CRT recommendations

[paulr]

I bought a great LaCie Electron Blue IV 19" monitor last year, in almost new condition. My hope was that it would last until the really good LCDs dropped into my price range. Well, the monitor crapped out on me this month, and a nice big Eizo is still out of reach.

I'm scanning Craigslist for a replacement, in the likely event that my corner t.v. repair shop can't fix the LaCie.

Are there any other monitors in the LaCie's class that I should consider? I need 19 or 21 inches, sharp image, even illumination, and ability to calibrate (independent controlls of R, G, and B channels).

[Antonio Corcuera]

Sony Artisan, but probably harder to find than a LaCie. Good luck!

[Jon Shiu]

Yes, Sony Artisan is great and comes with monitor calibration hardware/software. Supposed to have expected 20,000 hr life, I think I read somewhere.

Jon

[Ted Harris]

Paul,

The Sony Artisan is likely to cost you way more than the LaCie if you find one. Even more than some good LCD's. Two suggestions:

1) Take a look at Eizo's online store for their clearance monitors. They have several FlexScanseries monitors in the 17-20 inch size range that are under 500. These monitors willserve you well. We use several of them inour scanning workshops. Take a look at La Cie's refurbs too. I noticed several seemingly good deals in an email I got from them the other day.

2) I have an Electron Blue 19" that is is good working order just taking up space under a table. If you can figure a way to get it to you from NH we can work out a deal.

[QT Luong]

The Sony GDM-C520 is the best deal in high-end CRTs. That's the same as the Artisan without the fancy stuff. Used to retail for between 1/2 and 1/3 of an Artisan.

[Kirk Gittings]

I recently bought a new Lacie 300 series 12 bit LCD. To my eye it is every bit (ha ha) as good as the Eizo 12 bit monitors, which I use at the school. All Lacies are now and always were made by NEC. There may be an NEC equivilent that is a few bucks cheaper.

[JW Dewdney]

I have a LaCie IV and like it alot. What's wrong with getting another one? Just because one crapped out on you - doesn't mean the next will. Who's to say an artisan or whatever else won't crap out on you too? No assurances. I'm just sayin'...

[paulr]

I have a LaCie IV and like it alot. What's wrong with getting another one?

Oh, I'm looking for another one. But on the local used market I might not find a good one any time soon, so I'm trying to expand my options.

Ted: thanks for the offer. I'm going to try my luck locally first, just because shipping these beheemoths is such a chore. As far as the Eizos go, I see great deals on the flex scan models, but not the high end ones (which are the only ones i've seen, and fallen in love with). Any idea how the two lines compare?

Kirk: when you compare the LaCie to the Eizo 12-bit monitors, which Eizo line is that?

Thanks everyone.

[Kirk Gittings]

Originally Posted by JW Dewdney View Post
I have a LaCie IV and like it alot. What's wrong with getting another one?

Have you looked for one lately? Not only are they hard to find used, but you have to find one with some life left in it. If it won't calibrate to within 80% of target luminosity it is pretty much toast. When I was looking for one a couple of months ago I couldn't find one that I could test that was more than 60%. One I had shipped in here which "was barely used" was at 50%! That is a monitor that was completely used up.

[Struan Gray]

I bought a used 19" LaCie while I wait for $1000 LCD monitors to come down in price. It's a bit green on startup, and the calibration drifts faster than I like, but it cost $60 and once its warm the colour is good enough for me.

At work I have a 20" Apple Cinema screen. I see more shadow detail on the LaCie, and when I take my files to the local Eizo distributor for a lust-session, but the Apple has dropped so far in price, and does enough of what I need, that I am strongly leaning towards getting one for home use when the re-calibration frequency of the LaCie gets too tiresome. Were I only doing colour I would probably have one already.