Color rendering quality
The quality of colors is measured with the LaCie BlueEye Pro colorimeter, which in fact is a Gretag colorimeter coupled to the software suite developed by LaCie.
Just to remind you, we work with a value called DeltaE. It represents a measurement between the color requested and the one really displayed on the monitor. The higher the result obtained, the less true colors are. The value is also counter-balanced for human eye color sensitivity.
Delta E > 3 the desired color is noticeably different from the one on the screen.
2 < Delta E < 3 color quality is satisfactory but a graphic designer probably wouldn’t be content
1< Delta E <2 colors are accurate.
Delta E < 1, the result is perfect.
Each time, 18 patches of color are studied and 16 results are reported in a graph.
Here are the average gaps (DeltaE 94) measured for our 18 color patches (the smaller the better):
The result isn't outstanding. The 26" monitor has good settings but we can’t say it’s calibrated. Take a look at these results:
Grays are accurate and particularly well rendered. However, vivid shades are far from being accurate.
Now, if you choose this monitor, maybe it means that you are a graphic designer with a calibration probe? If you do, you are saved because this monitor, once it is calibrated, is very good:
This monitor has another surprising strong point. NEC announces 91% coverage of the NTSC gamut. This is much higher than average. So much higher that it even questions the point of having LED backlights.
IPS 6 ms : Nec MultiSync LCD2690WUXi
IPS : Nec LCD2180WG LED
PVA : TV Sony KDL-32V2000
PVA : Dell 2407WFPNEC hasn't explained how they succeeded in having such a gamut. Comparing the result with other monitors shows nevertheless that it obviously has better backlighting than usual (the Dell represents the typical result of LCD monitors). Also, it doesn’t have LED backlights like the Nec LCD2180WG. The gamut is a little bit shorter in the green.
It is, however, identical to the Sony TV which has wide gamut CCFL tubes. We believe that NEC has probably implemented the same or similar ones in the LCD2690WUXi. Anyway, NEC apparently manages this backlighting better as they reach lower in the reds and blues.
Who will be interested by this evolution?Those who print images for professional use. This monitor is one of a few that is capable of accurately resituating some of the most extreme shades differentiated by printers (white gamut). Compare one image displayed on this monitor with the same image on a different monitor and you will see color scales where the other has a uniform color area. For a graphic designers doing catalogues or a photographer editing pictures of a new collection,
this greater richness of colors completely justifies the investment in such a monitor!
