[cpk]

Does anyone have experience with the BenQ SW240 monitor? I know from other threads that the BenQ SW270C monitor is considered a good one, but I am after the smaller version. For the past 10+ years I have been using a LaCie 724 monitor which has served me very well, but its brightness is gracefully degrading with age (maximum brightness is now 94 cd/m2 when I require 120). Any monitor I might consider must cover the Adobe RGB colour space. An Eizo or a NEC would probably be my first choice, but cost is a factor.

[Medex]

Does anyone have experience with the BenQ SW240 monitor? I know from other threads that the BenQ SW270C monitor is considered a good one, but I am after the smaller version. For the past 10+ years I have been using a LaCie 724 monitor which has served me very well, but its brightness is gracefully degrading with age (maximum brightness is now 94 cd/m2 when I require 120). Any monitor I might consider must cover the Adobe RGB color space. An Eizo or a NEC would probably be my first choice, but cost is a factor.

I use sw270c - good monitor (no doubt). It uses IPS panel compared to AHVA-IPS in 24'' sw240. Both are made by AU Optronics. According to specs both monitors cover 99 percent AdobeRGB and 100 percent sRGB, but in reality - sw270c covers 98 percent of AdobeRGB and 98.5 percent of sRGB color space. Red, blue and magenta regions are covered not entirely (but very very close to the limits of AdobeRGB color space, magenta and deep blue - for sRGB).
The best contrast I achieved after calibration for 120 cmd/m2 is about 840:1. Seems that sw270c uses brightness uniformity compensation (UC) by default, so 840:1 is very good result. in comparison Dell UP2716D has contrast 1150:1 without UC and just 725 - with UC enabled. Anyway, 300:1 is already enough to work with monitor.
If you have enough space on the table and money, take sw270c, otherwise sw240 will be good choice too.
And... Calibration is a must even it was made in factory.

[cpk]

Thanks, Medex, for your comments, very useful. I will get the SW240 for two reasons. First is the cost. The SW270C is over twice the cost of the SW240 here in Canada, 1100CAD against 500CAD. Second is the fact that I've added a second sRGB monitor to sit beside my LaCie and found that this second monitor is very handy for other nonphotographic work. Of course, if I had the free money I could get two SW240s to sit side by side for less than the SW270C; that might be a really good solution but not practical at the moment.

Added: An additional cost I might have is a new calibration device. Right now I am using a Spyder3 to calibrate the LaCie and my second sRGB monitor. The Spyder3, because it is older technology, may not work with the BenQs.

[BarryE]

Does anyone have experience with the BenQ SW240 monitor? I know from other threads that the BenQ SW270C monitor is considered a good one, but I am after the smaller version. For the past 10+ years I have been using a LaCie 724 monitor which has served me very well, but its brightness is gracefully degrading with age (maximum brightness is now 94 cd/m2 when I require 120). Any monitor I might consider must cover the Adobe RGB colour space. An Eizo or a NEC would probably be my first choice, but cost is a factor.

I was in a similar position with my LaCie having had excellent usage for around 10 years too. Eizo was too pricey, for me, but I stretched to the NEC PA243W which I've been very happy with. Hardware calibration gives impressive results.

Probably not what you want the hear as it costs more than the BenQ, but for me I did not want to go backwards from the LaCie, which I believe was actually a re-badged NEC anyway. Sticking to 24" seemed a good balance, with a cheap, old monitor to work as a second screen.

[Paul the Sunman]

I have the SW270C, which is excellent. I calibrated with the SpyderX Pro using BenQ's software Pallete Master Element V1.3.14, which can accommodate Spyder 4, Spyder 5 and SpyderX, as well as other models from other brands. I do not believe this software supports Spyder 3. Even the version from mid-2017 did not.

This YouTube video by BenQ ambassador Art Suwansang gives a good rundown of the SW240.

You Tube

You Tube

[cpk]

I was in a similar position with my LaCie having had excellent usage for around 10 years too. Eizo was too pricey, for me, but I stretched to the NEC PA243W which I've been very happy with. Hardware calibration gives impressive results.

Probably not what you want the hear as it costs more than the BenQ, but for me I did not want to go backwards from the LaCie, which I believe was actually a re-badged NEC anyway. Sticking to 24" seemed a good balance, with a cheap, old monitor to work as a second screen.

A man after my own heart. This is the path I would like to take. My LaCie cost 1750CAD in 2010; allowing for inflation according to the Bank of Canada inflation calculator, this would now be 2100CAD. Your NEC PA243W is 2000CAD on amazon.ca. You basically replaced your LaCie with the equivalent NEC (with some technical improvements). And I heard the same thing about a LaCie being a rebadged NEC. Cost is the factor here for me. But thank you for your comments.

---------- Post added 2021-04-10 at 06:47 PM ----------

I have the SW270C, which is excellent. I calibrated with the SpyderX Pro using BenQ's software Pallete Master Element V1.3.14, which can accommodate Spyder 4, Spyder 5 and SpyderX, as well as other models from other brands. I do not believe this software supports Spyder 3. Even the version from mid-2017 did not.

You are confirming my fears about the Spyder 3. Unfortunately back in October Datacolor offered a half-price deal for the SpyderX to celebrate their 50th anniversary; but I didn't take it because I didn't realize at that time that my current LaCie was slowly dying and would have to be soon replaced.

Thanks for the video. Very informative.

[BarryE]

A man after my own heart. This is the path I would like to take. My LaCie cost 1750CAD in 2010; allowing for inflation according to the Bank of Canada inflation calculator, this would now be 2100CAD. Your NEC PA243W is 2000CAD on amazon.ca. You basically replaced your LaCie with the equivalent NEC (with some technical improvements). And I heard the same thing about a LaCie being a rebadged NEC. Cost is the factor here for me. But thank you for your comments.

---------- Post added 2021-04-10 at 06:47 PM ----------



You are confirming my fears about the Spyder 3. Unfortunately back in October Datacolor offered a half-price deal for the SpyderX to celebrate their 50th anniversary; but I didn't take it because I didn't realize at that time that my current LaCie was slowly dying and would have to be soon replaced.

Thanks for the video. Very informative.

I had to look up the Canadian exchange rate as your figures threw me a little. It's available in the UK for around £850 and in the US at $800 (at B&H), which is nearer $1000 Canadian dollars. I guess this is why I mentioned it as, yes it was more than the BenQ, I hadn't appreciated it was so much more in Canada.

You'll probably know this, but it seems many don't appreciate it: most 3rd party calibration software eg Spyder etc., is only a software emulation, it doesn't actually change the hardware. The NEC (LaCie) software and calibrators actually change the monitor's hardware. NEC's calibration software supports 3rd party colorimeters, not just their own. I ended up getting their software for free as there were problems with my delivery and I negotiated with them.

Hope you get what you need ...

[Paul the Sunman]

You'll probably know this, but it seems many don't appreciate it: most 3rd party calibration software eg Spyder etc., is only a software emulation, it doesn't actually change the hardware. The NEC (LaCie) software and calibrators actually change the monitor's hardware. NEC's calibration software supports 3rd party colorimeters, not just their own.

For the BenQ SW monitors, the calibration software you use is their own Palette Master Elements, NOT the Spyder (or other) software. It DOES install the calibration in both the monitor and the computer.

[BarryE]

For the BenQ SW monitors, the calibration software you use is their own Palette Master Elements, NOT the Spyder (or other) software. It DOES install the calibration in both the monitor and the computer.

So just be careful, then, that users use the manufacturers software, be it NEC, BenQ et al. I've seen many comments that don't appear to appreciate this.

[cpk]

I had to look up the Canadian exchange rate as your figures threw me a little. It's available in the UK for around £850 and in the US at $800 (at B&H), which is nearer $1000 Canadian dollars. I guess this is why I mentioned it as, yes it was more than the BenQ, I hadn't appreciated it was so much more in Canada.

I goofed here. Vistek, the only bricks and mortar store in Canada which I know carries wide-gamut monitors, doesn't list the NEC PA243W on their website (all their NECs are special order); therefore I went with the Amazon.ca listing. The figures made sense so I didn't look any further. After reading your post, I checked further; the Amazon listing ships from Italy ()! I found two online Canadian sites which listed this monitor (one had stock and the other didn't). The one with stock listed it at 1119CAD and the the other at 1306CAD. These figures are more in line with yours, but still a big jump over the BenQ.

---------- Post added 2021-04-11 at 10:01 AM ----------

You'll probably know this, but it seems many don't appreciate it: most 3rd party calibration software eg Spyder etc., is only a software emulation, it doesn't actually change the hardware. The NEC (LaCie) software and calibrators actually change the monitor's hardware. NEC's calibration software supports 3rd party colorimeters, not just their own. I ended up getting their software for free as there were problems with my delivery and I negotiated with them.

I had my Spyder 3 before I got my LaCie; I was using it to calibrate a CRT monitor. I ordered the LaCie without their colourimeter and then had second thoughts. My supplier, who carried a lot of LaCie stock and was only down the street and around the corner from LaCie's Canadian headquarters, got me their colourimeter at the price I would have paid if I had ordered it with the monitor. In the long run my second thoughts were a mistake. The LaCie colourimeter never consistently did a proper job of calibration; there were software problems which at one point required support from the French head office. In the end I threw it out and stuck with the Spyder 3 which never let me down.

---------- Post added 2021-04-11 at 10:10 AM ----------

For the BenQ SW monitors, the calibration software you use is their own Palette Master Elements, NOT the Spyder (or other) software. It DOES install the calibration in both the monitor and the computer.

A good point, but from my comment above about the LaCie colourimeter, my experience was that it was best to stick with the Datacolor software. Overall I found the LaCie software problematic both for their colourimeter and the Spyder 3. But I will follow through on your advice if I get the BEnQ monitor.

---------- Post added 2021-04-11 at 10:12 AM ----------

So just be careful, then, that users use the manufacturers software, be it NEC, BenQ et al. I've seen many comments that don't appear to appreciate this.

Please see my preceding comment.

[cpk]

Thank you all for your comments. They have been very helpful. My final decision: an Eizo CS2420. The BenQ SW240 was well reviewed and much less expensive than the Eizo; but reviews kept muttering about getting a good copy over a poor one (shades of discussions about Pentax lenses). I never got to check the availability of the NEC PA243W as the store I ended up dealing with, Vistek in Toronto, had only one Eizo CS2420 in stock and NECs were by special order only. I purchased the Eizo the moment I was told there was only one available. I received it yesterday and calibrated it today. Easy-peasy with their ColorNavigator 7. I did have to add a Datacolor SpyderX to the order as well.

I am trying to sell my prints so I had to be sure of the quality of any calibration. I could not be sure with the BenQ from the reviews I read. My cat will be eating better than I for the next few months.

[BarryE]

Wise choice, Charles. The reliability and confidence in your colour management will be/is key when selling prints. I gave up the selling/retail work just prior to Covid. I was selling prints for a few years before that. Returning customers are important and often questions on colour were voiced, as many wanted to match their decor arriving with colour swatches. Having that extra confidence of the colour aspect was important.

Hope you do well and don't end up sharing the cat's food ...