After weeks of research I just bought a new MBA 11" 2013 for $849. (Base Model) The Price was too good to pass up. The first thing I did was check what screen I had after all the negative stuff I read about I read about the LG screen I was heartbroken when I found out my new MBA had that screen compared to the new samsung which is supposed to be much better. Being a photographer I care about color accuracy, period.
I decided to review the LG screen and compare it my Dell 2713HM (Calibrated) which is 99% sRGB and my iPhone 5 which is close to 99% sRGB as well. All three screens were set to EQUAL brightness. Out of the Box the LG screen looks washed out and lacks contrast. I used the macrumors profile I found on-line for all the tests. http://theultralinx.com/2013/03/macbook-air-hack-screen.html If you don't want to use this profile go into accessibility and enhance screen contrast to the first notch using the ORIGINAL profile that shipped with the unit. The difference between the two of them is very slight, but I preferred the macrumors profile.
So I was expecting to be extremely disappointed, especially when comparing them to the Dell and iPhone 5. For the test I used the images from my website (http://www.miltonphotography.com) They were viewed full screen across all the screens and compared in detail. The results are actually impressive and quite excellent. Whoever created that macrumors profile did a very good job. After going through 74 various images I'm extremely happy with my LG screen and I will keep it. The Dell and iPhone 5 weren't exactly the same when it comes to color output, but they were extremely close. (the iPhone 5 was ever so slightly cooler) Both were excellent. The LG screen wasn't able to display Green as vividly as the other screens. Which you would expect since it's not even close to 99% sRGB. The rest of the colors were surprising close. So close it took me a good minute to tell them apart. In some cases they all looked the same, like in sunset pictures or pictures will less green in them. I even called in my sister who thought I was crazy, I didn't tell her what I was doing, I only asked her to look at the 74 images and tell me what difference she sees. She confirmed the Greens weren't as vivid, but the rest looked the same to her.
I hope this helps people who are going nuts over a screen returning laptops trying to get a samsung. (like I was thinking of doing) For Color Accuracy the LG is Excellent for what it is. A Budget TN Panel. I do think that Apple of all people should put something in OSX which senses which screen you have and apply the proper color profile. It's so easy and will save them tons of money on returns.
I decided to review the LG screen and compare it my Dell 2713HM (Calibrated) which is 99% sRGB and my iPhone 5 which is close to 99% sRGB as well. All three screens were set to EQUAL brightness. Out of the Box the LG screen looks washed out and lacks contrast. I used the macrumors profile I found on-line for all the tests. http://theultralinx.com/2013/03/macbook-air-hack-screen.html If you don't want to use this profile go into accessibility and enhance screen contrast to the first notch using the ORIGINAL profile that shipped with the unit. The difference between the two of them is very slight, but I preferred the macrumors profile.
So I was expecting to be extremely disappointed, especially when comparing them to the Dell and iPhone 5. For the test I used the images from my website (http://www.miltonphotography.com) They were viewed full screen across all the screens and compared in detail. The results are actually impressive and quite excellent. Whoever created that macrumors profile did a very good job. After going through 74 various images I'm extremely happy with my LG screen and I will keep it. The Dell and iPhone 5 weren't exactly the same when it comes to color output, but they were extremely close. (the iPhone 5 was ever so slightly cooler) Both were excellent. The LG screen wasn't able to display Green as vividly as the other screens. Which you would expect since it's not even close to 99% sRGB. The rest of the colors were surprising close. So close it took me a good minute to tell them apart. In some cases they all looked the same, like in sunset pictures or pictures will less green in them. I even called in my sister who thought I was crazy, I didn't tell her what I was doing, I only asked her to look at the 74 images and tell me what difference she sees. She confirmed the Greens weren't as vivid, but the rest looked the same to her.
I hope this helps people who are going nuts over a screen returning laptops trying to get a samsung. (like I was thinking of doing) For Color Accuracy the LG is Excellent for what it is. A Budget TN Panel. I do think that Apple of all people should put something in OSX which senses which screen you have and apply the proper color profile. It's so easy and will save them tons of money on returns.
