S-PVA panel LCD monitors for photography

Types of LCD panels:

The TN (twisted nematic) display is the most common consumer display type, due to its low production cost and wide development. The pixel response time on modern TN panels is sufficiently fast to most users ; this fast response time has been a heavily marketed aspect of TN displays, although in most cases this number does not reflect performance across the entire range of possible color transitions.

Modern use of technologies has allowed manufacturers to significantly reduce grey to grey (G2G) transitions. Response times are now quoted in G2G figures; with 4ms and 2ms now being commonplace for TN based models. This marketing strategy, combined with the relatively lower cost of production for TN panels, has led to the dominance of TN in the consumer market.

However, color reproduction and linearity on TN panels is poor. The TN display suffers from limited viewing angles, especially in the vertical direction, and most are unable to display the full 16.7 million colors (24-bit truecolor) available from modern graphics cards. These particular panels, with 6 bits per color channel as opposed to 8, can approach 24-bit color using a dithering method which combines adjacent pixels to simulate the desired shade.

As a result, TN panels can’t be used efficiently for photo work (photos display and manipulation).

IPS

IPS (in-plane switching) was developed by Hitachi in 1996 to improve on the poor viewing angles and color reproduction of TN panels. Most also support true 8-bit color. These improvements came at a loss of response time, which was initially on the order of 50ms. IPS panels were also extremely expensive.

IPS has since been superseded by S-IPS (Super-IPS, Hitachi in 1998), which has all the benefits of IPS technology with the addition of improved pixel refresh timing. Though color reproduction approaches that of CRTs, the contrast ratio remains relatively weak. LG and Philips remain one of the main manufacturers of S-IPS based panels.

MVA

MVA (multi-domain vertical alignment) was originally developed in 1998 by Fujitsu as a compromise between TN and IPS. It achieved fast pixel response, wide viewing angles and high contrast at the cost of brightness and color reproduction. Modern MVA panels can offer wide viewing angles (second only to S-IPS technology), good black depth, good color reproduction and depth, and fast response times.

PVA

PVA (patterned vertical alignment) and S-PVA (super patterned vertical alignment) offers similar features to MVA, but boasts very high contrast ratios such as 3000:1. S-PVA panels all use at least true 8-bit color electronics and do not use any color simulation methods. S-PVA panels offered by Eizo (at least newer ones) use even 10-bit color internally, which enables gamma and other corrections without banding. PVA and S-PVA can offer good black depth, wide viewing angles and S-PVA can offer additionally fast response times thanks to modern RTC technologies.

As a simple test, take a look at the image below on your monitor:

LCD grey chart

On a classic CRT monitor (Samsung SyncMaster 1100df), I can see all the shades of gray, depending on the quality of your LCD monitor you can determine how many colors are you going to see in your photographs.

Examples of S-PVA LCD monitors

19 inch monitors:

Fujitsu Siemens P19-2 - 455USD

Eizo S1961SH-BK - 735USD

Eizo S1931SA-GY - 595USD

AOC 197PKV - 340 USD

Fujitsu Siemens P19-2P - 455USD

Lenovo L190x - 570 USD

Acer AL2021ms - 1144USD

20 inch monitors:

Fujitsu Siemens P20-2 - 690USD

Eizo S2031W-BK - 711USD

Fujitsu Siemens P20-2 - 685USD

21 inch monitors:

Eizo CE210W-WS - 1732USD

Eizo CE210W-K - 1364USD

Samsung 215TW - 560USD

NEC LCD2170NX - 912USD

NEC LCD2170NX-BK - 910USD

Samsung 214T - 700USD

Eizo S2100 - 1103uSD

NEC LCD2190UXp - 1085USD

NEC LCD2190UXp-BK - 1100USD

22 inch monitors:

Eizo S2231WH-BK - 838USD

Eizo S2231WE-GY - 885USD

Eizo S2231WH-GY - 850USD

24 inch monitors:

Samsung 244T - 1248USD

HP LP2465 - 994USD

Samsung XL24 - 2500USD

Samsung 245T - 1323USD

Eizo S2410W-K - 1792USD

Fujitsu Siemens P24-1W - 1322USD

Dell 2407WFP - 926USD