Archive republication: This article was originally published on 20 January 2021. It has been translated into English and lightly updated for clarity while preserving the original reporting and context.
This article originally appeared in Digital Production 03/2020.
After examining two special-purpose models in that issue, the question remained: what should be used as a primary monitor? Fortunately, Eizo had just introduced another model.
It is always satisfying when someone finally listens to me — it happens far too rarely. Eizo appeared to have read the previous review and followed up with a 4K update that comes close to the ideal professional work monitor.
In brief
Eizo delivered a solid 10-bit 4K display. It offered nothing unprecedented, but made no serious mistakes and was relatively affordable for a tool in its class. Its only notable weakness was comparatively modest brightness. Otherwise, it provided the professional Eizo quality we had come to expect. It was ideal for compositors, editors, photographers, VFX artists and similar users, and also usable for grading.
What do you get?
The CS2740 is a 27-inch wide-gamut LCD with 3,840 × 2,160 pixels (4K UHD), 99% Adobe RGB coverage, a 16-bit look-up table and up to 10-bit colour reproduction. For anyone calculating pixel density: that works out at 164 ppi. Eizo’s Digital Uniformity Equalizer is included, as are USB-C, DisplayPort and HDMI inputs. There is also a USB hub with two USB 3.1 and two USB 2.0 ports.
Several useful extras are included. Seven slots can store custom settings, allowing rapid comparisons between different lighting conditions and colour spaces. A conventional monitor hood was available as an option.
The monitor and its colours
The usable display area is roughly the size of an A3 sheet and, in my view, exactly right: 24 inches is too small and 30 inches too large. The unit arrived perfectly calibrated from the factory, which will surprise nobody familiar with Eizo. Brightness distribution, colour and gamma were generally close to the limits of what our probe could detect, and therefore beyond what could be seen with the naked eye. Although it was not designed specifically for this purpose, we would recommend it as a grading monitor for users who understand its limitations.
Any complaints?
We always try to find something to criticise. First, the packaging contained a great deal of polystyrene, which counted against its environmental credentials — especially because we expected the display to sell well and therefore generate substantial packaging waste.
The panel reached a genuine 350 nits, though a little more brightness would have been welcome. That was the end of the meaningful shortcomings. To stretch the list further, the menu confirmation beep was enabled by default and initially startled me, but it could be disabled with one click. Apart from that, the display was faultless.
Conclusion
The display was originally intended for a major launch at NAB 2020 after previously being available only in Japan. When that event did not take place, it arrived without much fanfare. With a recommended retail price of €1,550, we expected a street price of around €1,500 — modest for a panel of this quality. As stated at the outset, the CS2740 did not reinvent the wheel, but it did many things well and nothing badly. What more could one ask?
