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Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.
The Canvas 27F supports HDR10 signals seamlessly by switching modes automatically. All image modes and controls are still available, so it’s possible to calibrate HDR independently. That’s something very few monitors can do. Luckily, no fiddling is needed because it delivers great performance right out of the box.
HDR Brightness and Contrast
The Canvas 27F is a DisplayHDR 400 certified monitor, and it has no trouble exceeding that figure with over 478 nits peak brightness. Unfortunately, there is no zone or field dimming, so actual contrast is the same as SDR, 1,120.4:1. ViewSonic is the only one to offer a dynamic option and you can see that it bumps contrast to over 5,000:1. The end result is that the Canvas 27F’s HDR doesn’t look significantly different than its SDR presentation.
Grayscale, EOTF and Color
The Canvas doesn’t have extra HDR contrast, but it does have the same high degree of accuracy as its SDR results. Grayscale tracking is visually flawless, with all errors under 3dE. The EOTF tracks close to the reference line with a rise at zero percent (too light) and an early arrival at the tone-map transition point. In practice, this means blacks that are more gray and occasionally muted mid-tones. It is possible to mask these issues by adjusting the contrast slider upwards. That will offer a little more depth, but some highlight detail will be harder to see.
Even though the Canvas 27F is an sRGB monitor, it tracks the larger color gamut in HDR mode up to around 80%. It also makes a good run at Rec.2020 by hitting the targets up to almost 70% saturation. This is good engineering on NZXT’s part that maximizes the display's capabilities. Aside from a slight hue error in magenta, this is a superb chart for a monitor that costs less than $300.
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