LaCie or Apple Studio Display

Submitted by ireid on Mon, 2007-03-12 14:39.

Member's Forum

We are upgrading our monitors here in the studio. Anyone think one is better than the other?

Note colour reproduction is obviously a MUST, so I am leaning toward the LaCie. . .but the Apple studio display is BIGGER lol (and about $800 bucks cheaper) Can I successfully calibrate the Apple studio display?

FWIW... my opinion on the Apple Cinema Display

Submitted by sidesey on Mon, 2007-03-12 15:02.

You don't say what size you want, but I would certainly recommend the Apple as I have been really happy with mine. The only thing is that it is coming to the end of its cycle, ie a new one may be available shortly as i found out at http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ Also it isn't height adjustable, it only tilts, not a major problem, but it might be if you are sitting on really low seats...

I have never bothered calibrating mine properly with extra software, so can't comment on that. It has got its own display profile in system preferences though which seems to work ok.

I can't comment on the Lacie, as I have never used it. They say bigger is better though (whoever they are)!

Thanks for the info

Submitted by ireid on Mon, 2007-03-12 15:14.

Sorry, our default is 21" so I forgot to mention it. We see a LaCie 22" that we like but the Studio Display is more than that. (23" I think) I don't mind the size, what matters to me really is color, it has to be accurate. I get more bang for the buck with the Studio Display but if there r color variances between press (newsprint & coated stock) and whats on screen, I'll scream! LOL

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

Forget screen size

Submitted by JimD on Mon, 2007-03-12 15:54.

Screen size is a joke, it's a marketing gimmick. You have to look at the native resolution, rather than the "inch size."

For instance, LaCie's 321 LCD (a 21.3" screen) only offers 1600x1200 native resolution. That's not very good. I have a 1600x1200 resolution on my 20" LCD from Formac and payed less than half what LaCie is charging... and that was when LCD screens were expensive. Then you look at Apple's 20" LCD which has 1680x1050, nearly as large and half the price. Apple's 23" LCD is 1920x1200, a little larger and still cheaper than LaCie's 321 LCD.

Now compare the price difference between Apple's 20" and 23" screens. You're only getting 240 more horizontal pixels and 150 vertical pixels more than the 20" display when you spend $300 more for the 23". Is it worth it? Maybe. But the LaCie model is DEFINITELY NOT worth the extra money.

Now, regarding color calibration. All LCD screens can be calibrated, because calibration happens in the software, not the hardware. You simply need a device such as the Pantone Huey (apprx. $80-$90) to calibrate.

I didn't know that!

Submitted by ireid on Mon, 2007-03-12 16:53.

Wow, thats a lot of info. We already bought a LaCie 21" and its doing quite well. . .but my boss freaked when he saw the price! I already have a calibrator that we bought with the last LaCie so thats tipping my decision, (rather than swing an 'extra expense on management' when I already have a perfectly new calibrator.) I was wondering though if I could use the existing LaCie calibrator with the Apple display? ;)

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

Yes.

Submitted by JimD on Wed, 2007-03-14 00:59.

Yes. You should be able to use the LaCie calibrator with any display - because all they do is measure the light reflecting to and from the screen... now the software may be tied to the monitor in some way, but I highly doubt it.

Thanks jimD

Submitted by sidesey on Mon, 2007-03-12 17:34.

I really wanted a bigger monitor, but you have made my mind up that its not worth upgrading the 20" that i love... cheers for that!

We always had some problems with colour calibaration where I worked so thats why I don't bother now. Perhaps things are different now. It was always pretty tricky to get what you see on screen the same as what you print the same as what the printer prints - hope that sentence makes sense! Also to make it really work you have to calibrate for different times of day and/or night as that effects what you see on the screen...

Day or night calibration

Submitted by JimD on Wed, 2007-03-14 08:15.

In the "old days" of CRT monitors, the time of day/night that you calibrated, as well as what lights you have on and how long your display was running when you calibrated all came into play.

However when you're dealing with LCD screens, the only thing you have to consider is what overhead lighting you have turned on while you work. LCDs don't have a "warm-up" period, nor do they run brighter or darker depending on how long you've had it turned on. So the calibration is actually a little easier.

That being said, color calibration is a very tricky beast no matter what type of monitor you have. And no matter how much calibrating you do, it all goes out the window of the publication or printer that is outputting your files has their RIP set to ignore color profiles.

Dell

Submitted by archmedia on Tue, 2007-03-13 23:13.

Dell doesn't have bad prices in my opinion.. i know some people will read this and cringe, but damn i love my dell monitor, it's doing GREAT for me and the prices are hard to beat. I have the 2007WFP 20" wide screen. So good i got a second one on the way as we speak :D that's just my $0.02 for what it's worth..

edit : they have GREAT refurbs if you're looking to save a few dollars here and there. my friend bought two 2007wfp's from the refurb section and they'd EASILY pass as brand spanking new...

Dell

Submitted by JimD on Wed, 2007-03-14 08:16.

I've also heard a lot of good reviews of the Dell LCDs, but only the larger ones. When it comes time for me to upgrade my LCD, I'm probably going to go with a 24" Dell as well unless Apple releases a "gotta have" sized LCD with iSight built-in.

iSight

Submitted by archmedia on Thu, 2007-03-15 15:40.

iSight is definitely a nice feature, and as much as I use my web cam I still tend to prefer the actual cam so I can move it around. Believe it or not, i actually built a rig to hold my cam straight down so that if I'm having a webconference with a client they can see me sketch up what it is that I'm trying to convey or to discuss stuff and allow me to point at it directly. I doubt I'll ever get a monitor with a built in cam unless it's a laptop...

Going with the LaCie

Submitted by ireid on Thu, 2007-03-15 15:44.

Well we're going with the LaCie, the decision was made by our IT people. . . based on the previous purchases by our other offices. Trying to standardise, but this was a great wealth of information! Thanks for the comments! If I by a MacPro I will certainly look at the alternatives to an Apple display :)

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda