BEFORE WE START
Important: please note that the seller has lumped 8 different BenQ monitors together on this page, resulting in reviews for all of them being mixed together. That can lead to confusion and conflicting information from well-meaning reviewers. To further complicate it the actual model number is not displayed anywhere for each review, only a generic product description in fine print called "Style Name". To be clear then the model I am reviewing is the SW2700PT 27" IPS Adobe RGB Color Management 2560x1440 Display.
MY ROLE IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS
I have owned an award-winning still and video photography business for many years, having trained at several recognized institutions. My work is primarily documentary and product-related. Precision resolution and colorimetry in my acquisition and post gear is of high priority to me. There are many brands, models and technologies of imaging devices available to the professional; however it is sometimes difficult to lock in to definitive standardization. I have used BenQ products since the late 1990’s and recognize them as a prime manufacturer associated with display products suitable for professional applications.
HOW I WILL BE REVIEWING THIS PRODUCT
This review will not be laden with specs, neither those published by the manufacturer nor those measured by me, specs and features are readily available at the manufacturer’s website. Specs are not my primary motivator in considering a monitor, any more than I dwell on specs when evaluating the purchase of a new camera. Specs don’t create art. Bluntly, computer monitors are an unfortunate but necessary tool to achieve an interim step in the process of communicating what the artist/photographer sees and interprets to the ultimate viewer. If we are to work in the digital realm we must use monitors, we have no other option, and all claims and hype from the manufacturers aside there is no monitor that exists capable of perfect imagery. When an artist/photographer perceives a nuance of a color that defines what their finished product will be it is the job of the camera, monitor, software and printing/display process to retain as much as possible of that hue so it may be shared with others. That to me is the difference between buying an $89 monitor at Walmart and making the commitment to acquire a monitor such as this and spend the time and energy it takes to fine-tune it to realize its full potential.
Specs are not meaningless and BenQ is generous with them to the degree of including a custom factory calibration report with each individual SW2700PT monitor. This is a valuable resource to give you a starting point to fine tune your specific monitor to your individual graphics card, software and output media. What is applicable to me is unique and applies only to me and my workstation. What is important is that the monitor has a plethora of fine-tuning adjustments far beyond the average computer desktop monitor.
WHY
Before even getting into specs, features and performance one might ask why spend so much on a computer monitor. These days it’s easy to buy a decent monitor for just over $100 and a very good monitor for about twice that. Why spend $650 (MSRP) for a “photography and video editing display” at all? I’ll refer back to this again a little later but the #1 reason is that photography (and graphic arts) are not about specs, features or performance. A monitor exists for the sole reason to display as reasonable a facsimile of what the photographer/artist visualizes, either at the time of creation or their interpretation of the finished product. Therefore a monitor, as a tool, must be: A) accurate; and B) replicable, i.e. it must reproduce the same tonality all the time, every hour of every day, under reasonable variable lighting conditions.
FUNCTIONALITY
Apart from the visual fine-tuning range available, the SW2700PTmonitor also customizes well physically to your workstation needs. The base and mounting arm are in a class all by themselves in terms of structural rigidity resulting in virtually no physical “shake”. That’s important, as miniscule amounts of shake can affect human perception of the sharpness of an image. The monitor has an impressive range of vertical adjustment and is self-locking and calibrated so a favorite position may be replicated at different sessions. Likewise the 90 degree swivel is smooth but tight so no locking screws or cams are needed. If it is necessary to move the monitor for any reason there is a simple push-button mechanism to unlock it from the mounting arm after which the screen portion may be lifted from the base. This model is compatible with an excellent wired OSD remote controller for menu access with 3 user-determined presets; a quantum improvement over reaching under the screen and randomly pushing tiny menu buttons as you would find on the vast majority of monitors. The wired remote may be set into a receptacle built in to the bottom of the base; a similar receptacle built in to the arm or removed completely and placed at your fingertips for instant menu adjustments.
The SW2700PT is packed with premium quality interface cables for DVI, USB, and DisplayPort and a very robust and durable shading hood that attaches to permanent mounting clips molded into the bezel of the monitor. Also included is a comprehensive version of Palette Master Element calibration software. The monitor is rated as “zero” flicker and low blue light emitting. Unique are a SD card reader and two USB 3.0 ports on the left side of the cabinet.
USAGE
This monitor is best suited for a permanent, lighting-controlled graphic workstation. I mentioned that I am using this monitor in my home office workstation. Make no mistake, work that I do away from the studio is just as just as serious as what I do “at the office”. I have been using a 23” monitor up until I tested the BenQ because I believe anything larger may be difficult to process in my brain as a finite image. Here’s an example of what I mean … hold a 4x6, a 5x7 and an 8x10 printed photograph in your hands and look at them. Your eyes perceive the entire image as a something finite with boundaries. Now hold a 16x20 print in front of you. Too large, huh? You have to scan your eyes and maybe even turn your head to take in the entire image. This is not always a good thing when you are editing still or motion photographs (video). My example illustrates why a larger workstation monitor is not necessarily a better thing. After using this monitor for a while I discovered that 27” is not too large for editing tasks, but I will say that it is the largest I would be willing to use. At the same distance as my 23” monitor (and I am unwilling to change that) I’ve learned that MOST of the time my eyes are comfortable taking in the entire image as one finite composition. The only time I find the BenQ to be “too big” is when editing purposely distorted high res video such as from a GoPro. In those cases I need to increase the distance from my eyes to the screen by about 20% more.
HOW DOES IT PERFORM
Image “quality” is very elusive to define … even under the most controlled of conditions it can still be subject to a large number of variables and therefore the degree of satisfaction will probably not be the same for everyone. I know the term personal preference should have no place in a review of a tool that is intended to render images to a certain definable standard, but in real life it does, if only to the degree that there are individual differences in how each of us perceives color, intensity and tonal balance. My vision has been professionally tested recently for my ability to perceive color accuracy and the results indicate that my vision is near-perfect. But I will wager it is not the same 24/7/365. During the course of my test period I have been very satisfied with the degree of accuracy this monitor is capable of. I have reviewed a wide range of archive images and shot some stuff specifically for comparative purposes. Posting them here would be a useless exercise so you will have to accept that I am convinced enough that this monitor will suit my needs that I will be adding it to my wish list which hopefully will coincide with a time that it goes on a Lightning Deal. For those reading my review I can’t imagine how anyone could make a final decision on something like this based on what someone else says. If you think it will fit your needs I suggest buying one and trying it before you make a final commitment.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
I’m not sure what practical concern this would be but it should be noted that the HDMI port is Ver 1.4 rather than the Ver 2.0.
WHY BENQ
I have little to no concern what brand name is on a tool that I use in my trade. In fact I have always covered brand logos on my cameras with electrical tape so they don’t distract my subject. My only consideration for the brand name of this product is whether the company behind it is an actual engineering/development company or just a brand name slapped on a generic product. And whether the company will be there to provide after-purchase support. I have owned BenQ products going back 15 years or more and I am confident that they have the necessary experience, skills and stability to be considered one of the major players when it comes to professional display products.
SUMMARY
Should you choose this specific model of monitor? Of course that is a personal decision. Here is my professional input as a working photographer who uses monitors such as this as part of my working “toolkit”. I see the use of a monitor in photo editing as being broken down into four general levels of need, and where the user fits into one or more of those level:
1. The Exhibition Photographer – this is when I must present my work in its most perfect form, such as a display in a gallery or museum. There are criteria I must meet, some of them self-imposed, that are not cost-effective for me to do myself, or that can meet a higher standard if I work with a pro lab equipped with specialty equipment that is outside of my budget range. This is more often the case for video editing but it can also apply to my still photography needs. I don’t care what brand equipment they use, I care about the results and I’m willing to pay them for those results. Obviously for that category of work I don’t need to own a monitor (or any equipment or software) of my own.
2. My Business – this is my bread and butter. This is where I choose the equipment, software and accessories to best accomplish my highest standard of work while still running a profitable business. After careful consideration I found this monitor to be an excellent fit for my needs and it is priced at a enterprise-friendly cost. For the working professional’s studio or home workstation I would recommend giving this monitor serious consideration. When properly adjusted I consider it worthy of being called a professional photographer’s tool.
3. Enthusiast – I believe a high percentage of people reading this review fall into this category. I do when I am taking photographs not for profit but for the sheer joy and satisfaction of photography. I want my results to reflect what I saw at the time I created the photo and I think most people who invest in a good camera and a quality set of lenses are after the same goal. When you consider what you spent on your camera gear the purchase price of this BenQ monitor is indeed reasonable and is “night and day” superior to a typical run-of-the-mill generic computer monitor. I doubt if a quality-conscious photo enthusiast would be disappointed in this monitor.
4. The family snapshot shooter – frankly 95% of what I take these days for family fun time is with my smartphone and I post it directly to social media without editing so, no, this monitor would be overkill for someone who primarily takes pictures of the kids and pets. But guess what? Cell phone cameras have become amazingly capable these days and every so often I take a candid shot that knocks my socks off and I do spend time touching it up. So I would say if you’re into photography and/or video and have a few bucks to spend on a monitor the fact alone that the screen on this one is so good I would say it’s hard to go wrong, if for no other reason than the “instant” push-button profile selector.
Regardless of what else you may ever read about this monitor, words will never be able to communicate how your images will look to you (ideally of course they should look exactly like what you saw/envisioned in real life when you created the image). Whether I tell you positive words or negative words to describe how well that worked out for me what I had this monitor to use my words can’t let you see what I see. While the current selling price of just under $600 (when this review was written) may be on the pricey side for the photo enthusiast it is actually on the lower end of the spectrum compared to what you CAN spend on a display monitor if you really want to. Consider that the price also includes a three-year warranty on parts, labor, and backlight and I would consider this monitor not only an advanced and accomplished tool for the professional photographer/videographer but a good value as well.
I evaluated a new retail production model monitor that was loaned to me for a month for the express purpose of sharing my observations in a review. I did not receive any compensation, free or discounted goods, nor any special requests from the marketing company who facilitated the loaner sample and I did not communicate directly with BenQ at any time. The monitor was packed up and sent back after the short-term loan.
| Standing screen display size | 27 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 2560x1440 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 3686400 Pixels |
