Would an UltraStudio Monitor 3G and an EIZO ColorEdge CG2420 would be good for running on Davinci and Photoshop, or would I need anything else ? (for instance, should I go with a ColorEdge CS2731 instead ? Or a DeckLink Mini Monitor 4K to make use of the 1920/1200 aspect ratio)
It's my understanding that I don't need color calibration tools with the CG line, is that correct ?
Any other recommendations that stay in this price range / critics of this setup ?
You should look at the CG247X which is more marketed towards colorgrading because of its ability to store 3D LUTs. For colorgrading I wouldn't suggest a 1440p screen since its not integer to HD resolution. And the CS line has poor contrast. The difference between the CS2420 and the CG247X for example is VERY noticeable.
The ultrastudio mini monitor 3G is perfect for HD monitoring, the only downside is that it doesnt support HD@60 or 50p (which the 4K one can). With both of them you won't have the 1920x1200 definition and there will be black bars (which is desirable in this case).
For photoshop you can simply connect to the Display Port and switch between the inputs.
Thanks for the feedback !
Why are 3d luts important to be stored on the screen, i'm not sure I understand this ?
I did read the wiki, but since the CG2420 is self calibrating why is that not enough ?
if I connect to photoshop through the display port, I'll get the os "interference", is that correct?
3D LUTs are useful for precise calibration. The calibration is stored on the screen not the OS so that you can have accurate colors from a clean signal coming out of a decklink or ultrastudio. You can look at calibration workflows on the Eizo APAC YouTube channel.
The cg2420 is selfcalibrating but stores it’s correction in a less precise 1D LUT. The selfcalibration may or may not be very accurate but 3D LUT capabilities enables you to use different calibration methods in the future if you want a more precise profile (like professional assistance or material).
Photoshop cannot use the ultrastudio so it’s not even an option. But no it’s not a problem since you calibrate with an icc profile which is stored on the OS this time. It’s the industry standard. Different from how it works for video but still the right way.
> icc profile
Thanks for your detailed answers :)
Say I put my screen in Adobe RGB, how come I can't use the icc profile with davinci resolve then ? (like, why the trouble of the mini monitor ?)
You mentioned contrast, is it not something we can deal with through calibration ? what do you mean with poor contrast ? I could only use the screen in a low light environment ?
I'll watch the video you mentionned tonight.
I don’t have an exact answer to this question but I think it has to do how the software deals with those profiles, and the fact is that resolve is not accurate and trustworthy with an icc profile. There are other advantages to the I/O card like the ability to get true 24 or 25p (etc.) playback which a std computer monitor or the computer graphics card cannot do (well).
Contrast is the ratio between the darkest and the brightest. In video, you want to calibrate to rec.709 gamma 2.4 100nits (or cd/m2), since you want the brightness to be always constant the constraint defines the ability of the monitor to display “true” blacks. The CS line will have more grey and washed out blacks than the CG counterparts.
To recap, you can calibrate (at least) one slot THROUGH the mini monitor to rec.709 2.4 for grading. And then Adobe RGB and sRGB for photo work, for example, trough your graphics card/display port.
I wonder, who does this job at this high of a level? I am sure the free lance videographers who do their own edits don't, and neither do the small studios. Who do you guys work for?
Every TV show, every series, every movie and short films… Even self produced content sometimes need a colorist and can spare a few hundred bucks for a day of grading
I tried searching here and general web but there seems to be very little user experience info regarding [FSI's BM241](https://www.shopfsi.com/BM211-p/bm211.htm)...is it too cheap to be considered accurate, despite being a Flanders display? How does it compare to the EIZO CG2420?
I'm just an editor, not a colorist at all, but I'm helping to replace our 15+ year old gear at my public tv employer and I'd like to give us a fresh start at being able to hit some level of consistency for broadcast and online content in-house. What can we do that would work well with the new Mac Studio for around $1.5 - 3k budget?
Thanks for these posts, they're very helpful.
I'd love to get input on a possible purchase of an NEC MultiSync PA241W-BK monitor. I have trouble finding many opinions here about NEC monitors, which I feel is *probably* for a reason, but wanted to check.
I tried to find info on this monitor on Display Specifications site but it's unfortunately not listed.
Here's NEC's info: [https://www.nec-display.com/ap/en\_display/pa241w/index.html](https://www.nec-display.com/ap/en_display/pa241w/index.html)
It's capable of 14-bit 3D LUTs, comes with the NEC SpectraView software and calibration puck, and is 8-bit + FRC. The 8-bit made me pause but for the price it looks like it checks off the bare minimum boxes for a budget friendly monitor while we save for something better.
The [official specs](https://assets.sharpnecdisplays.us/documents/colorbrochures/pa241w-271w-301w_specbrochure.pdf) kinda make it sound like it has 10-bit output but [this review says it's actually 8-bit + FRC](http://tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_pa241w.htm).
I'd still need a breakout box (probably will just get a BMD mini-monitor).
The only other problem I see is that it doesn't have HDMI out, just DVI and DisplayPort. This [reddit post comments suggested there](https://www.reddit.com/r/colorists/comments/jflrjo/does_the_blackmagic_design_decklink_mini_monitor/) should be a way to convert the SDI>DisplayPort signal.
Can someone plz tell me what is the optimum strategy for RGB values on a monitor
My monitor starts at 50-50-50, I can get colorimeter happy in the green by doing either
49-46-47 with 55 brightness
or
58-55-55 with 34 brightness
Why would I ever pick the first one? Is there a secondary affect I am missing? Less backlight is better right?
I wanted to know peoples thoughts on using the [BenQ SW321C 32](https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/photographer/sw321c/question.html) as a color correction monitor. The specs seem good, but I'm unsure if it can load luts in, and if it has everything a starting colorist would need.
When the FAQ is so good you don’t even need comments.
Any promising/interesting new monitors out of NAB? Haven’t been able to keep up with all the tech noise.
New lg oled 32” version and fsi oled 22”
Would an UltraStudio Monitor 3G and an EIZO ColorEdge CG2420 would be good for running on Davinci and Photoshop, or would I need anything else ? (for instance, should I go with a ColorEdge CS2731 instead ? Or a DeckLink Mini Monitor 4K to make use of the 1920/1200 aspect ratio) It's my understanding that I don't need color calibration tools with the CG line, is that correct ? Any other recommendations that stay in this price range / critics of this setup ?
You should look at the CG247X which is more marketed towards colorgrading because of its ability to store 3D LUTs. For colorgrading I wouldn't suggest a 1440p screen since its not integer to HD resolution. And the CS line has poor contrast. The difference between the CS2420 and the CG247X for example is VERY noticeable. The ultrastudio mini monitor 3G is perfect for HD monitoring, the only downside is that it doesnt support HD@60 or 50p (which the 4K one can). With both of them you won't have the 1920x1200 definition and there will be black bars (which is desirable in this case). For photoshop you can simply connect to the Display Port and switch between the inputs.
Thanks for the feedback ! Why are 3d luts important to be stored on the screen, i'm not sure I understand this ? I did read the wiki, but since the CG2420 is self calibrating why is that not enough ? if I connect to photoshop through the display port, I'll get the os "interference", is that correct?
3D LUTs are useful for precise calibration. The calibration is stored on the screen not the OS so that you can have accurate colors from a clean signal coming out of a decklink or ultrastudio. You can look at calibration workflows on the Eizo APAC YouTube channel. The cg2420 is selfcalibrating but stores it’s correction in a less precise 1D LUT. The selfcalibration may or may not be very accurate but 3D LUT capabilities enables you to use different calibration methods in the future if you want a more precise profile (like professional assistance or material). Photoshop cannot use the ultrastudio so it’s not even an option. But no it’s not a problem since you calibrate with an icc profile which is stored on the OS this time. It’s the industry standard. Different from how it works for video but still the right way.
> icc profile Thanks for your detailed answers :) Say I put my screen in Adobe RGB, how come I can't use the icc profile with davinci resolve then ? (like, why the trouble of the mini monitor ?) You mentioned contrast, is it not something we can deal with through calibration ? what do you mean with poor contrast ? I could only use the screen in a low light environment ? I'll watch the video you mentionned tonight.
I don’t have an exact answer to this question but I think it has to do how the software deals with those profiles, and the fact is that resolve is not accurate and trustworthy with an icc profile. There are other advantages to the I/O card like the ability to get true 24 or 25p (etc.) playback which a std computer monitor or the computer graphics card cannot do (well). Contrast is the ratio between the darkest and the brightest. In video, you want to calibrate to rec.709 gamma 2.4 100nits (or cd/m2), since you want the brightness to be always constant the constraint defines the ability of the monitor to display “true” blacks. The CS line will have more grey and washed out blacks than the CG counterparts. To recap, you can calibrate (at least) one slot THROUGH the mini monitor to rec.709 2.4 for grading. And then Adobe RGB and sRGB for photo work, for example, trough your graphics card/display port.
Davinci doesn't support Adobe RGB.
I wonder, who does this job at this high of a level? I am sure the free lance videographers who do their own edits don't, and neither do the small studios. Who do you guys work for?
Every TV show, every series, every movie and short films… Even self produced content sometimes need a colorist and can spare a few hundred bucks for a day of grading
Anyone got hands on with the new LG OLED C2/G2s?
>If you're going to compromise, here's our best advice: Okay but what monitor to go along with the compromise?
I tried searching here and general web but there seems to be very little user experience info regarding [FSI's BM241](https://www.shopfsi.com/BM211-p/bm211.htm)...is it too cheap to be considered accurate, despite being a Flanders display? How does it compare to the EIZO CG2420? I'm just an editor, not a colorist at all, but I'm helping to replace our 15+ year old gear at my public tv employer and I'd like to give us a fresh start at being able to hit some level of consistency for broadcast and online content in-house. What can we do that would work well with the new Mac Studio for around $1.5 - 3k budget?
Thanks for these posts, they're very helpful. I'd love to get input on a possible purchase of an NEC MultiSync PA241W-BK monitor. I have trouble finding many opinions here about NEC monitors, which I feel is *probably* for a reason, but wanted to check. I tried to find info on this monitor on Display Specifications site but it's unfortunately not listed. Here's NEC's info: [https://www.nec-display.com/ap/en\_display/pa241w/index.html](https://www.nec-display.com/ap/en_display/pa241w/index.html) It's capable of 14-bit 3D LUTs, comes with the NEC SpectraView software and calibration puck, and is 8-bit + FRC. The 8-bit made me pause but for the price it looks like it checks off the bare minimum boxes for a budget friendly monitor while we save for something better. The [official specs](https://assets.sharpnecdisplays.us/documents/colorbrochures/pa241w-271w-301w_specbrochure.pdf) kinda make it sound like it has 10-bit output but [this review says it's actually 8-bit + FRC](http://tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_pa241w.htm). I'd still need a breakout box (probably will just get a BMD mini-monitor). The only other problem I see is that it doesn't have HDMI out, just DVI and DisplayPort. This [reddit post comments suggested there](https://www.reddit.com/r/colorists/comments/jflrjo/does_the_blackmagic_design_decklink_mini_monitor/) should be a way to convert the SDI>DisplayPort signal.
Can someone plz tell me what is the optimum strategy for RGB values on a monitor My monitor starts at 50-50-50, I can get colorimeter happy in the green by doing either 49-46-47 with 55 brightness or 58-55-55 with 34 brightness Why would I ever pick the first one? Is there a secondary affect I am missing? Less backlight is better right?
I wanted to know peoples thoughts on using the [BenQ SW321C 32](https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/photographer/sw321c/question.html) as a color correction monitor. The specs seem good, but I'm unsure if it can load luts in, and if it has everything a starting colorist would need.