The Best Monitors for Photography and Photo Editing in 2021

There's one piece of equipment that the working photographer uses more than any other. No, it's not their camera. Not their favorite lens either. I'm talking about their photo editing monitor.

Updated 7/16 by DL Cade: Replaced the EIZO ColorEdge CG319X with the Sharp NEC MultiSync PA311D as the Best Monitor for Photo Editors Who Want Ultimate Color Accuracy.

Unless you plan to outsource your post-production, you will probably spend many more hours staring at a monitor than you do looking through a viewfinder. As such, a high-resolution, color-accurate display is absolutely indispensable, and while we will definitely continue to publish in-depth monitor reviews here on PetaPixel , this roundup will serve as a catch-all for readers who need a quick overview and some buying advice.

Unlike the daily news and individual product reviews you see on the site, this article will be updated regularly as new products and more advanced display technology hits the market, so you can come back to it every time you're looking to upgrade your photo editing setup. Whether you're looking for the best curved monitor, the best monitor for HDR, or the best monitor on a budget, we've got you covered.

What We're Looking For

The best monitor for photo editing strikes the right balance between resolution, color depth, color accuracy, and price. When evaluating the best monitors for photography we prioritize color depth and color accuracy, then resolution, then judge whether the price justifies this combination. For example, a monitor with a true 10-bit panel, high AdobeRGB coverage, and 4K resolution is really difficult to find under $4,000… but they do exist.

Other factors play a part: USB-C connectivity is almost expected by now, power delivery is a big plus, the ability to check different color spaces on the fly is a major benefit, and high-end features like extreme peak brightness, full-array local dimming, and a built-in colorimeter help to justify some of the expensive options, especially if you want to edit HDR content.

We break down our roundup into 8 categories:

• Best Overall Monitor for Photo Editing : Dell UP2720Q
• Best Budget Monitor for Photo Editing : ASUS ProArt PA278QV
• Best "Bang for Your Buck" Monitor for Photo Editing: BenQ SW270C
• Best Mid-Range Monitor for Photo Editing : ASUS ProArt PA329C
• Best Curved Monitor for Photo Editing : Dell U4021QW
• Best Photo Editing Monitor for Mac Lovers : Apple Pro Display XDR
• Best Monitor for Ultimate Color Accuracy : Sharp NEC MultiSync PA311D
• Best Monitor for HDR : Dell UP3221Q

Best Overall Monitor for Photo Editing: Dell UP2720Q

Size: 27 inches
Resolution: 4K
Brightness: 250 nits
Color Depth: 10-bit
Color Accuracy: 100% AdobeRGB (claimed), 98% DCI-P3 (claimed)
Extras: Built-in Colorimeter, Monitor Shade
Price: $2,000 ($1,600 on sale as of this writing)

When you look at all the factors: size, resolution, color accuracy, color depth, price-to-performance ratio, and the smattering of photo-centric features that you will find useful, it's hard to beat the Dell UP2720Q. The BenQ SW321C comes close for the same price, but it lacks the built-in colorimeter and we were able to confirm that it uses an 8-bit panel with FRC, not a true 10-bit panel like the Dell.

In fact, the Dell is a rare find in this price range—most other monitors that claim 10-bit at or around $2,000 almost all use 8-bit + FRC, a trick used to create 10-bit color depth from an 8-bit panel by flickering between two colors very quickly. Another 10-bit option in this price range is the EIZO ColorEdge CS2740.

If you need to edit video, and especially if you're doing work with HDR10 or Hybrid Log-Gamma, there are better monitors out there that hit higher peak brightness and feature full-array local dimming. Check out the "Best for HDR" category below for something that can really burn your retinas and reach the required contrast. If you want unparalleled color and uniformity from a company that specializes in exactly that, the "Best for Ultimate Color Accuracy" category is the place to look. But for the typical reader of this site who wants a large, high-resolution monitor with all the bells and whistles at a shockingly reasonable price, the Dell UP2720Q is our top pick.

Best Budget Monitor for Photo Editing: ASUS ProArt PA278QV

Size: 27 inches
Resolution: 2K
Brightness: 350 nits
Color Depth: 8-bit
Color Accuracy: 100% sRGB (claimed)
Extras: Quick-Fit Virtual Scale and Built-In ProArt Presets
Price: $290

The terms "budget monitor" and "color accuracy" don't typically go together, but ASUS does a decent job at an extremely accessible price with the ProArt PA278QV. Factory calibrated and Calman-certified, it might not get you amazing AdobeRGB or DCI-P3 numbers (neither are even mentioned) but it compares favorably against its main competition, the BenQ PD2700Q.

It lacks some nice-to-have features, like USB-C connectivity, 4K resolution, or Frame Rate Control (FRC) which many companies use to boost their affordable 8-bit panels to a simulation of 10-bit. But the price is right, the advertised DeltaE is < 2, and the 100% coverage of sRGB will get you where you need to go, especially if you're only producing content for online consumption. With display technology advancing in leaps and bounds, we're hoping to see more competition at this price range very soon. For now, if you're looking for the best budget monitor for photo editing, the ASUS PA278QV is the way to go.

Best "Bang for Your Buck" Monitor for Photo Editing: BenQ SW270C

Size: 27 inches
Resolution: 2K
Brightness: 300 nits
Color Depth: 8-bit + FRC from 16-bit LUT
Color Accuracy: 99% AdobeRGB (claimed), 97% DCI-P3 (claimed)
Extras: Control Puck, Monitor Shade
Price: $800

The BenQ SW270C is the affordable follow-up to the incredibly popular SW2700PT. In terms of core specs, the two monitors share several key features: 2K, 99% AdobeRGB coverage, handy control puck, etc.

However, the extra $200 gets you several important upgrades: a 16-bit LUT, USB-C connectivity with 60W power delivery, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, 97% DCI-P3 coverage, and the newer version of the control puck. In other words, you're benefitting from all the little incremental upgrades that make the SW2700PT seem dated, and adding a little bit of juice to your color accuracy arsenal with that 16-bit LUT.

If you want to save some cash, you can still buy the BenQ SW2700PT for just $600, but you're giving up all of the above, which is well worth the extra $200 in our estimation.

Best Mid-Range Monitor for Photo Editing: ASUS ProArt PA329C

Size: 32 inches
Resolution: 4K
Brightness: 400 nits sustained, 600 nits peak
Color Depth: 10-bit from a 14-bit LUT
Color Accuracy: 100% AdobeRGB (claimed), 98% DCI-P3 (claimed)
Extras: USB hub, Picture-by-Picture Mode, DisplayHDR 600 certification
Price: $1,150

Best mid-range ended up being a tight race between the BenQ SW271 and the ASUS PA329C. Both offer great color accuracy, but ASUS wins out with its combination of a true 10-bit panel, 100% AdobeRGB coverage, higher DCI-P3 coverage for video editors, 600 nits peak brightness for viewing or editing HDR content in a pinch, and a 32-inch screen, all for the same price as the BenQ.

The monitor also has a USB-C connection with 60W power delivery, a built-in 4-port USB-A hub, a Picture-by-Picture mode that lets you compare color spaces side-by-side, and earns a VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification. All extremely useful features in our book.

Your main problem will be finding one to buy, since the ProArt PA329C has been "on backorder" several times since its release. But if you can find one, it's the best choice until and unless you can afford our Best Overall pick.

Best Curved Monitor for Photo Editing: Dell U4021QW

Size: 40 inches
Resolution: WUHD 5K x 2K
Brightness: 300 nits
Color Depth: 10-bit
Color Accuracy: 98% DCI-P3 (claimed), 100% sRGB (claimed)
Extras: KVM switch with 4 USB-A ports, one USB-C port, and an Ethernet Port. 9W speakers.
Price: $2,100

The Dell U4021QW is the latest and greatest in curved color-accurate displays. Unveiled just last month at CES, the U4021QW is being hailed as the world’s first color-accurate 40-inch WUHD 5K2K monitor, touting exceptional (for its class) color accuracy, with 98% coverage of DCI-P3 and 100% of sRGB, and 5,120×2,160-pixel resolution in a screen that gives you 33% more screen area than a typical 32-inch 16:9 4K monitor.

It also comes with every connection you could possibly need, including Thunderbolt 3 with 90W of power delivery, an extra USB-C port, two HDMI 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort, a built-in KVM switch with 4 USB-A ports, an audio-out, and an ethernet port. There are even built-in 9W speakers.

There will always be one or two trade-offs when using a monitor like this. For one, you should make sure that your computer/GPU can actually drive it at full resolution, and you'll almost always be giving up some color performance in order to replace your 2-monitor setup with a massive single display. Dell doesn't list AdobeRGB performance and we haven't had a chance to test it yet (stay tuned). But for sheer efficiency, a 40-inch curved monitor is hard to beat, and the Dell U4021QW is currently the best choice for photo and video editors.

Best Photo Editing Monitor for Mac Lovers: Apple Pro Display XDR

Size: 32 inches
Resolution: 6K
Brightness: 1000 nits sustained, 1600 nits peak
Color Depth: 10-bit
Color Accuracy: 100% DCI-P3 (measured), 89% AdobeRGB (measured)
Extras: Built-in Presets, Full Array Local Dimming (576 zones)
Price: $5,000

If you want the ultimate photo editing monitor that's tailor-made for the Mac, well, there's no escaping the Apple ecosystem. Yes, this display is absurdly expensive at $5,000 with no mounting hardware, but its combination of 6K resolution, VESA HDR1000 performance, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and absurd 1600 nit peak brightness make it one of the best photo and video editing monitors on the market, period.

However, these aren't the main reason we've dubbed it the "Best for Mac Lovers." The Pro Display XDR wins that title because of its seamless integration with its mother operating system and its distinctly Apple-esque design.

There are no controls whatsoever on the display, and as a result, all of its settings are controlled from within the macOS Display settings. From there you can change scaling, adjust brightness, configure settings like "Night Shift" and "True Tone," and select from the many presets Apple built into the display, including Photography, HDR, Digital Cinema, and Design & Print.

It may not be the best monitor for photographers and photo editors overall—especially if you're not into video editing or HDR—but the Pro Display XDR is the best choice for those who like to play inside of Apple's walled garden.

Best Monitor for Photo Editors Who Want Ultimate Color Accuracy: Sharp NEC MultiSync PA311D

Size: 32 inches
Resolution: DCI 4K (17:9 aspect ratio)
Brightness: 350 nits
Color Depth: 350 nits
Color Accuracy: 97.9% Adobe RGB (measured), 97.3% DCI-P3 (measured)
Extras: USB Hub, Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture modes, 3D LUT Emulation
Price: $3,000 ($3,250 with colorimeter)

The Sharp NEC MultiSync PA311D gives you more colors, more accurate colors, and more control over your colors than any other monitor we’ve tested to date. In terms of specs, it’s nearly identical to EIZO’s $5,700 CG319X, except that it costs just $3,000, or $3,250 if you buy it alongside NEC’s bespoke XRite colorimeter (which you should).

Click here to read PetaPixel's full review of the Sharp NEC MultiSync PA311D.

In our testing, the NEC PA311D covers nearly 98% of both the AdobeRGB and DCI-P3 color gamuts, with exceptional uniformity across the entire panel and a maximum Delta E 2000 of less than 1.5. It also gives you an absurd level of control over your colors, allowing you to select the exact chromaticity coordinates of your panel’s primaries, change your white point, adjust gamma and color temperature, and trim the hue, saturation, and brightness of your monitor’s colors in six axes: red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow.

It’s not the prettiest monitor, but if you don’t care about that, the downsides are really limited to two things:

• Maximum brightness is limited to 350 nits, which is a deal breaker if you shoot or edit HDR video.
• You have to buy a special NEC-branded XRite colorimeter if you want to calibrate the monitor’s internal 14-bit LUT. No third party colorimeters are supported for hardware calibration.

Assuming these are not deal breakers for you, the NEC PA311D is a hell of a deal, delivering true professional-grade color accuracy and color control for a lot less than the equivalent monitors currently available from EIZO, Dell, Apple, or ASUS.

Best Monitor for HDR: Dell UP3221Q

Size: 32 inches
Resolution: 4K
Brightness: 1000 nits sustained
Color Depth: 10-bit
Color Accuracy: 100% DCI-P3 (measured), 94% AdobeRGB (measured)
Extras: Built-In Colorimeter, Monitor Shade, Full Array Local Dimming (2,000 zones)
Price: $5,000

If you want true HDR performance, you need three things and you need them in spades. They are: brightness, contrast, and color accuracy.

The Dell UP3221Q gives you the best of all three worlds: sustained full-screen brightness of 1000 nits, a staggering 2,000 Mini LED backlight with full-array local dimming, and 100% DCI-P3 paired with 94% Adobe RGB coverage. This is a true VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certified display with more local dimming zones than anything else on the market, so until OLED technology is able to maintain this kind of sustained brightness and uniformity, it's your best bet for working with HDR content.

Other great features include a built-in Calman-powered colorimeter, an included monitor shade, a built-in USB-A hub, Thunderbolt 3 connectivity with 90W power delivery, and a mode that lets you compare two color spaces side-by-side on the same display. All of this is packed into a 32-inch, 4K display with a true 10-bit panel that doesn't play around.

#guides #products #technology #adobe #adobergb #dcip3 #display #gearguide #guide #lightroom #monitor #photoediting #photoeditingmonitor #photographymonitor #photoshop #postprocessing #roundup

NEC PA311D Monitor Review: Extreme Color Accuracy for Professional Users

The Sharp NEC MultiSync PA311D is NEC's flagship photo editing monitor, with more colors, more accurate colors, and more control over your colors than any other monitor we've tested to date. It's not a perfect display -- HDR editing is out of the question, and hardware calibration is impossible unless you pay extra for an NEC-branded colorimeter -- but everything about this monitor was designed with professionals in mind, and we absolutely love that.

In recent years, there have been several entrants into the "color-accurate monitor" space, with companies like BenQ, ASUS, and Dell releasing displays with full coverage of the AdobeRGB color gamut, HDR capabilities, and built-in LUTs for proper hardware calibration. This has put the consumer department at storied brands like EIZO and Sharp's NEC in a tough spot: the two make better professional products, but each are either unwilling or unable to spend the marketing dollars to explain exactly how and why to the uninitiated masses.

The companies seem to be relying on an established customer base, who already knows the how and why, and hoping that reputation alone will carry the brands to the younger generation of content creators.

In my humble opinion, this is not a winning strategy, but it does allow NEC the luxury of designing a product that makes exactly zero concessions to style over substance.

Design and Build Quality

To quote the youths, the MultiSync PA311D is a "thicc boi." This is a huge monitor that spends no time on frivolities like "thinness" or "not causing hernias when you try to lift it onto your desk."

Joking aside, it's obvious that NEC could not care less about tiny bezels, a stylish design, or a small footprint. The monitor itself is 3.1 inches thick, and it comes pre-mounted on a beefy stand that adds another 8.8 inches for a total depth of (checks notes) 11.9 inches when you've got it sitting on your desk. The whole thing is a thick plastic affair, with no consideration whatsoever for looks and a total weight of almost 33 pounds once you factor in the pre-attached stand.

The best word to describe the design sensibility of the PA311D is probably "utilitarian." It's your first hint that you've purchased a product designed for professionals by professionals.

Your second hint is the aspect ratio of the screen itself. The monitor boasts a true DCI 4K resolution of 4096 x 2160 which translates to a wider-than-normal 17:9 aspect ratio. As some productivity-focused monitors move the other direction—swapping their 16:9 aspect ratio 4K UHD (3840 × 2160) panels for taller 16:10 screens, the PA311D is more concerned with providing the appropriate aspect ratio for cinema video editing. Kudos deserved, and duly doled out.

The third and final bit of design that adds to the professional vibe is the input/output (I/O) selection, which is substantial. The PA311D boasts a total of five ports that can carry a 4K/60p 10-bit video signal: two DisplayPort 1.2 ports, two HDMI 2.0 ports, and one USB Type-C port with DisplayPort protocol that also features 65W charging. You also get a headphone jack and a USB Type-A hub with two upstream ports on the back of the device and three downstream ports on the side of the monitor. The USB Type-C port also acts as an upstream.

Notably missing is any sort of media card slot, but given the target audience, the omission sort of makes sense. If you're at the point where you're spending $3,000 on a monitor that was tailor-made for photo editing, you probably have your media ingestion workflow dialed in already.

Also missing from the PA311D is a built-in colorimeter, something that we've gotten used to in the high-end display space. Dell and EIZO both include them in their top-shelf displays, and Apple may soon turn every new iPhone into a pocketable colorimeter, but if you want to calibrate the 14-bit LUT that's built into the MultiSync PA311D, you'll need to pay extra for the "SpectralView II Display Color Calibration System" which is basically an XRite i1Display Pro with an NEC logo slapped onto the front and some bespoke software to match.

That bugs me, and it should bug you too, since hardware calibration is an absolute necessity for professional workflows, and even monitors without a built-in colorimeter usually allow you to use a third-party device to calibrate the internal LUT. But the difference between the PA311D on its own ($3,000) and the bundle that includes the Spectral View II software and the colorimeter ($3,250) is actually $10 cheaper than purchasing an i1Display Pro ($260), so at least there is that.

One final note on the design. The NEC PA311D does come with built-in speakers: two 1W tweeters arranged in stereo.

They are absolutely useless.

It's the one thing I can point to and say: NEC wasted money including these. When it releases the next generation of this monitor, I sincerely hope that Sharp/NEC will leave these speakers out and include a colorimeter instead.

Gamut Coverage and Uniformity

The MultiSync PA311D's gamut coverage, color uniformity, and (is this horse dead yet?) color control are all top-of-the-line. There's no other way of putting it.

As NEC's flagship, the PA311D does its best to cover both the DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB color gamuts, reaching an impressive 97% coverage of both when you set the profile to "full," meaning the full panel gamut. This is difficult to do because of how the AdobeRGB and DCI-P3 gamuts are arranged in color space. Take a look at the CIE 1931 diagram with both color spaces represented by the white triangle (Adobe RGB) and the black triangle (DCI-P3):

In order to cover both of these, the display's native panel gamut must be a triangle that is large enough to encompass both of the smaller triangles inside of it. This is why most monitors pick one or the other: monitors that cover exactly 99-100% DCI-P3 only cover about 84% of AdobeRGB, and monitors that cover exactly 99-100% of AdobeRGB only cover about 85% of DCI-P3.

The NEC MultiSync PA311D does its best to give you the best of both worlds, but it sacrifices a tiny bit from both color spaces in order to do so.

In our testing using an i1Display Pro Plus and the DisplayCAL software, we found that our review unit covers 97.9% of the AdobeRGB gamut and 97.3% of DCI-P3, all at a maximum Delta E 2000 of 1.26 with an average of just 0.3. Anything below a Delta E of 2 is considered invisible to the human eye.

This is excellent, and something you'll rarely find in a monitor that costs less than $5,000.

This standard of excellence extends to uniformity performance as well. We performed a laborious 9 x 5 patch test using DisplayCAL's uniformity assessment and found that 42 of the 45 patches passed the recommended tolerance, with the remaining 3 patches drifting only slightly and passing "normal" tolerance.

With so much screen to try and light evenly, uniformity like this is phenomenal (click to view the full resolution PNG):

This top-shelf gamut coverage and uniformity is paired with extreme control over every aspect of your panel's colors. Obviously overkill for most users, the MultiSync PA311D allows you to adjust the chromaticity coordinates—the exact (x,y) coordinates in color space (see above) where the Red, Green, and Blue primaries are mapped—of your display profile, as well as the white point and color temperature.

You can also adjust your gamma value, change the luminance of your display in actual cd/m2 units (none of this relative 0 to 100 business), and trim the hue, saturation, and offset (brightness) of your colors in six axes: Red, Green, Blue, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. And if that's not enough, you can import your own 3D LUTs and printer profiles, which the monitor can emulate to the best of the panel's abilities. There's even a "compare" mode where colors that lie outside of the 3D LUT's boundaries are shown in gray.

All of this is controlled by NEC's SpectralView engine, which uses built-in sensors to monitor luminance, white point, ambient light, temperature, and the individual calibration of your display to "provide an unparalleled level of color control, uniformity, accuracy, and stability." I usually avoid including a manufacturer's own claims, but in this case, the reality reflects the marketing.

If this all seems like too much control, note that I've only scratched the surface here. There is a labyrinth of menus accessible both on-screen and through NEC's MultiProfiler software that could keep you procrastinating for months while you tweak every little setting to your heart's content.

Seemingly the only thing the PA311D cannot do is properly edit or view HDR content. While there are HLG and PQ presets built into the display, the maximum brightness of 350 nits means that they're not particularly useful. If you want to shoot and edit HDR content, you'll need to buy a proper HDR monitor. That means ponying up an extra one to two grand on a Dell UP3221Q, Apple Pro Display XDR, or ASUS PA32UCG: all of these monitors feature sustained max brightness of 1000 nits with peak brightness even higher, earning them at least a VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification.

The PA311D doesn't even qualify for the shouldn't-even-exist DisplayHDR 400 certification.

If you edit HDR video, this is definitely a con. I see it as a pro, because it allowed NEC to charge substantially less for an equally (or more) color-accurate monitor that is perfect for photo editing or regular cinema video editing. While photo editing in a proper studio environment, you should rarely (read: never) need to crank the luminance above 250 nits.

A Monitor with a Clear Purpose

I often struggle to see what differentiates a truly "professional-grade" monitor from an enthusiast monitor with great coverage of AdobeRGB and/or DCI-P3, but the NEC MultiSync PA3221D makes this distinction crystal clear. To be sure, the gap has shortened significantly in recent years with companies like BenQ, ASUS, and Dell going after the creative market, but it's not just about the large native panel gamut or a built-in LUT for hardware calibration. It's not even about uniformity per se. It's about control and consistency.

The PA311D lives and breathes color control, allowing you to select the precise chromaticity coordinates of your panel, adjust your monitor's hue, saturation, and luminance in six axes, and ensure that all of your monitors are precisely calibrated to match one another. Once you've got it dialed in, the internal sensors continue to monitor the screen to make sure that it stays that way.

This level of control and consistency is a boon for photographers who don't want or need to pay one to three thousand dollars more for a top-shelf HDR-capable display like Apple's Pro Display XDR, ASUS' ProArt PA32UCG, or Dell's UP3221Q.

Pros

• 98% coverage of AdobeRGB and 97% coverage of DCI-P3 at the same time
• Phenomenal panel uniformity
• Extreme control over every element of your panel
• Built-in 14-bit LUT for hardware calibration
• DCI 4K resolution and aspect ratio
• Tons of I/O for connecting multiple video streams at once
• Built-in USB-A hub with three downstream ports and three upstream ports
• USB-C with DisplayPort protocol and 65W of power delivery
• Relatively affordable for such a high-end monitor

Cons

• Extremely thick and heavy design
• No built-in colorimeter
• No support for third-party colorimeters (you have to buy the NEC branded version)
• Not bright enough for HDR editing
• Built-in speakers are worthless
• Cannot hit 100% AdobeRGB or DCI-P3, because it tries to cover both at the same time

One item that I considered adding to the cons, but held off, was "you need to read the manual if you buy this monitor." On the one hand, most modern high-end displays are so "plug-and-play" that it seems like a legitimate complaint; on the other hand, if you're buying a MultiSync PA311D, you either know what the hell you are doing or you are very serious about learning. In that case, reading the manual doesn't seem like an onerous task so much as performing your due diligence.

As I finished my review this week, I couldn't help but feel that the Sharp NEC MultiSync PA311D is a dying breed of monitor. It is a professional-grade tool that makes no concessions to the amateurs and enthusiasts in the audience. It is, therefore, the antithesis of Apple's "Pro" products that all too often sacrifice professional-grade control for a more seamless and beginner-friendly experience.

It's a niche product, that much is obvious. But if you happen to be a part of that niche, it's exactly the kind of monitor that you've been looking for.

Are There Alternatives?

I've mentioned three of this monitor's best-known competitors a few times already, but the Dell UP3221Q, Apple Pro Display XDR, and ASUS PA32UCG or UCX monitors are all high-end, color accurate displays that are worth a look if your primary focus is video, and specifically HDR video. They are, however, much more expensive, because they put so much focus on hitting extreme peak brightness and maximizing contrast using full-array local dimming.

The more obvious competition for NEC's MultiSync displays comes from EIZO's ColorEdge monitors, but there is not an apples-to-apples competitor. The EIZO ColorEdge CS2740 is a 27-inch 16:9 4K IPS Monitor with a built-in colorimeter and 99% coverage of AdobeRGB, but it's smaller than the PA311D and only covers 91% of DCI-P3. Meanwhile, the flagship EIZO ColorEdge CG319X is nearly identical—same 17:9 DCI 4K display, same max brightness, nearly identical advertised gamut coverage, plus a built-in colorimeter -- but it costs nearly twice as much.

For this particular combination of specs, with this size and aspect ratio, there's really no direct competitor to the NEC MultiSync PA311D.

Should You Buy It?

If you're a member of the rarified class of professionals who will actually benefit from this level of color accuracy, and more importantly color control, then yes. This is a phenomenal monitor that delivers on all of its professional promises, especially if you pony up the extra $250 for the branded colorimeter.

Even photo and video enthusiasts, assuming they care more about performance than design and ease-of-use, will find that NEC charges much less than most of its main competitors for the same combination of core features.

The one group of users who really should steer clear are beginners. As tempting as it is to purchase professional-grade gear from the get-go, it will be ages before you can even begin to use this monitor to its full potential. It's the same reason you wouldn't point a beginner towards the Canon 1DX or Nikon D6. There are options out there that are smaller, lighter, and offer similar total gamut coverage for a fraction of the price. There are trade-offs, of course, but they're trade-offs most users will never actually notice.

#equipment #reviews #display #monitor #monitorreview #multisync #nec #necmultisync #necmultisyncpa311d #necpa311d #pa311d #photoediting #photoeditingmonitor #photoeditor #postprocessing #professionalgrade #retouching #review #sharpnec #sharpnecpa311d #videoediting #videoeditingmonitor #videoeditor

MSI PS321QR Review: A Gaming Monitor for Photographers

As display technology has improved in leaps and bounds over the past few years, the market has forked into two distinct camps: gamers who prioritize speed, and creators who prioritize color. The 32-inch 2K MSI Creator PS321QR tries to strike the perfect balance between these two needs, offering a compelling combination of refresh rate, response time, and color accuracy for just $600.

The MSI Creator PS321QR is one of a slew of new "hybrid" monitors that are trying to appeal to both gamers and content creators. Basic specs include: 32-inch size, 2K resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, 1ms pixel response time, and 99.9% coverage of AdobeRGB with an advertised Delta E of less than two.

On the strength of those specs alone, this sounds like a great do-everything display -- especially for such a low price -- but there are a few catches that you should be aware of if you're doing serious color-critical work. Naming scheme aside, to my mind, this is not a "creator" monitor that can also game; it's a gaming monitor that can also be used for creative work.

And yes, that makes a big difference to some people.

Design and Build

Thanks in part to MSI's ties to the gaming community -- where the look of your peripherals is almost as important as their performance -- the Creator PS321QR looks great. Like most of MSI's Creator line-up of products, it's got just enough bite to be eye-catching without any of the garish flare that's common among RGB-laden gaming gear.

The top and side bezels are only about 1/4-inch thick, the plastic casing is a matte understated gray, the stand an unassuming cylinder with a pop of silver on top, and the whole thing is finished with a brush stroke-inspired ambient light ring on the back that curves around the stand attachment point and cycles through various colors when the monitor is in use.

Swivel, tilt, and height adjustment are all included, which is nice to see, but installation is actually a bit of a drag. Unlike just about every other monitor on the market, the PS321QR doesn't just click into its stand: you have to get out your screwdriver and attach the stand to the monitor's VESA mount using four Phillips-head screws, after which you "snap" on a plastic plate that covers the hinge and mount area. The result is a cleaner look than most modern monitors, but it does take a little more effort on the front end.

Finishing off the aesthetic touches is a magnetic shading hood that's extremely easy to install, but is really too small to be considered anything but decorative. Your mileage may vary, but I basically only put the hood on once to test it, after which it spent the rest of its short life on top of the monitor's box in a corner of my apartment.

For navigation, the monitor uses a clickable joystick (called a "Navi Key") that allows you to set four pre-assigned quick-access menus to top, right, bottom and left directions, or access the full menu by clicking in.

Once you're in the menu, you get a plethora of panel controls that let you change basically everything about the monitor's output: Brightness, Contrast, Color Temperature, Hue, Saturation, Gamma, and Gray Level are all adjustable. There's even a Sharpness slider and an "Image Enhancement" option that can be set to OFF, Weak, Medium, Strong, or Stronger, though I would suggest leaving both of these on zero/OFF unless you like the contrasty, over-sharpened look.

Under the "Professional" menu, you get access to a Pro Mode that lets you switch the display's primaries to AdobeRGB, Display P3, sRGB, and a few other presets, as well as settings for Response Time, an Anti Motion Blur feature, the ability to turn on FreeSync Premium Pro, and a few other nice-to-haves.

For photographers, the main draw will be the Pro Mode options and all the display controls, but I'd suggest leaving most of that alone and simply calibrating the custom "User" setting so you're taking advantage of the panel's full native color gamut. For gamers, you may want to tweak your pixel response time to taste, or turn on FreeSync if you're using a compatible graphics card.

In terms of I/O, you get one DisplayPort 1.2, two HDMI 2.0 ports, one USB Type-C port for display output; one upstream USB Type-B port that powers a hub containing three USB Type-A ports and one SD card slot; and an audio combo jack that can be used to power the mic and headphone ports that are also built into that hub. The USB-C port does also deliver audio (you have to select "Digital" in the menu under Settings > Audio Source), but you do NOT get charging over USB-C.

In other words: you can't use this monitor as a single-cable setup with your laptop. You need to bring your charger along for the ride.

Overall, I found the build quality excellent, the level of control exceptional, and I think the design of the MSI Creator PS321QR can compete with almost anything else out there. But the minuscule monitor shade and especially the lack of USB-C power delivery puts a damper on my enthusiasm.

Creative Performance

In terms of color performance, the MSI Creator PS321QR delivers what it claims to on the box.

In our testing with an XRite i1Display Pro Plus and the DisplayCAL software, the monitor does indeed hit 99.9% AdobeRGB and 99.9% sRGB, though we only hit 93.7% of DCI-P3 (advertised was 95%). Delta E was also measured at less than two on all color patches, even when we ran a more extensive patch test. In fact, the maximum on a more thorough evaluative test was just 1.23, which is just plain excellent.

Where the monitor under-performed was uniformity, and this is where its focus on gaming begins to hurt its performance as a photo editing display. Most proper "creator" monitors employ some sort of uniformity technology to make sure the panel is delivering the same color and brightness across the whole display. Unfortunately, the PS321QR uses no such tech.

When running a 5 x 5 patch test in DisplayCAL, 10 of the 25 patches failed, 11 passed only nominal tolerance, and only the remaining three (the center patch is the standard against which the rest are measured) actually passed "recommended" tolerance. For professional photo editors, this is the kind of detail that keeps them buying brands like EIZO or NEC.

You can see the results below (click for full resolution):

DisplayCAL Uniformity Check for MSI Creator PS321QR

By comparison, even the semi-affordable BenQ monitor we reviewed last month passed at least the nominal tolerance on every single patch , and hit the recommended tolerance on half of them.

DisplayCAL Uniformity Check for BenQ SW271C

This is what I mean when I say there are a few catches. The headline color specs are great, but more subtle features like uniformity suffer. For enthusiasts, this is just fine, but if you're doing mostly creative work it might be a problem.

Another catch is the lack of built-in LUT or support for hardware calibration. This forces you to rely on software calibration, which will eat into your bit depth in order to get the tones right.

And if you're a pixel density freak, the monitor's 2K resolution (also known as Quad HD) leaves me wanting more from a 32-inch display. According to Is it Retina, at this combination of resolution and screen size, you should stop seeing the pixels from a viewing distance of about 37 inches; but even if that seems workable, it leaves you with less screen real estate for multitasking.

After using a 4K monitor, the icons and windows will look huge unless you scale the display output beyond its built-in resolution.

Lastly, the monitor earns a VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification, which means it must be able to hit a peak brightness of 600 nits in a 10% center patch test, it must feature local dimming for adaptive contrast, and it must be able to handle a 10-bit signal.

However, it's worth noting that the "typical" max brightness of the full display is only 400 nits, the panel is 8-bit + FRC (not true 10-bit), and the local dimming on this monitor isn't really "local" since there aren't any individually controlled zones to speak of. We've asked MSI for clarification on this spec, just in case we're missing something, but as far as we can tell the panel simply adjusts the backlight based on the relative brightness of everything on your screen—this allows for deeper blacks and brighter specular highlights, but not at the same time.

Earning the DisplayHDR 600 certification is definitely a plus, and it's a lot better than some monitors that slap "HDR" on the box with no legitimate basis, but I still wouldn't recommend it for serious HDR editing. It'll work in a pinch, but nothing more.

Gaming Performance

On the gaming side, the monitor's main trick can be summed up in one word: speed. The PS321QR can ramp up its refresh rate from 60Hz all the way up to 165Hz at a gray-to-gray (GTG) pixel response time of just 1ms when response time is set to "Fastest" in the user menu. That is very fast , and it is definitely noticeable, although I'd recommend keeping pixel response time set to "Fast" to avoid overshoot/inverse ghosting artifacts.

Admittedly, I'm not a big gamer, but the benefits of a high refresh rate monitor were obvious, even to me. Something as simple as moving between virtual desktops looks tack sharp compared to 60Hz, and gamers will tell you that this initial jump from a standard 60Hz monitor up to 120Hz or 144Hz is the most noticeable. From that point on, you suffer from the law of diminishing returns, spending more money to make the jump from 144Hz to 240Hz or even 360Hz, without noticeably affecting your gaming performance (assuming your GPU can even push 240 or 360fps in-game).

If you're a competitive gamer you may want to invest in an even faster monitor, but for enthusiasts 165Hz is more than enough. The Creator PS321QR was designed for people who want to find a balance between a monitor that can kick butt at CS: GO one minute, and transition seamlessly into Photoshop CC the next. In that sense, it delivers.

This is also where the QHD resolution is a feature, not a bug. Pushing 4K pixels takes a lot of graphics power, which either means upgrading to the latest GPU (if you can even find one), or sacrificing frames. Most graphics cards can't even push 4K at 120Hz or above, so unless you're rocking an NVIDIA RTX 3000 or AMD RX 6000 series GPU, the PS321QR may already deliver all the pixels you need.

Also of note, the monitor doesn't support the new HDMI 2.1 standard which means that it can't hit the maximum display specifications found in either the new Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X. Since it's also not a 4K monitor though, this was probably not on many next-gen console gamers' radars to begin with.

Finally, the inclusion of FreeSync Premium Pro is a nice feature that's worth mentioning. FreeSync is AMD's implementation of VESA Adaptive Sync technology, a hardware-based variable refresh rate control that prevents screen tearing and compensates for frame rate discrepancies between the GPU and the display. The "Premium Pro" moniker simply means that it also supports HDR content, but otherwise it's the same as FreeSync Premium.

More "Gamer" Than "Creator"

The MSI Creator PS321QR has a lot going for it. It's fast, it's color accurate, it's well-built, it's pretty, and did I mention that it's also fast? But like every "jack of all trades," it simply can't check every box for every person.

Looking at the pros and cons list, you see specific trade-offs that MSI had to make in order to achieve this level of color accuracy at this speed, and I can't help but notice that most of the cons will hurt "creators" and not "gamers." If you're an enthusiast, the lack of hardware calibration or some uniformity issues probably won't matter much, but it's important that you know what you're giving up when you decide to buy a monitor that caters to two, vastly different camps at the same time.

Pros

• 99.9% AdobeRGB coverage with Delta E < 2
• Sleek design
• Great built quality
• 165Hz refresh rate
• 1ms pixel response time
• USB Hub with SD card slot
• Affordable

Cons

• Cumbersome setup
• Poor uniformity
• 2K resolution is low for such a big screen
• No built-in LUT or hardware calibration support
• No power delivery over USB-C
• Magnetic monitor hood is mostly for show

There will always be creator-only monitors that put a higher emphasis on ultimate color performance and everything else that goes along with that "creator" label, but the very fact that monitors like the MSI PS321QR exist delights me. It goes to show just how far and fast we've come, and portends great things for the "hybrid" monitor space.

The MSI Creator PS321QR isn't quite the "do-everything" monitor that it sets out to be, but it only misses that mark by a few features. Give it a 4K panel, better uniformity, support for hardware calibration, HDMI 2.1 support, and USB-C charging, and you've got a monitor that every photographer who games (or vice versa) will be clamoring to buy.

Are There Alternatives?

There are a few other "hybrid" monitors like this one that try to deliver both speed and color accuracy.

The $750 Acer ConceptD CP5 is a 27-inch, 2K resolution, 144Hz monitor that hits 99% AdobeRGB with an advertised Delta E of less than one, though it's aimed more squarely at creators. Another option is the 27-inch LG 27GN950, which boasts a higher 4K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, 98% DCI-P3 coverage, and DisplayHDR 600 certification for $800.

If you want to go a little cheaper but still want that gamer/creator combo, the slightly older LG 27GL850 is basically a 2K version of the GN950. It gives up a little resolution and brightness, but still boasts a 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and 98% coverage of DCI-P3 for the low low price of $450. And if speed is the name of the game, the curved Samsung Odyssey G7—available in 32-inch and 27-inch variants—gives up some color accuracy with only 95% coverage of DCI-P3 and 83% coverage of AdobeRGB, but can hit 240Hz.

Should You Buy It?

For most of the people reading this review, the answer is yes.

If you are equal parts gamer and creator, but not a professional in either field, the MSI Creator PS321QR is a great buy. It's got sufficient color accuracy to carry you through creative projects while delivering the speed that enthusiast gamers demand.

However, this monitor is not for professional creators or professional gamers.

If color is your number one priority, then there simply is no monitor that delivers the color accuracy, uniformity, and pixel density professionals demand at anything more than 60Hz. Similarly, professional gamers will need to give up some color accuracy and/or uniformity, opting for a panel that can hit 240 or 360Hz without skipping a beat.

#products #reviews #technology #2k #32inches #adobergb #colorgamut #creative #creativemonitor #creativemonitorreview #creativity #creator #display #displaytechnology #fast #gamer #gaming #gamingmonitor #gamingmonitorreview #highrefreshrate #hybrid #ips #monitorreview #msi #msicreator #msicreatorps321qr #photoediting #photoeditingmonitor #pixelresponsetime #postprocessing #ps321qr #qhd #refreshrate #retouching

UK Regulators Tell Apple to Cease ‘Beyond HDR’ Pro Display XDR Claim

Apple is adjusting its marketing in the United Kingdom following an investigation by the country's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The investigation called into question language that Apple used that stated the Pro Display XDR was "far beyond HDR," among other claims.

Apple's Pro Display XDR was one of the most exceptional monitors any Apple user could have purchased when it was released and carried a hefty price tag as a result. PetaPixel recently revisited the Pro Display XDR to see how the $5,000 monitor (or $6,000 if you choose the nano-texture glass) holds up today, as it has not seen a price change since its introduction.

And as is noted there, Apple did an excellent job bringing $30,000 reference display quality to a monitor that costs considerably less than that and even though it's now nearly two years old, it still is one of the best high-end displays on the market. But tech moves fast, and Apple is no longer alone at the top when it comes to excellence at this price. The Dell mini-LED 4K HDR monitor, which also costs $5,000, has many features that might make it a better choice for more people.

Apple is the king of marketing though and, as a result, the Pro Display XDR is likely still quite popular. That's probably why the ASA had to step in and address complaints about some of the claims Apple makes with regard to the monitor's prowess despite its age.

According to Engadget, as of today the Apple is no longer marketing the display as such on its product page in the United Kingdom following complaints that the ASA had received over how Apple markets the monitor. Additionally, 9to5Mac notes that the company also needed to specify that the monitor only supports 99% of the P3 color gamut, as the complaint noted that the marketing was misleading customers into believing that it was capable of 100% of that color gamut.

Read more: 5 Things You Should Know Before Buying the Apple Pro Display XDR

Below you can see the different language used on the United States-based website compared to what is seen on the UK version of the same product page:

Language as it appears on the US product page. Language as it appears on the UK product page.

In the color section, the UK version now has a note next to the P3 color gamut claim that clarifies how much of the gamut the monitor is able to reproduce:

A final complaint to the ASA called into question Apple's 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, though as the case has been "informally resolved" as of April 7 and the contrast ratio claim is still present on Apple's UK website, changing that language appears to not have been a part of the resolution. 9to5Mac says that it is being told Apple is in the midst of having an independent test confirm the claim.

Only the United Kingdom's version of the Apple Pro Display XDR product page is affected by these changes.

#equipment #industry #news #6k #adobergb #advertisingstandardsauthority #apple #appleprodisplayxdr #blooming #dcip3 #display #hdr #hdr10 #hdrmonitor #ips #lcd #led #monitor #monitorreview #oled #photoediting #photoeditingmonitor #postprocessing #prodisplayxdr #regulation #thunderbolt #ukregulators

BenQ PD3420Q Monitor Review: Ultrawide, Ultra-Accurate

One of the most important items a photographer can have is a top-notch display on which to edit their images (or video). The BenQ PD3420Q is the company's latest ultra-wide, and it promises a huge amount of screen real-estate for an affordable price: a multitasker's dream.

This $900 pro-level design monitor is a 34-inch QHD ultra-wide 21:9 60Hz IPS panel beast that has the potential to be a multitaskers dream display by providing enough space to run applications like Photoshop and Lightroom Classic or Capture one and even leave you enough space to keep a Netflix window playing in the corner, all at the same time. It's a monitor built with professional designers and digital content creators in mind and leans heavily into color accuracy so users can be sure to get the best out of their images and video.

But is it any good? Let's get into it.

Design and Usability

The freedom to multitask all on one screen is great, but sheer physical size isn’t everything. To really be attractive to the creative market, you need to be color accurate and have a decent resolution. While the PD3420Q has a massive 34-inch display space and boasts 1.07 billion colors covering 100% of the sRGB gamut and 98% of the P3 color spaces, it is actually only a 2K monitor with a maximum resolution of 3440×1440. You can “technically” get the screen to display 3840×2160 but it looks absolutely terrible at that level. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but coming from working on a 4k display for the last 5 years, it was a bit of a hard adjustment to make when first connecting this device.

The BenQ PD3420Q out of the box looks great. The base and stand assembled quickly and easily, but there’s no way around it: this display is big. With that in mind, it’s not exactly a lightweight device so you’ll want to be sure you not only have the space for the monitor on your workspace but one that can support the 15 to 20 pounds of weight (depending on if you use the base or mount it to a VESA stand).

The ports on the back include a Displayport 1.4, two HDMI 2.0 ports, three USB ports, and the connection for the BenQ “Hotkey Puck G2” with a 3.5mm headphone jack, an additional USB-C port, and a fourth USB 3.1 port on the left-hand side for quick and easy access. As an added surprise, this display also comes with two 2.5W speakers for what’s best described as "basic" sound output. This feature felt entirely unnecessary and I can’t help but think the price (and weight) could be reduced if these were simply not included.

The buttons on the back, right-hand side by default are set to quickly cycle through the Color Modes, your graphic inputs, the joystick that changes between brightness, contrast, and opens the full settings menu. Lastly, this is also where the power switch is located. If you don’t care for reaching behind the monitor to make adjustments, you can access all these settings and more through the customizable BenQ Hotkey Puck G2.

By default, the puck’s dial is set to adjust the brightness levels of the screen through three buttons that cycle through three color modes, with the last two buttons available for entering (and exiting) the monitor's settings menu. It took a little bit to get used to which button did what, but after the learning curve, I'm not looking forward to going back to my old monitor and its puck-less, touch-based interface.

The stand gives you a rather wide range of angles and heights to work with. It can raise up to nine inches letting you work comfortably on any workstation. Something additional I feel needs to be brought up regarding this massive display's build is the fact that the base plate is made of solid metal, while the stand and mounting plate are constructed with metal and plastic. The bottom of the adjustable pole is metal like the base, however, the top part which mounts to the display itself is plastic. Once connected, it still feels quite solid and does not seem to have any impact on the security of the setup, but it seemed a bit of an odd choice to me.

Color Accuracy and Brightness

Coming from the full 4k reference display, out of the box I was a bit put off by the 2k resolution and associated clarity, but once I got past that and started running calibration tests I was impressed with the actual color accuracy of the monitor. My initial calibration using the Datacolor SpyderX Elite returned some questionable results, but that was actually due to some issues with my own MacBook Pro. After a reset and reboot, the numbers came back precisely as advertised: the color accuracy is rock solid.

The only thing that didn’t really impress me was the brightness. Listed at 400 nits of peak brightness, when maxxed out the screen was incredibly clear but the visibility wasn’t that impressive. Worse, it gets darker when the HDR mode was enabled. Seeing as 400 nits is nowhere near bright enough to actually enjoy HDR content, it's best to not enable this feature anyway.

Still, I gave the HDR mode a shot and watched a few movies and a few HDR-enabled video games. It's not particularly great for the latter, as the refresh rate is capped at 60Hz. Overall, as expected, the HDR performance felt dark and it just didn't "wow" me like a properly bright HDR monitor will. It is certainly nice to have support for HDR content, but it by no means excels here.

The low brightness was by no means unusable, but I was honestly expecting better for a monitor that advertises HDR compatibility and is designed for creative professionals in mind.

The display has a matte coating which helps diffuse any glare from either your office lighting or nearby windows from interfering with the screen, and when pivoting the monitor there is next to no light or color bleeding. This means that if you're working with a team and have multiple people looking at your screen from various angles, the colors and lines should be accurate and sharp regardless of their perspective. In short, the viewing angles are great, typical of IPS panels.

This monitor is seriously huge.

An added and nifty feature is the fact the display can split the screen and display two different color modes. That means you can edit in sRGB on the left of the screen and have the right side set to a manual profile such as HDR, CAD/CAM, P3 or any other of the supported modes. Having the ability to show two color profiles side by side on the same ultra-wide makes it incredibly easy to proof your work for a series of desired outputs.

Calibration

BenQ certifies each monitor with an included "Report Card" that ships with each, and for those who aren't going to calibrate it out of the box, this might give you some peace of mind. In my testing, I can confirm that the color was accurate and consistent from calibration to calibration.

I ran all tests with Datacolor's Spyder Elite hardware and software first, then ran additional calibrations using the DisplayCAL3 software for an even more detailed analysis

Once the profile was created, it was pretty fun to swap from mode to mode in the split screens to see how images looked from one profile to the next. This display tool made me realize a lot of my older images needed to be redone as they were not saved correctly when I first created them, so it's probably one of my favorite features of the monitor.

Look at all that real estate. Click to enlarge.

Pros

• Ultra-wide 34-inch screen is massive
• Anti-glare coating provides a nice viewing experience
• Ultrawide, but not curved (no skewed lines/inaccurate colors)
• Height adjustable stand is easy to use
• Can power your laptop or charge various devices.
• KVM keyboard/mouse switch allows for multiple devices to use the same peripherals

Cons

• The monitor is “only” 2K resolution (for its size, I found myself wishing for more resolution)
• The monitor takes up a lot of space on your desk
• A tad expensive for a sub-4K monitor
• Lacks Adobe RGB mode
• The built-in speakers are bad and unnecessary.

If Only It Were 4K

The BenQ PD3420Q is a very good display for video editors, content creators, and designers, looking for a widescreen monitor that boasts excellent color accuracy. It's even good for those just looking for a larger screen for more multitasking space. However, if you're a professional photographer or videographer who spends most of your time working with 4k and larger video files or with images that have you checking each and every little pixel, you might want to look into the SW271C.

Are There Alternatives?

There are quite a few ultrawide monitors available in the 34-inch range, from Dell’s curved monitor, to LG’s 34-inch flat ultrawide, to Acer’s XR382CQK (We’re getting into curved territory with that one though). All of these alternatives come in near the same price as the BenQ, but none of them seem to compare to the color accuracy and convenience factor of the features and presets available with it, not to mention the others seem to all deal with varying amounts of “light bleeding” where the PD3420Q does not.

Should You Buy it?

Maybe. The BenQ PD3420Q is a beautiful monitor with great color accuracy, but it really boils down to your personal preference between choosing a physically wider monitor versus full 4K resolution, as getting both with top-tier color accuracy is possible. If you’re a graphic artist, illustrator, CAD designer, or video editor looking for a screen that can display your entire timeline -- or even just someone who wants a gigantic screen -- the BenQ PD3420Q is an amazing choice that is very color accurate, especially considering the ultrawide form factor where this kind of color accuracy is rarer at this price.

That being said, if you’re a professional videographer, retoucher, or photographer who really needs the space to multitask and have the ability to really pixel peep (like retouchers tend to want), it's probably smarter to look into the SW lineup from BenQ -- like the SW271C that we recently reviewed -- and go for resolution over ultrawide form factor.

#equipment #reviews #adobergb #benq #benq271c #benqmonitor #benqpd3420q #benqphotoviewsw271c #coloraccuracy #dcip3 #deltae #display #monitor #monitorreview #pd3420q #photoediting #photoeditingdisplay #photoeditingmonitor #photographymonitor #photovuesw271c #productreview #review #ultrawide #ultrawidemonitor #uniformity #widescreen

BenQ PD3420Q Monitor Review: Ultrawide, Ultra-Accurate

One of the most important items a photographer can have is a top-notch display on which to edit their images (or video). The BenQ PD3420Q is the company's latest ultra-wide, and it promises a huge amount of screen real-estate for an affordable price: a multitasker's dream.

This pro-level design monitor is a 34-inch QHD ultra-wide 21:9 60Hz IPS panel beast that has the potential to be a multitaskers dream display by providing enough space to run applications like Photoshop and Lightroom Classic or Capture one and even leave you enough space to keep a Netflix window playing in the corner, all at the same time. It's a monitor built with professional designers and digital content creators in mind and leans heavily into color accuracy so users can be sure to get the best out of their images and video.

But is it any good? Let's get into it.

Design and Usability

The freedom to multitask all on one screen is great, but sheer physical size isn’t everything. To really be attractive to the creative market, you need to be color accurate and have a decent resolution. While the PD3420Q has a massive 34-inch display space and boasts 1.07 billion colors covering 100% of the sRGB gamut and 98% of the P3 color spaces, it is actually only a 2K monitor with a maximum resolution of 3440×1440. You can “technically” get the screen to display 3840×2160 but it looks absolutely terrible at that level. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but coming from working on a 4k display for the last 5 years, it was a bit of a hard adjustment to make when first connecting this device.

The BenQ PD3420Q out of the box looks great. The base and stand assembled quickly and easily, but there’s no way around it: this display is big. With that in mind, it’s not exactly a lightweight device so you’ll want to be sure you not only have the space for the monitor on your workspace but one that can support the 15 to 20 pounds of weight (depending on if you use the base or mount it to a VESA stand).

The ports on the back include a Displayport 1.4, two HDMI 2.0 ports, three USB ports, and the connection for the BenQ “Hotkey Puck G2” with a 3.5mm headphone jack, an additional USB-C port, and a fourth USB 3.1 port on the left-hand side for quick and easy access. As an added surprise, this display also comes with two 2.5W speakers for what’s best described as "basic" sound output. This feature felt entirely unnecessary and I can’t help but think the price (and weight) could be reduced if these were simply not included.

The buttons on the back, right-hand side by default are set to quickly cycle through the Color Modes, your graphic inputs, the joystick that changes between brightness, contrast, and opens the full settings menu. Lastly, this is also where the power switch is located. If you don’t care for reaching behind the monitor to make adjustments, you can access all these settings and more through the customizable BenQ Hotkey Puck G2.

By default, the puck’s dial is set to adjust the brightness levels of the screen through three buttons that cycle through three color modes, with the last two buttons available for entering (and exiting) the monitor's settings menu. It took a little bit to get used to which button did what, but after the learning curve, I'm not looking forward to going back to my old monitor and its puck-less, touch-based interface.

The stand gives you a rather wide range of angles and heights to work with. It can raise up to nine inches letting you work comfortably on any workstation. Something additional I feel needs to be brought up regarding this massive display's build is the fact that the base plate is made of solid metal, while the stand and mounting plate are constructed with metal and plastic. The bottom of the adjustable pole is metal like the base, however, the top part which mounts to the display itself is plastic. Once connected, it still feels quite solid and does not seem to have any impact on the security of the setup, but it seemed a bit of an odd choice to me.

Color Accuracy and Brightness

Coming from the full 4k reference display, out of the box I was a bit put off by the 2k resolution and associated clarity, but once I got past that and started running calibration tests I was impressed with the actual color accuracy of the monitor. My initial calibration using the Datacolor SpyderX Elite returned some questionable results, but that was actually due to some issues with my own MacBook Pro. After a reset and reboot, the numbers came back precisely as advertised: the color accuracy is rock solid.

The only thing that didn’t really impress me was the brightness. Listed at 400 nits of peak brightness, when maxxed out the screen was incredibly clear but the visibility wasn’t that impressive. Worse, it gets darker when the HDR mode was enabled. Seeing as 400 nits is nowhere near bright enough to actually enjoy HDR content, it's best to not enable this feature anyway.

Still, I gave the HDR mode a shot and watched a few movies and a few HDR-enabled video games. It's not particularly great for the latter, as the refresh rate is capped at 60Hz. Overall, as expected, the HDR performance felt dark and it just didn't "wow" me like a properly bright HDR monitor will. It is certainly nice to have support for HDR content, but it by no means excels here.

The low brightness was by no means unusable, but I was honestly expecting better for a monitor that advertises HDR compatibility and is designed for creative professionals in mind.

The display has a matte coating which helps diffuse any glare from either your office lighting or nearby windows from interfering with the screen, and when pivoting the monitor there is next to no light or color bleeding. This means that if you're working with a team and have multiple people looking at your screen from various angles, the colors and lines should be accurate and sharp regardless of their perspective. In short, the viewing angles are great, typical of IPS panels.

This monitor is seriously huge.

An added and nifty feature is the fact the display can split the screen and display two different color modes. That means you can edit in sRGB on the left of the screen and have the right side set to a manual profile such as HDR, CAD/CAM, P3 or any other of the supported modes. Having the ability to show two color profiles side by side on the same ultra-wide makes it incredibly easy to proof your work for a series of desired outputs.

Calibration

BenQ certifies each monitor with an included "Report Card" that ships with each, and for those who aren't going to calibrate it out of the box, this might give you some peace of mind. In my testing, I can confirm that the color was accurate and consistent from calibration to calibration.

I ran all tests with Datacolor's Spyder Elite hardware and software first, then ran additional calibrations using the DisplayCAL3 software for an even more detailed analysis

Once the profile was created, it was pretty fun to swap from mode to mode in the split screens to see how images looked from one profile to the next. This display tool made me realize a lot of my older images needed to be redone as they were not saved correctly when I first created them, so it's probably one of my favorite features of the monitor.

Look at all that real estate. Click to enlarge.

Pros

• Ultra-wide 34-inch screen is massive
• Anti-glare coating provides a nice viewing experience
• Ultrawide, but not curved (no skewed lines/inaccurate colors)
• Height adjustable stand is easy to use
• Can power your laptop or charge various devices.
• KVM keyboard/mouse switch allows for multiple devices to use the same peripherals

Cons

• The monitor is “only” 2K resolution (for its size, I found myself wishing for more resolution)
• The monitor takes up a lot of space on your desk
• A tad expensive for a sub-4K monitor
• Lacks Adobe RGB mode
• The built-in speakers are bad and unnecessary.

If Only It Were 4K

The BenQ PD3420Q is a very good display for video editors, content creators, and designers, looking for a widescreen monitor that boasts excellent color accuracy. It's even good for those just looking for a larger screen for more multitasking space. However, if you're a professional photographer or videographer who spends most of your time working with 4k and larger video files or with images that have you checking each and every little pixel, you might want to look into the SW271C.

Are There Alternatives?

There are quite a few ultrawide monitors available in the 34-inch range, from Dell’s curved monitor, to LG’s 34-inch flat ultrawide, to Acer’s XR382CQK (We’re getting into curved territory with that one though). All of these alternatives come in near the same price as the BenQ, but none of them seem to compare to the color accuracy and convenience factor of the features and presets available with it, not to mention the others seem to all deal with varying amounts of “light bleeding” where the PD3420Q does not.

Should You Buy it?

Maybe. The BenQ PD3420Q is a beautiful monitor with great color accuracy, but it really boils down to your personal preference between choosing a physically wider monitor versus full 4K resolution, as getting both with top-tier color accuracy is possible. If you’re a graphic artist, illustrator, CAD designer, or video editor looking for a screen that can display your entire timeline -- or even just someone who wants a gigantic screen -- the BenQ PD3420Q is an amazing choice that is very color accurate, especially considering the ultrawide form factor where this kind of color accuracy is rarer at this price.

That being said, if you’re a professional videographer, retoucher, or photographer who really needs the space to multitask and have the ability to really pixel peep (like retouchers tend to want), it's probably smarter to look into the SW lineup from BenQ -- like the SW271C that we recently reviewed -- and go for resolution over ultrawide form factor.

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