Photography News Issue 28 absolutephoto.com
Monitor test 57
EIZOColorEdgeCG277 £1428
From a leading name in monitors comes the ColorEdge CG277, aimed at imaging pros. It’s the most expensive in our test, but it’s also the most substantial and offers the best control. A hood and ColorNavigator software are included. The monitor comes set up and ready to go, and you can’t help but be impressed with its build quality. Screen height adjustment is impressively smooth and without creep, ranging over 150mm, from 20mm to 170mm above the desk. Adjusting the Eizo’s screen is done with the front-facing buttons along its bottom edge. Push Enter to show a six-item menu that includes colour, gamut and self-calibration. One of CG277’s key features is its internal colour sensor that swings up onto the screen to self-calibrate. This process takes 25 minutes, and
the armreturns to its resting position when complete. Self-calibration can also be scheduled, if preferred. If you use an external calibration device, the screen’s sensor will recalibrate according to those settings. The screen is an IPS panel that reproduces 99% of the Adobe RGB colour space and features EIZO’s own Digital Uniformity Equalizer (DUE) technology that keeps colour and brightness consistent across the screen. Certainly, illumination across the screenwas very, very even with our lightmeter reading showing a difference between the centre and the edges of 0.1EV – barely perceptible to the naked eye. Overall, image reproduction is verygood, withno glare. Images have excellent depth, even if you are not viewing face-on. A very impressive performance indeed.
Specs
Type IPS, backlight wide-gamut LED Aspect ratio 16:9 Native resolution 2560x1440 Viewable image size 596.7x335.6mm Pixel pitch 0.2331mm Pixel density 109ppi Display colours 1.07billion (HDMI, DP), 16.7million (DVI)
Viewing angle 178° vertical/178° horizontal Height adjustable 150mm Brightness 340cd/m2 Contrast ratio (typical) 1000:1 Wide gamut coverage (typical) 99% Adobe RGB Typical power consumption 43W Power savingmode 0.5W
Inputs DVI-D 24pin, DP, HDMI, USB2.0 (2 upstream, 2 downstream) In the box DVI cable, miniDP to DPI, USB 3.0, hood, utility software CD Dimensions (wxhxd) 646x576x281.5mm (landscape) Weight 14.7kg Contact eizo.co.uk
Verdict
Without doubt this is a very fine, highly specified screen – but at a price. If accurate colour is your business then this is definitely a monitor for your shortlist, but it’s perhaps too pricey for many enthusiast photographers.
Pros Build quality, height adjustment range, built-in calibration, good on-screen display Cons Price
NECMultiSync PA272W-BK £950
NEC markets this screen, with its AH-IPS LCD panel, for colour accurate use and claims that it reproduces 99.3% of the AdobeRGB colour space. The unit comes assembled ready to go and the box includes a copy of MultiProfiler software. Of the three screens on test, this unit is the only one that doesn’t come with a shade as standard. No complaints about the NEC’s solid quality build. It’s easy to adjust too, gliding up and down the upright support without any slippage. There’s plenty of height adjustment available, down to 17mm at the bottom and 166mm at full extension – enough for tailoring to anyone’s individual requirements. Navigating the menu is very easy, thanks to separate up/down and left/right rocker controls,
together with on-screen prompts. There are many features to explore, including some unusual items like Picture-in-Picture and Picture- by-Picture (available when using two inputs) as well as the usual image adjustment features. In the Advanced section, you’ll find items like Auto Brightness, where the screen dims or brightens according to ambient light levels, and plenty of other options that you will probably never use. Image quality is very good indeed, and illumination is even from one corner of the screen to the other – within 0.1EV. Sharpness is also good, in fact it’s just about the best of the three screens when used at the default settings. I found no issues with colour variation either: everything looked faithful and nicely saturated from a variety of viewing angles.
Specs
Type AH-IPS, backlight GB-R LED Aspect ratio 16x9 Native resolution 2560x1440 Viewable image size 596x336mm Pixel pitch 0.23mm Pixel density 109ppi Display colours 1.07 billion
Viewing angle 178° vertical/178° horizontal Height adjustable 149mm Brightness 340cd/m2 Contrast ratio (typical) 1000:1 Wide gamut coverage (typical) 99.3% Adobe RGB Typical power consumption 73W Power savingmode 1W
Inputs DP, miniDP, HDMI, DVI-D Dual Link, USB hub (2 upstream/3 downstream) In the box DVI cable, miniDP to DPI, USB 3.0 Dimensions (wxhxd) 640x396x235mm (landscape) Weight 12.9kg Contact nec-display-solutions.com
Verdict
There is no doubting the quality of performance available from the PA272W- BK, particularly its sharpness. And at £950 it’s decent value for money too. This is a monitor with lots of features and it’s solidly made, so should withstand constant use for a number of years to come.
Pros Controls, features Cons Not much
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