Eizo FlexScan L461

Our last TFT Labs (see issue 80, p127) clearly demonstrated how remarkable TFT monitors have become recently, especially when combined with a DVI graphics card. It also illustrated the benefits of 17in panel sizes in terms of reduced cost, and Iiyama's AS4431D serves as the standard bearer in terms of price/performance. This month, Eizo takes this a step further by offering a 16in TFT with a tantalising price tag of £619.

The FlexScan L461 is certainly a compact device, and the desktop footprint is a tiny 285cm2, which should allow it to fit into almost any office space. The relatively small screen area is maximised thanks to a small bezel that doesn't dominate and gives the panel a clean look.

With the L461, Eizo has adopted a fairly minimalist approach, with no integrated speakers or extra video inputs like those found on Iiyama's AS4431D. Arm-mounting is supported though, and Eizo includes the necessary mounting screws in the box.

Despite a weight of just 5.7kg, the L461 is well built. The bezel feels solid and withstands moderate pressure without affecting the screen, and the rest of the chassis is similarly robust. The solid metal stand is excellent, lending style and rigidity to the Eizo.

Considering the small panel size, I was impressed that Eizo has managed to integrate the power supply, and with only one non-captive DVI-I input the display is quickly up and running.

I connected the L461 to an nVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics card using the DVI input. At its native resolution of 1,280 x 1,024, it displayed impeccable sharpness and, thanks to the DVI connection, there was no need to adjust the image, although if you're using analog the auto-adjustment works well.

However, the L461's poor viewing angles immediately struck me. Despite Eizo quoting figures of 130 degrees horizontally and 160 degrees vertically, I found that only a small movement away from the optimum viewing position caused a drop in contrast over some parts of the screen.

That said, with the clean digital signal from DVI, the L461 sailed through all the resolution and focus tests in DisplayMate Multimedia Edition. However, colour performance tests highlighted a few extra weaknesses. Banding problems in the colour fade tests, where the display struggled to reproduce the entire colour range, mainly evidenced this. This will be a problem for anyone looking to use the panel for colour-dependent work, such as image editing.

The lack of colour extension was also apparent when watching video or running multimedia, with strong dithering evident, especially in 32-bit colour.

Greyscale performance was better though, and the L461 has a wonderfully deep black, which gives black text on a white background a very crisp look. In fact, general image quality in office applications is excellent, and this is the Eizo's main area of strength.

The OSD is superb too, and the simple five-button menu system is both intuitive and flexible. Eizo has also included a fairly comprehensive set of options, which range from RGB colour gain to hue and saturation.

The Eizo FlexScan L461 is a good TFT for office work, although with limited viewing angles and poor colour performance it isn't ideal for all uses. If you're looking for a basic TFT with good DVI performance, this panel does the job, but lacks versatility.

Author: Gareth Ogden