BenQ SW272u monitor review. 27" 4k wide gamut monitor overview & profiling with hardware calibration

Searching for the best new 27" wide gamut monitor for my new Mac Studio. How easy is it to use and set up is the BenQ SW272U "Photographer monitor" with its anti-glare screen? New profiling and calibration software and comparisons with the SW2700 which usually appears in my videos.
There will be a more detailed [written] technical review is due course - this video is about using the monitor and setting it up. Also discussed are why, depending on your uses and eyesight the lower resolution SW272Q might be more useful to you.
For more information about the monitors see the following [BenQ] links:
SW272U UK Product Page: benqurl.biz/3qScRLf
SW272U US Product Page: benqurl.biz/3EjiLbi
SW272U Amazon UK Page: benqurl.biz/3R67Edx
SW272U Australia/NZ product page: benqurl.biz/48Fn8eS
and
SW272Q UK Product Page benqurl.biz/44XD4G7
See the BenQ page about using their monitors with Macs
www.benq.com/en-us/campaign/m...
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[@falothman]

fantastic overview , thank you

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks!

[@deadtimber]

I am looking at the 272Q for stills color correction, so thank you for the run through. Good to see that people are paying attention to calibration these days and fantastic that the monitors and calibration kits are within individual person pricing range. As one might imagine, we have been doing this in professional TV and film post production facilities for ove 25 years. However it was very expensive and out of the reach of individuals. A color correction suite was upwards of $1M to build up, not counting the film scanner which cost almost that much fully optioned. (Film, he said?!)

[@KeithCooper]

Glad it was of interest. The 272Q feature set is slightly different to the 272U, but ease and reliability of calibration has definitely improved over the years.

[@ronboe6325]

I may have to pull the trigger on this (perhaps next year.....money) to supplement my apple monitor (which is fine, but not hardware calibratable and no hood) and replace my LG - which is very workable. I like to have one monitor for photo work, and a brighter one for surfing and other non serious stuff. Enjoy your holiday!

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks

[@liveinaweorg]

I run a BenQ SW270 and it does everything I need of it. Very solid and I really like the little puck control for switching inputs as well as profiles. CP Ultimate has been throwing up some odd numbers when calibrating (compared to CP Elements) so I am trying to get to the bottom of that.

[@KeithCooper]

The newer software (PMU) only supports certain monitors properly. When I move the Mac Studio over, it will be an SW320 and SW321 - one needs PME and the other works with PMU

[@liveinaweorg]

@@KeithCooper Turns out I needed to use the Pro drivers for my card (I had gaming drivers installed). @Atrisright gave me some advice by email and it worked.

[@philipgilligan_art]

Keith hi, I struggled with my pointer last week on the mouse with a new 32” screen……… i have a similar grey background, SO I changed the colour of the pointer to red!!! Workked a treat

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - I don't get so much of an issue on the big screen, but yes, the pointer could do with adjustment on the new one ;-)

[@philipgilligan_art]

@@KeithCooper i got a new asus monitor with hardware calibration, however I cannot get the app to work with my mac studio, it states not connected

[@KeithCooper]

I'm afraid I've never come across any Asus equipment. Not sure where best to ask...

[@philipgilligan_art]

@@KeithCooper calibrates fine with i1 software version, the calibrator came with monitor….. just annoying I cannot do the hardware version into monitor

[@KeithCooper]

Looks like Asus need to do some more development work :-(

[@johnvaleanbaily246]

Hi Keith, Interesting - thank you. I'd be most interested in a video on you setting up the Mac Studio... thanks.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I'm keeping notes for it See also one of my other replies for this video, which outlines some of my first items set up.

[@garybarnett893]

Hi Keith. Thanks for your video. I’m looking for my next grading monitor, and definitely considering the BenQ. I also use the Mac Studio just as you do. The advice I have received is that a true grading monitor should not come off of the Mac directly to the monitor. Instead, it should go through something like the BlackMagic UltraStudio 4K Mini. Did you not go that way due to costs, or from some other reason? Great video!

[@KeithCooper]

Ah - I'm a photographer, not a video maker ;-) I only started doing the YT videos a few years ago at the behest of someone from Canon. So the setup here is for photographic editing. I've set the colour temperature to 4000K purely so images on the screen match prints in the lighting in my office, for the videos. On one of my other monitors, I have one of the internal calibrations set to rec-709, which I use with davinci resolve - no way do I profess to offer any expertise in video though ;-)

[@user-sv3ww9ee5h]

Thank you for the video! What are your arguments to take xrite calibrator instead of spiderx elite?

[@KeithCooper]

Unless you need an advanced feature [HDR etc] go for whatever is cheapest and does what you need. Go for features you need, not ones you think you might possibly need... I don't have any technical reasons to specifically choose either for basic calibration. For this monitor any current device supported by the BenQ software is fine.

[@peterrooney]

Hi Keith, thanks for the info. I currently have the iMac 27" 2017 and I'm looking to upgrade to the M3 when it comes out. The problem here in Thailand is you can't get the SW272U they only do the SW272Q (not enough demand apparently?). I edit for both screen and print but I'm worried that the 2k won't be enough resolution, what are your thoughts?

[@KeithCooper]

Personally, I find the 2k SW2700 [also mentioned here] easier to work on on a Mac at 27" This is purely because the Mac doesn't properly support a variable resolution for the user interface. This is what I mention in the video If you are working on 4k video and have very sharp close eyesight, the 4k may be ideal - for me, I don't personally want 4k until I get to a 32" monitor - even there, the Mac UI is small. To my mind the 'need' for 4k [or higher] is an illusory one for many people [you can tell I don't sell monitors ;-) ]

[@henri.witteveen]

I'm interested to learn how you set up the Mac Studio

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - quite carefully at the moment ;-) My existing system is pretty rock solid, so there's no rush... I've decided not to do a system transfer, but set the system up completely fresh especially since I don't currently have any external disks for it [just servers on the network] So far... I've added: Photoshop and Bridge [not lightroom! ;-) ] DxO PhotoLab, PureRAW, Nik, FilmPack Davinci resolve [renders just over 10x the speed of my Mac Pro...] X-rite i1Publish (+ profiles/test charts from the old machine] Two printers > Canon TC-20M and Epson P5000 - take the long route for this, i.e. the Canon 'Master setup' software and an install via Epson.sn And lastly Sheepshaver, so I can boot up macos9 and run Mac software from the 80's and 90's... Lot's more to try, like all the Topaz AI stuff, but probably after I'm back from holiday ;-) If you've any specific questions - feel free to email me at Northlight?

[@beatrizparejo6398]

Hi Keith, As always, thanks for sharing your knowledge. I would love your help with a question about the monitor. By the way, I don't know much about photography and my budget is limited and for now, I can't afford a professional monitor with Adobe RGB coverage. But I need to produce Fine Art prints of my artworks, after editing or enhancing them in Photoshop and I need a monitor for that. Would a monitor with 100% sRGb coverage be enough to start with? Or is it not worth it and I'd better wait until I can buy one with Adobe rgb? Depending on the size and support of the work, I make the prints from photographs or from the scanned work. My printer is Canon image- PROGRAF pro 300. I really appreciate your opinion. Best regards and thanks

[@KeithCooper]

I'd just note that for many years I had an Apple cinema display - sRGB. I don't recall it limiting my printmaking and professional photography very much... The key is properly understanding colour management ;-) The book I always recommend is 'Real world color management' [Fraser et al.] should be available used at a good price.

[@beatrizparejo6398]

@@KeithCooper Thank you so much!

[@keithmagee4450]

Hi Keith, I have a BenQ SW270C 27 Inch Monitor. Is the calibration workflow for this the same as your new one?

[@KeithCooper]

No, I think the 270C is not supported by the new [PMU] software - you'll need to check on the BenQ site and see if it's in the list. The PME [older] software works fine and in some ways is a bit simpler - the basic process is the same though

[@drwatsonismine]

Just curious, have you ever worked with Eizo? Wonder how it compares with Ben Q. Also see NEC recommended. Ugh.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, I have tested them in the past [written reviews only, on the Northlight site], but not recently enough to risk comparisons ;-)

[@drwatsonismine]

@@KeithCooper Ok. Thanks. I am interested in your Mac set up process because I will be doing the same soon. Great videos always.

[@hans-peterkohler2993]

Dear Keith. I just bought one of these monitors and I am still somewhat confused about hardware vs. software calibration. Apparently, the hardware calibrated LUT is stored on a chip inside the monitor. In the system settings "displays" on a Mac Studio M2 with Ventura I see a color profile e.g. BenQ_SW_AdobeRGB associated with the monitor and in the list many others. Do these profiles have any function at all or are they neglected when I calibrate the monitor with PalletteMaster Ultimate? For example, when I switch the color space from AdobeRGB to sRGB with the Hotkey Puck, the profile associated with the monitor in the "display" settings does not change. Could you please elaborate a bit on this issue. Thanks, Hans-Peter Kohler

[@KeithCooper]

The monitor calibration is stored in the monitor [the hardware bit] whilst the software also creates an icc profile which lives on the Mac. This profile is the one to select from the list, it's what the system and software use for displaying things. In general, with a monitor like this I calibrate one of the named 'calibration' settings to native gamut [as big as possible] and never change to the A98 or sRGB ones With this monitor I have two custom calibrations - one at 4000K for use in these videos, and one at 6500K. This is an aspect of the monitor I need to check out when I set up the Studio for 'real work' as opposed to a prop in these videos ;-)

[@russelljacobsen7659]

I was told that the calibration device ( X-Rite etc ) should be connected directly to one of the screen USB slots - so as to allow profiling within the display ( this was explained bt dealer while troubleshooting due to non compatible calibrator ( i1Studio) which obviously was not recognized by PMU software on my SW272U ) any thoughts here ? Sincerely, Russell J - Norway

[@KeithCooper]

The screen USB slots are just a USB hub, so I would not have thought this makes any difference whatsoever. The measurement data still has to get back to the computer where the profiling software is running. I'd like to ask that dealer as to what 'profiling within the display' means? It almost sounds as if they thing the software is running inside the monitor?

[@rodredhead2405]

Hi Keith could you tell me please how often i have to calibrated my Bq monitor. Thanks Rodders.

[@KeithCooper]

It depends - I do my main ones every couple of months If I worked in pre-press and commercial print, I might do them weekly - but that will be specified in the QC standards for the work/business

[@rodredhead2405]

Thanks Keith keep up the amazing work. Rodders 👍

[@budsurtees4224]

For editing and processing images for ultimate commercial printing (CMYK) or fine art printing (at home or at a commercial printer), where colour accuracy is paramount, what monitor would you recommend?

[@KeithCooper]

I'm not allowed to live in a monitor and printer warehouse, so there is a limited range I get to truly test ;-) My feeling would be that I want hardware calibration and a wide gamut. The BenQ ones are certainly good enough for my 'real work'... More importantly : a sound understanding of colour management, hence my reference to the 'Real World Color Management' book - that is the secret to great and consistent print work ;-)

[@keithmagee4450]

@@KeithCooperI have started working my way through this book and am finding it very interesting and useful

[@3polygons]

@budsurtees4224 I am an illustrator and graphic designer (with a past as a 3D modeler/game artist). With CMYK (although these days I work on everything in Adobe RGB, only converting at the very end, final step, to the CMYK profile that the POD company requires. In raster based projects. But when it is a vectors work, graphic design, with flat inks, I tend to work all the time in CMYK), it is like with everything. I don't know... the monitor, once well calibrated, you can configure whatever the color profile in the editing software that you use, and/or work with a proof preview mode, depending on the app. I purchased an Eizo CS 2420. It works great and I saw a world of difference with my previous NEC Spectraview 231 (which indeed in its day was supposed to be a "semi professional" monitor, with a few color related certificates and stuff). One caveat about EIzo, - if like me, you prefer to work with _very_ low brightness, to keep one's eyesight relaxed- is that it does not want me to work in very low back light/brightness levels, probably to ensure the color accuracy with the calibration, I think not fully possible with very low levels, but is a trade off I am fine with. But I found my way to "force it" (hard to find the trick in ColorNavigator calibration software), and I don't see serious color aberrations. And no wonder about why I notice the differences... beyond other matters, my old NEC only covers sRGB (quite narrower than Adobe RGB). There are colors that I had never seen - neither been able to work with, not visually- on screen till I got the Eizo! :D. I am tempted to get an Eizo ColorEdge but CG (instead of CS) version, as it calibrates itself, internal automatic calibration (I'm a bit lazy to be manually calibrating every week...), of the cheapest 24 inches ones (around 1250 euros, first hand). But I don't know how good they are doing that versus my manual calibration with the colorimeter, or if losing that fine tuning is something that I'd like. Outside of what I need for my work, I know very little about the matter, but from all what I have been checking, Benq is really stepping up versus how it was many years ago, when it was mostly mainstream. I would be confident in having a benq SW240 (MUCH cheaper than the cheapest Eizo Coloredge *CG* , but the Eizo CS2420 is at a nice price, on Amazon) for my work, but it is that I seem to be fine with just 24 inches screens and 1920x1080p (like the NEC, and a Huion pen-display tablet that I rarely use, preferring a classic Wacom L and a XL tablet, and my Eizo) or 1920x1200 like the Eizo has. People say the Benq 27 versions are much more recommended for video, but the little video work I make, until now, has not made me yet need it. I imagine that editing a 4k video with a 1920x1200 screen, while possible, is not the best idea... I am using the NEC as a side by side second monitor, for putting there the references for illustration projects, using PureRef (free software), and the old NEC often falls short being the color quite poorer and restricted compared to the Eizo (but maybe also because that NEC is arcane). Leading to problems of accuracy in the work (fine, as I am aware of them). I'm considering the Benq SW240 for that function (accurate secondary monitor), but I feel like it could also be used as the main one. Or one of its 27 inches' brothers. For graphic design and illustration, for me the keys are that the screen must have good uniformity (similar intensity through all the screen, no big variations of the same color in different areas), no strong back light leaking, good black levels (not too washed out), good contrast ratio (so that subtle dark and light tones are seen, and no banding on gradients, for this also helps working in 16bit per channel, with static images), wide gamut (at least supporting well Adobe RGB), and having the possibility to be well calibrated by a colorimeter. As, CMYK based projects, or whatever the color space, will display fine in those conditions, in my opinion. The Eizo model seems to provide me with all this. And I am suspecting that the Benq SW series would, too. Eizo has the most solid prestige among several professional fields, if you need the very top, but as mentioned in the video, the major factor is our own knowledge of color management (not too good, in my case). I'm tempted to buy that book (and also something more recent, as complementary info, to read it after that one).

[@budsurtees4224]

@@3polygons A zillion thank yous for your detailed response! You're very kind. I'm saving your response for further investigations :-)

[@3polygons]

@@budsurtees4224 You are welcome! And very glad to help, but best advice I can give: Double check everything I said with much better info in the @KeithCooper 's videos, in this channel, and with good books about color management (the one that he recommends, and others) and color calibration. In video format, Keith's videos are among the best resources you can get in KZbin about this whole matter. He has videos about this and everything related (you might need to scroll quite a bit in his videos section), and Keith is much more of a professional on the matter (I am just a painter, an illustrator). What I described seems to work for me, though (so, yep, save it, just in case ;) ). :). Best luck!

[@midasvancerer]

Hi Keith , have you noticed a high pitched humming sound on this new monitor anything under 100 brightness? 😢 mine came today and does it

[@KeithCooper]

Nope - my hearing is aged 63 though...

[@midasvancerer]

@@KeithCooper haha thanks, it’s quite the buzzing sound guess I’ll have to get it swapped out :( thanks for all your videos I’ve found them really informative and fun

[@Tubeytime]

I've bought lights on Amazon that say 5000K is daylight which I assume means "white", is neutral closer to 5k or 6.5k? Thanks!

[@KeithCooper]

The quality of such lighting varies a lot - I find 5000K too cool for indoor use. The key is getting the relative brightnesses right. I used to have ordinary tungsten lighting in my office, I just couldn't be bothered with expensive lighting ;-) Having lighting for print [a viewing stand] and at a level, so when looking at the monitor, it was the brightest thing I could see. I've covered lighting in a ew videos IIRC

[@Tubeytime]

@@KeithCooper It must be the best feeling in the world to say "I covered that in a video"

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - but indexing them all is tricky ;-) I'm finishing off a master 'index page' on the Northlight site - I'd forgotten just how many I've done since starting them in 2020

[@3polygons]

@@KeithCooper Apologies for commenting in a 6 months old video (understandable if I don't get an answer), but I always had doubts about the light color temperature matters. I only use 6500k bulbs in my room (I am just an illustrator), and I was in the (wrong?) idea that then calibrating with the colorimeter (a very old i1 Display Pro) setting it for D65 in the software (ColorNavigator) was right for illustrations that are for screen output (my monitor is an Eizo CS2420), but also end up printed by print on demand companies. The clients never complain about the prints neither the digital output, but I wonder if they just don't notice mismatches or other errors. I have seen some of my stuff in prints, and with my favorite POD companies I am not unsatisfied with the results (but maybe I neither notice the differences! ). The mention of 4000k color temperature has left me a bit in shock, as in, I might have some concept very wrong (I had heard of 5.200K for printing directly at home, though, but I always felt the colors to look very warm on screen with these bulbs when calibrating towards 5200k in the calibration software). Before, I was using regular bulbs (2700K or so) but I ended up crazy when working with logo design or things of that kind, as nothing looked as it should : everything warmer than what the RGB or CMYK numbers on screen would suggest, and no good match with my book of CMYK mixes samples. With 6500k bulbs and calibrating to D65 these things seem to be working in way that I am unable to detect errors, but I might just be fooling myself.

[@KeithCooper]

Nope - if it works for you, it's fine. I only use 4000K for videos, so the screen looks OK in my office and prints in the videos seem to match the screen 4000K would be dreadful to work with My main work screens are set at ~6000K slightly warmer than D65 and feeling OK to work with for me - room lighting is what it is, but dimmer than the screen in general. @@3polygons

[@fangzhou3235]

how does it compare to Ezio CS2740？

[@KeithCooper]

Difficult to say - I've not had any Eizo kit to test for a few years - this is why I don't do comparisons in the videos.

[@3polygons]

At least the Eizo CS2420 that I use is very good, very satisfied with it. But I have never had a Benq, so I can't either compare. :D

[@Treeburnify]

I suspect that 4K resolution is overkill for a 27” screen - it really needs a larger panel for 4K to make any real world difference, for the increased detail to be visible, and hence also why at 27” it shrinks icons and text too much for average or older eyesight. You can change resolution on the Mac to address icon/text size, but that somewhat then defeats the 4K resolution - but as you have suggested - at 27” or thereabouts 1080p is probably sufficient.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - the SW2700 next to it [SW272Q now] is 2560x1440 and a nice size for the display of icons etc