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The Odyssey G7 comes out of the box set to Eco mode, which, despite the name, does not limit brightness or adjustability. In fact, it’s spot-on for color and gamma and doesn’t need calibrating. Samsung includes a factory calibration report in the monitor’s firmware, which you can view from the OSD.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
The default grayscale chart is about as good as it gets. Grayscale errors are all well below 2dE, with the bottom end under 1dE. That’s pro-level performance. Gamma runs a tad light, but tracks straight, which means there is no clipping of detail anywhere in the brightness range.
I tweaked the RGB sliders to see if I could make any impact and saw a tiny gain in grayscale accuracy. Going for one click darker gamma brings all but the 90% step up to the 2.2 reference. That point is still too light, though the error will be hard to spot in content.
The sRGB test is similar to the out-of-box result with no visible grayscale errors and slightly light gamma. You can access that gamut using the Color Space option in the Picture menu while remaining in the Eco picture mode.
Comparisons
The Odyssey G7 wins the out-of-box contest with a 1.06dE average grayscale error. That’s better than some monitors can boast after calibration. I have no complaint there. When all the screens are adjusted, the Odyssey G7 hangs onto third place in a group of monitors with no visible grayscale errors. That puts them on equal footing.
The gamma results are also very close between the six displays. The Odyssey G7 has a small 0.15 range of values and an even lower 0.91% deviation from the 2.2 reference. The actual value is 2.18, and all but the 90% step is right on 2.2. This is excellent performance.
Color Gamut Accuracy
Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
The first two gamut charts above are nearly identical. Though I adjusted the Odyssey G7’s grayscale tracking, it made almost no difference to color accuracy. In fact, the post-calibration result has a slightly higher DeltaE. But if you look closely, you can see that with adjustment, color is a tad more saturated. It’s a subtly visible difference that is worthy of your time. The sRGB gamut is even closer to the mark with all points on or near their targets. The Odyssey G7 is suitable for color-critical applications.
Comparisons
Though the Odyssey G7 comes last in this group, a 2.23dE color error is nothing to complain about. This is solid performance among an excellent group of monitors. In the volume test, the Odyssey G7 is also right in the thick of it with 88.41% coverage of DCI-P3 and a near-ideal 97.02% value for sRGB. None of these screens has Quantum Dot layers, and visually, the differences are slight. They are very colorfu,l but if you want the ultimate in saturation, a QD-OLED is the way to go.
Test Takeaway: The Odyssey G7 delivers pro-level accuracy right out of the box. That puts it near the top of its class. Remember that I’m comparing 32-inch screens here because the 40-inch Samsung is pretty much in a class by itself. It delivers a lot for the money in the color accuracy department.
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