New Monitor

BenQ 27" SW2700PT Monitor I now use (click to enlarge)

For many years I have been using a Dell Ultra Sharp U2415 24" monitor for my photography as well as general computer work.  With the ability to accurately calibrate the monitor and cover much of the Adobe RGB color space as well as a resolution of 1920 X 1200, the monitor had served me well for many years.  But it has become older technology and getting a bit long in the tooth.  Time to replace it.

Jump to today.  Merry Christmas!  My wife bought a new monitor for me.  She knew I wanted one that was a bit larger and with a bit more resolution in order to more finely control my image editing.  How in the world did she know exactly which monitor I had my eye on?  Miracles of miracles!

In fact, I had been researching a new monitor for some time and was rather indecisive as to which one to buy.  Spending several hundred US dollars is not something I take lightly, so I wanted to do my homework and buy something that will fully meet my needs.  Upon which one did I settle?

I bought one from a company with which I was really unfamiliar.  That surprised me.  But my search criteria was this:

—27"
—IPS screen
—LED
—Capable of reproducing the Adobe RGB color space
—No glossy screen or matte screen; low reflection screen as was with my Dell
—Can be fully calibrated for color and luminance—accurate to industry standards
—Higher resolution than the Dell (ideally 2560 X 1440) didn't want 4K at this time
—Well reviewed by the user community
—Latest technology
—Last but not least, a reasonable and affordable (to me) price

So, which one did I choose?  The BenQ 27-inch IPS Quad High Definition LED Monitor (SW2700PT), Adobe RGB Color Management, QHD 2560x1440 Display

Whew!  That is one heckuva a name.  Here is the Amazon link if you are interested in reading more about it. Here  are the specs from BenQ.  Too many to reproduce here.

The monitor is $599 US, which to me is affordable as opposed to an EIZO ($1200) or NEC (almost $1400) of similar specifications.  I would have liked to purchase the better known monitors, but cost is an important factor for many of us.  The SW2700 has a 14-bit display, will reproduce 99% of the Adobe RGB Color gamut and has an internal color calibration system with software.  It also has the ability for external calibration, as I had done with my Dell monitor.  Another nice feature is a 3-year warranty.

When it arrived it was very well boxed and packed.  All necessary cables, etc. were included along with all paperwork and a factory calibration sheet to show it was tested and performed as designed.  Additionally, it comes with a viewing hood which eliminates extraneous light from the sides.

I unpacked it, set it up, plugged it in and calibrated it.  All went perfectly.  I use an X-Rite iOne Display Pro and it calibrated perfectly.  So far, i'm very pleased with the monitor.

I'll hold on to the Dell "just in case."  You never know if something with electronic devices will go wrong and the Dell will serve as a backup.  But, so far so good.  I'm happy and I can get on with properly editing my images.

Oh!  One downside.  With the higher resolution, the text in Blogger is smaller and I've already posted several posts with spelling errors that I did not catch!  I'll have to sit closer, I guess.  LOL

So far, I can recommend this monitor for photographic editing work.  I'll let you know if that recommendation changes.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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