Samsung 30" Monitor

LP16 · December 22, 2007

Im looking to upgrade my existing monitor. I was going to go for the 30" Apple, since I have a newer Mac Pro but i came across this 30" Samsung SyncMaster 305T. It has near identical specs on everything and I was wondering what anyone thought. If you used it have it or anything that could help make a decision. It would save money for more photo gear if its as nice a quality. I've been reading up on it and in reviews its sounded very nice but as always i want to know what my fellow photographers think. Any help is much appreciated, Thanks.:D

Newsy · December 22, 2007

LP16 wrote:

Im looking to upgrade my existing monitor. I was going to go for the 30" Apple, since I have a newer Mac Pro but i came across this 30" Samsung SyncMaster 305T. It has near identical specs on everything and I was wondering what anyone thought. If you used it have it or anything that could help make a decision. It would save money for more photo gear if its as nice a quality. I've been reading up on it and in reviews its sounded very nice but as always i want to know what my fellow photographers think. Any help is much appreciated, Thanks.:D

The Apple uses a type of IPS panel which is the best LCD technology for photo editing as it has minimal colour/constrast/gamma shift from various viewing angles and it does not crush the blacks as much as a PVA panel which is what the Samsung is.

http://www.flatpanels.dk/panels.php

Apple M9179 (Widescreen) has a 30 inch 16 ms S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300W01) panel.

Samsung 305T (widescreen) has a 30 inch 6 ms (g2g) S-PVA (Samsung LTM300M1) panel.

If you're not familiar with these panels I'm referencing then please read this thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&enterthread=y

You may also be interested in these panels...

Dell 3007WFP (*) (widescreen) has a 30 inch 14 ms S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300W01) panel.

Dell 3007WFP-HC (*) (widescreen) has a 30 inch 8 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300WQ1) panel.

BenQ FP301W (widescreen) has a 30 inch 8 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300W01) panel.

HP LP3065 (widescreen) has a 30 inch 6 ms (g2g) S-IPS panel.

LG L3010T has a 30 inch 16 ms S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300W01) panel.

LG L3020T has a 30 inch 12 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LC300W01) panel.

Philips 30PF9946 has a 30 inch 16 ms S-IPS panel.

Of the above the, I'm only familiar with the Dell and HP so I'm not even sure the others are PC monitors. Be wary of the Dell 3007WFP-HC as it is a "wide gamut" monitor. There are a lot of people posting in other forums that the wide gamut monitors are just not realistic, they're having a hard time calibrating them, etc etc. Others are perfectly happy with them.

You can view image comparisons (& more) of the screens here...

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=36&mo1=238&p1=2303&ma2=71&ph=8

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LP16 · December 22, 2007

Newsy wrote:

The Apple uses a type of IPS panel which is the best LCD technology for photo editing as it has minimal colour/constrast/gamma shift from various viewing angles and it does not crush the blacks as much as a PVA panel which is what the Samsung is.

http://www.flatpanels.dk/panels.php
Apple M9179 (Widescreen) has a 30 inch 16 ms S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300W01) panel.

Samsung 305T (widescreen) has a 30 inch 6 ms (g2g) S-PVA (Samsung LTM300M1) panel.

If you're not familiar with these panels I'm referencing then please read this thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&enterthread=y

You may also be interested in these panels...
Dell 3007WFP (*) (widescreen) has a 30 inch 14 ms S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300W01) panel.

Dell 3007WFP-HC (*) (widescreen) has a 30 inch 8 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300WQ1) panel.

BenQ FP301W (widescreen) has a 30 inch 8 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300W01) panel.

HP LP3065 (widescreen) has a 30 inch 6 ms (g2g) S-IPS panel.

LG L3010T has a 30 inch 16 ms S-IPS (LG.Philips LM300W01) panel.

LG L3020T has a 30 inch 12 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LC300W01) panel.

Philips 30PF9946 has a 30 inch 16 ms S-IPS panel.
Of the above the, I'm only familiar with the Dell and HP so I'm not even sure the others are PC monitors.

You can view image comparisons (& more) of the screens here...

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=36&mo1=238&p1=2303&ma2=71&ph=8

Oh, OK great thanks from where i was looking they didnt list IPS or PVA that helps alot and thanks for all of the info too. That kills that idea pretty quick glad i stopped in to see. thanks again Newsy!

Newsy · December 22, 2007

LP16 wrote:

Oh, OK great thanks from where i was looking they didnt list IPS or PVA that helps alot and thanks for all of the info too. That kills that idea pretty quick glad i stopped in to see. thanks again Newsy!

Don't write off the PVA paneled monitors such as the one you were looking at. It is a question of budget. IPS panels are a lot more money, generally speaking. Many of the very fine NEC and Eizo 24" monitors use a PVA panel. There is that issue of black crush which for a minority of users is a big issue. For many others they appreciate the enhanced contrast that is inherent to the PVA technology.

Beyond panel technology, if you're a serious image editor, is the specification of the LUT (Look Up Table) of the monitor and whether or not changes in the LUT can be saved on the monitor itself. Several of NEC's product support this as do many Eizo's. Top end monitors feature 12bit or 14bit LUT's.

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LP16 · December 22, 2007

Newsy wrote:

Don't write off the PVA paneled monitors such as the one you were looking at. It is a question of budget. IPS panels are a lot more money, generally speaking. Many of the very fine NEC and Eizo 24" monitors use a PVA panel. There is that issue of black crush which for a minority of users is a big issue. For many others they appreciate the enhanced contrast that is inherent to the PVA technology.

Beyond panel technology, if you're a serious image editor, is the specification of the LUT (Look Up Table) of the monitor and whether or not changes in the LUT can be saved on the monitor itself. Several of NEC's product support this as do many Eizo's. Top end monitors feature 12bit or 14bit LUT's.

.

I didn't know that, this is alot of great new info. To be honest I dont have much of a clue with monitor panels. I also didn't know they were quite so important, but thats exactly what i wanted to know. I'll go searching for some more info. Is there any monitors you personally prefer over another?

Newsy · December 22, 2007

LP16 wrote:

I didn't know that, this is alot of great new info. To be honest I dont have much of a clue with monitor panels. I also didn't know they were quite so important, but thats exactly what i wanted to know. I'll go searching for some more info. Is there any monitors you personally prefer over another?

I use a Samsung 215TW 21" wide panel S-PVA 8bit LUT monitor.

It is calibrated with a Spyder2 PRO.

I'm very satisfied with it for my limited use as a serious at times hobbyist.

I can only dream of having a one of the 24" NEC's or Eizo's. Personally I'd probably run a 2 monitor setup with one less expensive monitor for my tools and the other monitor being a high quality panel to be calibrated. Just seems more practical than a 30" if the desktop space is there.

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LP16 · December 22, 2007

Newsy wrote:

I use a Samsung 215TW 21" wide panel S-PVA 8bit LUT monitor.

It is calibrated with a Spyder2 PRO.

I'm very satisfied with it for my limited use as a serious at times hobbyist.

I can only dream of having a one of the 24" NEC's or Eizo's. Personally I'd probably run a 2 monitor setup with one less expensive monitor for my tools and the other monitor being a high quality panel to be calibrated. Just seems more practical than a 30" if the desktop space is there.

.

I've been looking around and was curious about the Samsung 245T Or maybe the 275T. They do look to be better than the 30 inch i was thinking But im looking at the Apple 23", NEC's & Eizo's currently.

Samsung 30" Monitor

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