Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 15, 2018. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
What are we talking about? The BenQ SW271 is a 4K IPS panel with 3,840 by 2,160 pixels that can handle HDR10 at a 16:9 ratio on 27 inches, is USB-C compatible, shines at an average of 350 nits and covers 100% sRGB, 100% Rec. 709, 99% Adobe RGB and 93% DCI-P3. It supports 14-bit 3D look-up tables for software and hardware calibration and is equipped with two HDMI ports, DisplayPort 1.4, two USB 3.0 ports and an SD/SDHC/SDXC card reader, all at an average street price of 1,100 euros. Maximum information density, eh?
Now that we have switched off list mode, we have a well-equipped professional monitor from the mid-range segment, aimed at photographers and videographers. Its features include everything needed in everyday work, with excellent ergonomics, and the SW also brings a few things that are not normally found but that you will soon no longer want to do without.
Colours
Before weighing up what it is and for whom, we naturally first look at the monitor’s colours and display. Fresh from the factory – as our test unit was – we had an average colour deviation below 2% (we measured against Adobe RGB). After 3 months of hard operation – including regular switching between the different colour spaces (test procedure described in the box on the right) without recalibration – we were then at 4% deviation. That is very respectable and close enough to the measurement-error range to award a “very good” in the “colour gamut” field, within the limits of our measurement capabilities. Contrast and white point were also good to very good; only the gamma curve showed a slight drift.
Another included feature is monitor-internal calibration using Palette Master, free software that allows a calibration device (Datacolor Spyder and Xrite) to be connected directly to the SW’s USB port and used for measurement. This also works quite well in practice – we compared Palette Master with the Datacolor toolkit and were within 5% on every measured value. An ideal application when you want to measure many monitors with one probe. For reasons of comparability, however, we rely on the Spyder.
Everyday usability
The physical feel plays a larger role in everyday life than one sometimes thinks – the well-made monitor sits on an extremely stable stand (cable management built in), or on a monitor arm through the VESA mount. It also maintains stable viewing angles and can be used in both landscape and portrait mode (whatever you might need that for). The anti-glare treatment is spot-on, and even without the shading hood there are hardly any reflections – here the SW is on a par with devices from other well-known manufacturers whose products cost two to three times as much.
Regarding the shading hood: the panels, lined on the inside with a velvety material, are easy to fit, and special elements are supplied for both portrait and landscape format. The side sections also hold individually, for example when working in a multi-monitor setup.
Overall, we liked the physical operation very much – everything is nicely flexible without being playful. This is also apparent in the menu, which puts the constantly needed controls on the first level and further settings farther back. But you rarely use the menu buttons
themselves anyway, because switching through menus with the puck is extremely quick and convenient. When it is not needed, incidentally, the puck has a dedicated home in the stand, and during the test we also left it there most of the time. Wait a moment. Puck?
A puck!
When the screen is unpacked, you are initially pleased about the included Hotkey Puck. Hooray, another wired thing on the table with which you can tether the phone-charging station to the desk leg! But what we initially dismissed as a useless toy turns out not to be impractical in real use. The Hotkey Puck has two advantages: it is very pleasant during setup – the monitor settings can be adjusted comfortably with one hand in a relaxed posture, and control is more intuitive than directly on the screen.
The second advantage is custom menus that let you switch between different modes – after a little experimentation, we switched surprisingly often between Rec. 709, Rec. 2020, Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 mode during grading tasks (in the middle of Resolve’s open beta phase, hence that) and when assessing material. Of course, this can be done differently – with different colour profiles, for example. But that is neither as convenient nor as fast. Unfortunately, the puck works only on the monitor – we can imagine a few other devices where switching at this speed would be really
nice.
Pros
So what speaks in favour of the SW271? First, the workmanship not yet mentioned – unlike the previous test unit (we name neither manufacturer nor model, but owowow – not suitable for a living room!), the device is solidly made. The SW does not creak or squeak, sits solidly on the monitor arm and has no illuminated design elements that get on the user’s nerves.
At just under 10 kilos including the shading hood, the device is also not too heavy for shaky monitor mounts. The Hotkey Puck is surprisingly practical, and colour performance is more than sufficient for almost all everyday tasks.
Cons
Even if all this sounds practically perfect so far, the SW also has its dark sides – or rather, dark areas. Brightness distribution is not entirely uniform, and we had deviations between 5 and 10 percent in different areas – this is not noticeable in everyday software use, but we wanted to mention it. We also had a slight drift in the gamma curve, which can be corrected in practice through regular calibrations. And if you calibrate before colour-critical tasks, you are on the safe side.
The other negative point is no surprise – although the SW is enormously bright (a real 350 nits) when compared with other models, it simply is not yet an HDR monitor with the roughly necessary 1,000 nits. “Emulated HDR” in the colour settings already looks good, but its luminance – like that of no monitor we know of, incidentally – does not approach HDR, and the dynamics, luminance distribution and gradation are currently still exclusive to high-end professional devices from Eizo, Sony and Dolby (Samsung for TVs). And attached to a considerably higher price tag.
Conclusion
With a truly respectable price-performance ratio, you get solid looks, good colour reproduction and excellent features for everyday work, without unprofessional frills and with everything you need. Anyone who grades only now and then and shies away from buying a monitor for that purpose, but does not want to go without professional features, is well served by the SW in both the 27-inch and 32-inch versions and should enjoy it for many years – insofar as that is an appropriate expression for a workplace.
