We took our baseline measurements in the XG279Q’s Racing mode. It allows calibration but we went to the user preset to have access to all controls. For sRGB purists, there is a dedicated mode, but it comes with limitations, as stated earlier.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
Our grayscale and gamma tests are described in detail here.
The XG279Q runs cool out of the box, showing errors from 40% brightness and higher. The dE values indicate the blue tint is visible to the naked eye. It makes the image a bit flat. Gamma is also too light, creating a washed-out appearance that also de-saturates color. There is room for improvement here.
Calibration fixes the grayscale issue nicely with a pro-level score of 0.539dE. It doesn’t get much better than that. By changing the gamma preset to 2.5 we’ve improved image depth considerably though shadow areas look a little undefined. Overall though, the picture looks much better with higher perceived contrast and greater color saturation.
The sRGB picture mode also runs cool and there is no access to the color temp or gamma controls. You have to accept the blue errors and light gamma. Brightness is also locked at over 300 nits which is fatiguing after a few hours of use. The best choice is to stick with Racing or User and enjoy the extra color for both SDR and HDR content.
The XG279Q takes the last two places in our out-of-box grayscale test. Both Racing and sRGB show a cool tint that measures 4.41dE and 4.57dE respectively. While these aren’t huge errors, other monitors can do better. With calibration, the User mode posts a superb 0.54dE score; pro-level performance. sRGB mode cannot be adjusted and is therefore unchanged.
Gamma doesn’t track in a straight line, so its value range is greater than the other screens. At the 2.2 setting, it’s too light, resulting in a flat image that lacks vibrance. At the 2.5 setting, it looks much better with a measured average of 2.33. If you do nothing else, we recommend changing the gamma for its impact on image depth.
Color Gamut Accuracy
For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, please click here.
You can see that the XG279Q covers nearly all the DCI-P3 gamut. It comes up only a hair short in the green primary and actually extends beyond the perimeter for blue, magenta and red. Red is slightly undersaturated in the inner targets due to the light gamma. And the white point is a bit blue.
Our RGB and gamma adjustments have reduced visible errors significantly. Now red is a tad oversaturated, balancing nicely with magenta and blue. Yellow is right on target while green and cyan remain slightly under-saturated. Overall performance is excellent with good coverage and a vibrant color palette that works well for all content.
The sRGB mode is reasonably accurate. with slight under-saturation in red and small hue errors for cyan and magenta. Our main complaint about this mode is its light gamma and bright peak of over 300 nits. It’s only useful in very bright rooms at that level. We stuck with User and Racing for our hands-on tests.
Comparisons
Though the XG279Q is behind the other monitors in our gamut accuracy test, it still measures below the threshold of visibility for DCI-P3. sRGB is a little over the 3dE line due to its secondary color hue errors. But 2.60dE is an excellent score for any monitor. Again, we recommend using our settings or performing your own calibration to get the most out of your XG279Q.
DCI-P3 gamut volume is among the highest we’ve measured. Only a few monitors can deliver over 90% and the XG279Q manages 92.33% for both that and sRGB. Red, magenta and blue are especially well-saturated, which makes those colors stand out in real-world content.
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