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Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level
The S2722DGM claims a peak brightness of 350 nits, and that’s exactly what I measured. The top two monitors include HDR so seeing more light output from them is not a surprise. The Dell has more than enough brightness for any environment including a sunlit office.
The black level is nice and low, as a VA panel should be. That puts the S2722DGM’s contrast ratio in the middle of the three VA monitors here. 2,536.1:1 is about average among all the VA monitors I’ve tested. It’s more than enough to visually distinguish itself superior to the best IPS screens.
After Calibration to 200 nits
Calibration required balancing the contrast slider between color accuracy and maintaining the contrast ratio. I got the white point error under 3dE and only cost the S2722DGM a tiny bit of dynamic range. It’s still good enough to keep it in second place here, which is excellent performance.
ANSI contrast is a little lower than static, but the difference is about the same as the other screens when expressed as a percentage. In actual content, the S2722DGM looks better than an IPS panel with more vibrant color, deeper blacks and a more dimensional picture.
