Text and Sharpness
This was one area that caused us some concern. Analogue technology (CRT) is
slightly softer than LCD and this is most obvious in the rendering of small
text. A typical effect is the breakdown of clarity between double ls (eg
filler). When this occurs, a red line fills in the gap between the double
letters. It occurs most frequently in Windows dialogue panes and icons,
which are inherently small text and it goes away as you magnify ordinary
text in say Photoshop or Word. Reducing the sharpness setting on the 2690
eliminated the fringing effect from the icon and dialogue panes when a value
of less than 16% was chosen but this left the overall impression slightly
fuzzy. Making critical adjustments for sharpening is going to be difficult
under these circumstances as the fringing may or may not interfere. Our
inability to load NaViSet might have compromised our ability to adjust the
effect. Other operating systems allow you to change the subpixel order,
subpixel smoothing and hinting of text to overcome these issues; Windows
Vista is ignorant of such matters only providing a 'ClearType' facility 'on
or off' which is insufficiently sophisticated. In fact the Microsoft website
claims that the ClearType Tuner does not work in Vista. Some claim that it
actually does. Our experiments showed that it operated, but had little
effect on the result.
CONCLUSION
Overall this is the most accurate, highest gamut-volume monitor that we have
measured to date and at a very competitive price indeed. Coupled with the
ease of use of the SpectraView software for calibration, it is a winning
combination. Of course you need to purchase your calibration device, but
there is no point in investing this kind of money without also including a
calibration; it gives both comfort from the audit and precision in the
set-up. With the provided calibration software we got a good match between
two monitors with different technologies and of different manufacturer –
that is normally quite a tough ask. The inability to match sky blues on any
of the systems was a disappointment and we will report any further
developments as we work on the issue. Assuming that we solve this issue, the
question that is posed at the end of this review is which model you should
go for. You get what you pay for but the 2690 is far more cost effective per
square inch of viewing real estate than the 3090. The 2490 is an unknown
quantity as we have not even seen one yet. There is little price
differential between the 2490 and the 2690 because they both perform at the
same native resolution (1920x1200). There is a temptation therefore to go
for the 26-inch screen but, as we explained at the outset, the larger screen
can lead to the edges being outside your comfortable viewing accommodation
distance. The tighter pixel count might also improve the quality of the text
rendering for the 24-inch model. Regardless of your choice the SpectraView
software is a dream, almost worth the money just on its own! Watch this
space for our final verdict!ADD
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