HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

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Matteo Ferreccio

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HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostWed Sep 26, 2018 3:14 pm

Hello all. I'm a BMPCC user (I usually shoot and post-produce RAW) and I'd like to invest in a accurate grading monitor. The majority of my work is video post that ends up on the internet, so surely 100% accurate sRGB is the very bare minimum. Anyway, since I grade mostly with After Effects (transitioning with DaVinci only now) I'd want to buy a monitor which displays well with both Blackmagic AND Adobe workflows. Also, since I do a lot of B/W projects, accurate contrast capability is a must. Additional info: I already own the i1 Display X Rite probe for calibrating.

So, the best looking price-quality ratio I found till now is the EIZO CG2730. It is relatively new, it's 5 years warranty, and maybe it will hold up not becoming obsolete for 5 years and more.

Would you kindly help me in the choice? What other monitors would you recommend to choose among?

Any kind of help and discussing is highly appreciated.

Thanks,
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Marc Wielage

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostFri Sep 28, 2018 1:07 pm

The Eizos are actually pretty good for the money.

Noted bloger Jonny Elwyn did a good piece a few years ago that's generally accurate:

https://jonnyelwyn.co.uk/film-and-video ... onitors-2/

I don't personally like the Dreamcolor, but there are people who use it. I think for about $2000, the LG OLEDs are pretty good provided you have enough space for a 55" display. I've used the B6, the C7, and the C8, and I think they can work very well provided they're calibrated with an external LUT.
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Janis Lionel

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostSat Sep 29, 2018 7:09 pm

I had a very hard time choosing between the CG2730 and the CG247X...I went with the CG247X since it has more features and I got for 300$ less than the CG2730.

I was worried that 1920 x 1200 would be too less today. I coudln't have been more wrong and tricked by marketing these days - the CG247x for my needs (printing projects photography / film editing / some grading) is absolutely stellar.

One of the things I like the moste: Smooth 24p playback (unlike many other graphics / photography oriented monitors).

With the Decklink Mini Monitor I get 10 bit which is nice!

I would claim that its one of the best bang for buck professional monitors out there.

If you have more questions about the CG247x feel free to ask...there are also great threads on liftgammagain about that model.

Cheers
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Ian Henderson

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostSun Sep 30, 2018 5:04 am

Marc Wielage wrote:I think for about $2000, the LG OLEDs are pretty good provided you have enough space for a 55" display. I've used the B6, the C7, and the C8, and I think they can work very well provided they're calibrated with an external LUT.


Does one need an external LUT box or can Resolve deliver the LUT on the outputs of the Mini Monitor 4k?

And do you think a C7 is accurate enough as a main reference display for SDR/REC709 once calibrated? They are 2/3 price of a 247X in my country. I’d still prefer a Flanders but that’s 3-4x the price of the LG...
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Matteo Ferreccio

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostTue Oct 02, 2018 3:45 pm

First of all, thanks to everyone for your answers.

I'm interested in Janis Lionel's post,

Janis Lionel wrote:I had a very hard time choosing between the CG2730 and the CG247X...I went with the CG247X since it has more features and I got for 300$ less than the CG2730.

I was worried that 1920 x 1200 would be too less today. I coudln't have been more wrong and tricked by marketing these days - the CG247x for my needs (printing projects photography / film editing / some grading) is absolutely stellar.

One of the things I like the moste: Smooth 24p playback (unlike many other graphics / photography oriented monitors).

With the Decklink Mini Monitor I get 10 bit which is nice!

I would claim that its one of the best bang for buck professional monitors out there.

If you have more questions about the CG247x feel free to ask...there are also great threads on liftgammagain about that model.

Cheers



right now, on Amazon, the CG2730 and CG247x are priced around the same, 1700-ish €. Besides size and resolutions, what's the real difference between them? Is one better? They both have the claimed 1500:1 contrast ratio. I read somewhere the real difference is in the 3D LUT, which the CG247x has and the CG2730 has not. I'm not very learned about this, so if anyone can explain a little I'd appreciate greatly.

Because, I prefer 27 16:9 over 24 16:10, and the CG2730 should be more recent.
So what's better between CG2730 and CG247x, being the same price?

Thanks again everyone! :)
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rick.lang

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HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostThu Oct 04, 2018 4:10 am

Have you considered this CG3145 that seems to be a good choice if you want the flexibility of supporting up to DCI 4K:

https://www.eizo.com/products/coloredge/cg3145/

Just a personal perspective from someone who doesn’t own a professional grading monitor. If I’m going to pick a budget solution, I’d go with Janis recommendation because I’d want something that shows pixel for pixel HD or downscaled simply from UHD. The 2730 is 2560x1440 and that’s not going to be a simple downscale or upscale so it’s not as precise. The CG3145 in my mind seems ideal if you’re shooting DCI 4K but it’s priced much higher.

My preferred vendor sells the CG3145 so one day I should go over and check it out.


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Antoine Grasset

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostThu Oct 04, 2018 5:12 pm

The facility where I worked had all the Eizo you can buy : 24", 27", 31". They're all equally good for color grading web/TV content and/or photo retouching.
I have a CG277 at home and it's holding up very well even after a few years.

Since you already have a X-Rite probe the CS2730 seems like a very good choice. It's the newer design also : better build quality, handle integrated to move the monitor around, better monitor shade.
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Andrew Kolakowski

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostThu Oct 04, 2018 9:38 pm

rick.lang wrote:Have you considered this CG3145 that seems to be a good choice if you want the flexibility of supporting up to DCI 4K:

https://www.eizo.com/products/coloredge/cg3145/

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Are you aware that this monitor costs 20K£? It's not a toy or budget monitor for sure.
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rick.lang

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HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostFri Oct 05, 2018 5:08 am

Andrew, when I was reading about this I thought it was something under $6,000. I thought this was the CG3145. The pictures seem the same as a CG3145 pamphlet I have.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1425544-REG



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Andrew Kolakowski

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostFri Oct 05, 2018 7:35 am

You may be thinking about CG318-4K or CG319X-4K.
CG3145 is a very new HDR monitor based on LCD per pixel backlit panel, which does 1000 nits without any ABL or zoning/local dimming. Apparently it's a very nice monitor.
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rick.lang

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HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostFri Oct 05, 2018 2:09 pm

Thanks, Andrew. I did think that the B&H Photo entry was very very odd in that it didn’t specify the actual model name, just that it was a 31” 4K device. Sneaky. At $20K, that’s for a very colour specialized business, not likely many individuals will risk that money.

One thing that has me wondering is that the monitor is still only good for 99% of the P3 colour space. They show the diagram that illustrates they cover much more than P3 but they miss some of P3 along the red-green axis. Fair enough. But then they mention in the specs that it can be used for Rec.2020 and 2100 without showing a new colour chart that includes the official 2020 colour space I’ve seen elsewhere. Could it be that a $20K (or more) monitor doesn’t really cover the official 2020 colour space? Actually 2020 colour space is so large, maybe no monitors cover it all.

If it only does P3 with reasonable accuracy, my iMac 27” 2015 (5120x2880) with 10bit P3 may not be so horrible after all if it was properly calibrated. A lot cheaper to calibrate the iMac. Your thoughts?


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Andrew Kolakowski

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostSat Oct 06, 2018 3:40 pm

They mention about Rec.2020 as a setting for "transmission", not that it can cover Rec.2020 gamut as not a single monitor can. It's just theoretical color space atm. but its coordinates are used in transmissions (HDMI, etc). P3 is opposite- used in production, but doesn't exist in transmission, so this is why Rec.2020 needs to be used (even if you master is graded to P3). It's similar like Rec.709 to P3 conversion just for theatrical projection (because many cinemas are setup for P3).
Eizo monitors are used a lot for print, so they always compromise between Adobe RGB and P3 coverage. They are shifted in greens/reds, so hard to find panel which can cover 100% both.

iMac screen is not at Eizo level. Eizo is different league with internal LUT, special uniformity settings, good black, good coating, etc. Gamut coverage is juts a one element out of many parameters.
It all depends what you do, what accuracy you need. No need to buy Eizo if you don't need it. You buy it when you do projects which require good accuracy and your charges can cover such a cost.

BH link clearly says what model it's: Eizo ColorEdge CG319X. This is quite new model.
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rick.lang

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostSun Oct 07, 2018 7:05 pm

Thanks, Andrew.


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Janis Lionel

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Re: HOW TO CHOOSE GRADING MONITOR - EIZO CG2730 or Similar

PostThu Nov 01, 2018 12:46 pm

Antoine Grasset wrote:The facility where I worked had all the Eizo you can buy : 24", 27", 31". They're all equally good for color grading web/TV content and/or photo retouching.
I have a CG277 at home and it's holding up very well even after a few years.

Since you already have a X-Rite probe the CS2730 seems like a very good choice. It's the newer design also : better build quality, handle integrated to move the monitor around, better monitor shade.


I have to correct that; I is a lighter built quality, though the older ones are more robust and feel sturdier
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