Photography News Issue 47

Photography News | Issue 47 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Accessories First tests We get our hands on the latest kit and share our first impressions – so you know whether or not to add it to your wish list

Reviews by Will Cheung, Kingsley Singleton and Roger Payne

Specs

Price

£618

Type VA LCD Size 31.5in, effective viewing area 69.8x39.2cm Native resolution 3840x2160pixels @60Hz, 16:9 aspect ratio In the box Screen, stand, mains lead, HDMI cable, D-sub cable, DP cable, audio cable Pixel pitch 0.181x0.181 mm Viewing angles (typical) 178° (H), 178° (V) Brightness (max) 300cd/m2 Contrast ratio (typical) 3000:1, smart contrast 50,000,000:1 Display colours 10-bit colour support 1.07 billion colours, SmartImage picture enhancement, SmartContrast Input terminals HDMI 2.0, DVI. DisplayPort, VGA, 4x USB 3.0 upstream (1x fast charging), 1x USB 3.0 (downstream) PC audio in, headphone out Typical power consumption 42.4W, ECO mode 28W Standby mode Less than 0.5W Dimensions (Wx H x D) 742x657x270mm (with stand at max height) Weight 9.23kg (with stand) Height adjustment range 180mm Contact philips.co.uk

Philips328P6VJEB4K £618

For those who like to dabble, there are plenty of fine- tuning options

More and more still photographers are shooting video and with 4K so popular, it’s inevitable that there’s going to be an increase in the number of 4k-compatible monitors like the Philips 328P6VJEB. It has a 32-inch screen and at just over £600 is a competitively priced unit. My current screen set-up is a 23- inch main monitor, supplemented by a second 17-inch unit, and I was hoping that the Philips unit would negate the need for the second monitor. In reality, I didn’t find this to be the case; I wanted to enjoy the extra size the 328P6VJEB offered, rather than trying to fit the information from my two-screen set up into one larger monitor. That means I’d need to buy a bigger desk if I wanted to fit both 32-inch and 17-inch monitors into my set-up. Setting the monitor up proved to be very simple. The supplied quick start guide takes you through the steps of attaching the monitor to the stand using the four screw VESA-compatible mount and then details the multitude of connectivity options. Once

set about configuring the screen to my needs. This is done by a series of touch-sensitive buttons on the bottom right of the screen and, for me, these are the only real frustration of the 328P6VJEB. I would have preferred a physical button as opposed to the capacitive versions on offer, which I found a little fiddly to use. This isn’t a huge issue, of course, as once the screen is set up once, you probably won’t use them again. The SmartImage presets for Office, Photo, Gaming etc are all perfectly usable and although I did calibrate the monitor, I found my calibrated version to be pretty close to the original Photo preset. The 10-bit display gives 1.07 billion colours and there is 12-bit processing for smooth, lifelike colours with no banding or obvious gradations. For those who do like to dabble, there are plenty of fine-tuning options to access via the OSD and you can also input two computers and view them both side by side using the MultiView option. RP

connected to the stand, there are plenty of movements on offer from the SmartErgoBase to manoeuvre the screen into the desired position. It can tilt forward five degrees, back 20 degrees and turn a total of 340 degrees from side to side. There’s also 180mm of height adjustment on offer, plus the screen can be turned 90 degrees from horizontal to vertical orientation. Safe to say you’ll easily get it into the right position for you. Whatever connection you have, the Philips unit will hook you up. On the back of the monitor, there are HDMI, DVI, VGA and Display Port connections, plus four USB upstream ports and one USB downstream port. One of the four USB ports also has a fast charging capability, which is useful if you want to power up a smartphone or tablet. There are also audio in and out ports, in fact the only real absence from my perspective is a card reader. I connected the screen up to my iMac Mini using the HDMI port and, once it sprang into life,

Verdict

As you’d expect from a 4Kmonitor, image quality from the 328P6VJEB is impressive. At 4K resolution, you see all your images in impressive detail, which should help to avoid over-sharpening when it comes to still shots. Colours are accurate and the sound from the two integral 3W speakers is – I’d suggest – ample for video editing. The button layout could be improved and the addition of a card reader would be handy, but these are by nomeans deal breakers. What you have here is a very capable 4K screen at a price that’s sure to please. Recommended.

Images To enjoy your pictures at their best you need a first- class monitor, and this Philips 328P6VJEB is versatile and delivers a quality image – and it’s attractively priced too.

Pros Price, 4k, easy set-up, integral speakers Cons No card reader