display dongle and set the luminance to a conservative 120 (as my work goes to print on paper, so no use trying to outshine the sun)..anyway, if you recall there were all these negative posts about the 23" and it's failure in the infamous "iTunes test". The blue and white alternating stripes in iTunes, are weak and especially weak on the edges --contrast virtually disappearing. Again lots of post about it, and I found it to be 100% true for me and for my now relegated 23 HD Cinema "palette monitor".

Well, I knew the EIZO monitor was better than anything I 'd seen working w/ it all evening, but just before posting here I opened up iTunes. I mean I said "Holy Cuhhraap", out loud, when I saw it. The stripes were incredibly prevalent and richly colored and contrasted to each other. Silly I know, but a revealing little "test" it is (uhh, even said "Joe Blow" would notice this).

I'm sold. Zero buyer's remorse. Got a desktop mounted arm on order so I can work in portrait mode.


T i m

Are you sure this monitor will work in portrait mode.
One of the reviews I read said that is one feature
the display doesn't have. Not that it makes any
difference to me, I thought you might want to verify
first.

Roger. It's the ATI video card in my G5 that allows the rotation (under displays in System prefs --I've even turned my Apple 23" on it's side (leaning against a back wall to go "portrait"). It's the stand on the Eizo that doesn't rotate that way ( be a nice built in feature), hence I have to buy the arm.

And yes, this is serious sale on this arm as I saw it listed at around $300 on other sites. I wanted to get the Neo Flex $49 desk stand on Ergotron, but it lists that it won't support the weight of this EIZO model --and I didn't want to push it, so.. http://nst.mountsandmore.com/PRA-Full-Articulation-Series-14037PM1302.html

T i m

Watch out for overheating if you use it in portrait mode. If it only has ventilation slots at the top and bottom there will be no convection cooling in portrait mode.

Watch out for overheating if you use it in portrait
mode. If it only has ventilation slots at the top
and bottom there will be no convection cooling in
portrait mode.

Will do, Malcom, thanks. There are vent holes in the case on all 4 sides.

T i m

If you don't mind would you let me know how the arm
works for you. Not that you want to spend your time
writing reviews for me, LOL.

Steve

Ha! Sure.

T i m

All the way up is not too "blinding" --maybe it's because the blacks are so dark. 😉

Working for print (to simulate paper bright) I set my luminance between 95 and 120. Right now I have the Eizo down to 100. That translates to the front panel brightness control set at a whopping 8% (boy, it's nice to have the brightness quantified vs the nebulas "slider" from Apple -- yes, my calibration software tells me where it is, but still. Apple, after all is really designed for the generalist w/ good taste. The Eizo is obviously not ).

So yes, it's knocked way down for my semi dark studio, and no where near max. But who cares -- in a sense, just because it go can way brighter than what I need yet I can control it, is not an issue either way (a fast car, if you will) --it's the other features I desire and need and value (the contrast, the better color, the feature which adjust it's performance over time, the 5 year warranty, etc.).

But hey, 8% means sure means I'm conserving my lamp (and heat), by only needing "idle engine" strength.

T i m, okay back to deadline...