The 18.1in. ColorEdge CG18 has the sober appearance of a typical business LCD. The reasonably thin bezel, running 2cm along the screen, comes in either a black-matte or grey plastic finish. The display is quite adjustable, too: the sturdy hinge that connects the panel to the neck pivots between Landscape and Portrait modes and tilts 40 degrees backward. The ColorEdge CG18 also swivels 35 degrees to the right and the left and can slide upward to add 10cm of height. All this movement is supported by a small but stable two-toed base; a simple wire metal clasp collects and tidies the power and signal cords at the base of the neck.
Designed for graphics professionals who require precise colour, the ColorEdge CG18 offers a handful of unique features. For starters, Eizo says that it hand-adjusts every ColorEdge monitor at the factory to deliver consistently accurate, non-shifting colours. Additionally, each ColorEdge monitor ships with Eizo's colour-calibration software designed for use with GretagMacbeth's Eye-One line of colour-management tools. These tools, colorimeters and spectrophotometers, can cost hundreds or even thousands of pounds, but they are necessary to take full advantage of the ColorEdge CG18's potential -- something to keep in mind when you're considering this display.
The ColorEdge CG18 has two DVI inputs on its back panel, and Eizo includes a cable that will take an analogue signal and convert it to DVI; however, the display doesn't come with a DVI-to-DVI cable. The back panel also hosts one upstream and four downstream USB 1.1 ports for plugging in a scanner, a printer, a camera-card reader, a digital camera or another device. Finally, Eizo sells the optional iSound L2 speaker unit, which snaps onto the lower edge of the bezel.
The image-adjustment buttons' labels on the ColorEdge CG18's front panel are somewhat difficult to read, but the on-screen menus are fairly easy to navigate. The ColorEdge CG18's controls go far beyond the mundane: you can adjust everything from individual colour temperature to gamma value. Frankly, the adjustment menu offers so many bells and whistles, we can't give them their due here. For less-demanding types (who probably shouldn't buy this display) there is an auto-calibration button and six contrast-level presets: Text, Picture, Movie, Custom, sRGB, and Calibration.
Even without the use of any extra colour-calibration tools, the ColorEdge CG18 turned in one of the highest scores ever in our performance tests. With a native resolution of 1,280 by 1,024, the monitor displayed text so sharp that the serifs on 6.8-point-size fonts were clearly visible. Colours looked full and bright, and greyscale gradients, although not perfectly smooth, were far superior to those of the other LCDs we've seen. However, this display is not for watching or editing video: we saw quite a bit of ghosting in our motion test.
Eizo backs the FlexScan L885 with outstanding support, including a very generous five-year warranty that covers the power supply, the inverter, and the chips (the internal panel layer); the ColorEdge CG18's glass and backlight are covered for three years. Technical support is available via email or telephone (calls are charged at national rates).
Story URL: http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/monitors/0,1000001018,39147985,00.htmCopyright © 1995-2008 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved
ZDNET is a registered service mark of CNET Networks, Inc. ZDNET Logo is a service mark of CNET Networks, Inc.