Photoclubalpha

I recently decided to purchase a new monitor and decided to go for an e-IPS based monitor for improved colour reproduction / sRGB compatibility. I purchased a Dell model through Amazon UK but it was faulty out of the box (which whilst annoying I know it happens). What did really annoy me was the absolutely appalling phone support from Dell - over 45 minutes listening to Muzak, constantly being asked for code on the back of the monitor that simply wasn't present and eventually being told that as I purchased through Amazon, they would have to obtain a code for me and then they'd let me phone them and tell them what the fault was! Amazon by comparison were very apologetic and within 10 mins had emailed me detailed instructions and labels for returning the product for exchange or refund.

So, in protest I'm avoiding Dell and am looking at other products.. any suggestions? I'm looking for colour fidelity first and a reasonable response rate second. I'm particularly interested in these 2 as they are in my price range (200 - 300 GBP inc delivery) and are in stock and available from reputable dealers;

A cheap BenQ that uses AMVA tech - a compromise but cheap
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/benq_ew2420.htm

A slightly more expensive NEC monitor using ips
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_ea232wmi.htm

Anyone else have any experience of the above / other suggestions?

Scott

I'm on the verge of buying an IPS monitor...probably an HP ZR30w.

Yes.. I've also looked at the HPs (although not the 30inch model.. I looked at its considerably cheaper 24 inch little brother, the zr24w . My only concern was that (regarding the 24inch) whilst it was a bit more expensive than the NEC or Dell (*spits*), the contrast ratio didn't seem as good. Overall it was a pretty nice monitor once calibrated though, according to the review.

I decided on the HP because it offers more pixels than I currently have (less scrolling in apps like Lightroom) at a lower pixel density (easier on my aging eye-balls).

Finally went with the NEC ea232wmi. Arrived and installed quickly and without issue (NEC 1, Dell 0) . Its a nice looking monitor, understated. The Screen and colours looked crisp straight out of the box (it comes with eco brightness settings enabled so looked a little DIM but the OSD is simple and easy to use to disable / adjust thet.. there's even an eco brightness button to cycle the presets). After calibrating with a spyder though, the final example photos really popped - very pleasing to the eye and post calibration was significantly warmer than the defaults. Overall, a very nice screen for photo editing... BUT mine does have a little bit of a light leak in one corner from the LEDs - not enough to return or affect photo editing but visible with predominantly black screens e.g. films with black borders. Also, I performed a more exhaustive test with the spyder and the screen was 5-10% out in one quadrant - in this case, I wouldn't even have known unless I'd performed the test. So not a perfect 10 for the NEC and not suitable for the Pro on a budget but for home enthusiasts, a good buy - I really can see a difference when I slideshow my photos on this monitor - they look great (or at least the good ones do ).