Samsung 226BW x 2232GW

Hi all,
I am planning to buy a monitor. I read good reviews about both Samsung 226BW and Samsung 2232GW (both are available with good prices in a nearby store). I am thinking seriously about Samsung 2232GW. My questions:
1- I am afraid that those previews reflect the perspectives of gamers not nature photographers. Has anyone of you used this monitor (or similar Samsung monitor)?
2- which is better for nature photographers BW or GW series?
Thank you very much in advance.

I can't help you with the Samsung. I just got a new Del monitor (2407WFP-HC), LCD made by Samsung?, and can tell you of some of my adventures. I have another thread on this forum you can check out. I used to gamers as an indication of the monitor. The Dell had mostly great reviews, except from the gamers. What they appear to do to satisfy the gamers is to reduce the color depth to 6 bits per channel. This helps them, but hurts us. It is interesting that 20% of the monitor purchasers are dictating what is available at a reasonable cost.

Good Luck!

I have a Samsung (older model) and it has been very reliable and easy to calibrate. I would not hesitate to purchase one. Sorry, but I am not up to date on the different models.

These are great general purpose monitors, and the 2232GW will give you 50% more contrast for better highlight and shadow detail and a wider angle of view. It appears to be an 8 bit monitor, but that information is inferred from the 16.7M color display. Six bit monitors typically show a spec of "more that 16M colors" or '16.2M colors."

If you can justify it, consider getting a monitor that uses S-PVA technology, such as the Eizo CE210W. It offers 14 bit color processing, the best color accuracy and gamut available for LCD screens without having to take out a mortgage, and it even boasts an 8 ms response time, making it useful for a wider variety of applications than a screen using S-IPS technology. The 14 bit processing yields visibly smoother color and gray scale transitions than most other monitors. It is one of the several displays intended for color-critical applications from this company. Other companies that are worth looking at are Apple and NEC.

Gene - I'd guess that based on the model line and price of the 2232GW, that it's still a 6-bit monitor. (I can't seem to find confirmation online though). I think the color claims are always due to dithering on the 6-bit monitors, since you can only get 262000 true colors on a 6-bit. (And as you said, they'll still claim 16M.)

As far as the Eizo's...I haven't used them or seen them much, but you might need a second mortgage. They're pretty expensive, especially compared to the Samsungs being discussed here. Apple's are supposed to be great, and are middle ground.

I can also add that the HP 2465 (available on HP's site under the small business area, and not the home area) is a 24" LCD that is

1) reasonably priced (less than Apple, lots less than Eizo) and is
2) HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended by quite a few people in another forum.

It calibrates very well, and is very sharp apparently. If you want to read more, you can look here.

I am having fits trying to calibrate a Samsung Syncmaster 214T with the Monaco Optix Calibration System.

Thank you all for your valuable input.

It seems that no one of you has strongly recommended Samsung 226BW or Samsung 2232GW. I am limited by budget and availability in the local market (shipping form USA will be costly). I am looking for a monitor in the range of 600$. Any further recommendations/clarifications will be highly appreciated.

I forgot to mention that I am searching now for HP 2465 in the local market (thanks David Bostedo).

I have the 226BW, last year when that was the only thing available. By comparison at www.circuitcity.com, there doesn't seem to be much different display-wise between the two. The 226BW doesn't have any way to adjust height or tilt of the monitor itself, so that is probably the biggest detractor from that model (I don't know if the other one can either). The price is really close for both models, only $30 difference.

I'd say go into a store and check them out side-by-side and pick the one that looks best for your needs. I got mine last year and it was the ONLY one that had that great contrast ratio for the price. And since I upgraded from a Dell CRT from '01, anything was gold in comparison.

And I like the 226BW so much I'll use this for a long time to come.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

I have recently acquired four new LCD monitors. Three for my office and one for home. All monitors are not created equal. Some models are highly directional. The colors, contrast, and brightness shifts as you move. Moving your eyes even a few inches up or down makes a difference.

Samsung SyncMaster 245BW - not suitable for photography

Dell E207WFP freebie that comes with a new desktop computer - not suitable for photography

Dell E248FP (not the UltraSharp model) - not suitable for photography

HP LP2465 - I haven't had a chance yet to really put this one to the test. It came highly recommended by photographers and so far, so good

Edit: corrected the Dell model numbers