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Grayscale, Gamma & Color
Grayscale Tracking
As noted up top, the BenQ EW3270U is a two-gamut monitor, covering both sRGB and DCI-P3 with equal precision. Both modes include the correct 6500K color temp, which can be calibrated in the User picture preset. Unfortunately, doing that commits you to the larger DCI gamut. If you want sRGB, you must accept a slightly warm white point.
Our grayscale and gamma tests are described in detail here.
When left unadjusted, the EW3270 exhibits a barely-visible red tint, regardless of picture mode. Most of the brightness range posts numbers under 3dE, the point where errors can be seen. At 100% though, it’s a little more obvious. Perfection is within reach in the User mode, which offers pro-level accuracy with DCI-P3 color. It would be nice to have RGB sliders available in the sRGB and Rec.709 modes.
Comparisons
2.63dE is a very respectable average grayscale error for any monitor in the enthusiast category. The BenQ EW3270U doesn’t come with a factory calibration, so its default performance is in line with many of the gaming and business display we’ve reviewed. A couple of tweaks to the User mode turns it into a usable mastering screen if DCI is the intended color gamut. While this is by no means an inexpensive product, it’s priced well below comparable professional screens of the same size and capability.
Gamma Response
BenQ nails its gamma tracking in all the EW3270U’s modes. The other presets offer the same linearity at levels above and below 2.2. The default sRGB trace shows a slight dip at 10%, but that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Our adjustments have a small impact from 70-90%, but again this is not an issue of consequence. You’ll see the positive effects of this in our color saturation tests below.
Comparisons
The BenQ EW3270U has a very small range of gamma values across its luminance range. And it sticks closely to the 2.2 standard both before and after calibration, with an average of 2.15. One can expect the same performance in all picture modes, given the results we measured. This is critical to proper color saturation tracking, which we’ll show you now.
Color Gamut & Luminance
For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, please click here.
As we said earlier, the EW3270U is a two-gamut monitor. It hits the targets for both DCI-P3 and sRGB through the full range of color saturation. Aside from a slightly-red white point, there is no need to calibrate this display. When gamma is set to 3, every point is in contact with the target box, which represents 1dE. Luminance values are neutral, with none exceeding 5% except blue. That primary is dialed back a little to compensate for its oversaturation at 100%. Aside from that, this BenQ is as close to perfect as any monitor can be, delivering professional-level performance.
Comparisons
Only the NEC PA243W can best the BenQ EW3270U in the color accuracy test. And that monitor sells for quite a bit more money while being smaller and delivering lower resolution. All the HDR monitors we’ve tested so far exhibit better-than-average color performance, in fact. Hopefully, that will be a trend we see in future monitors in lower price categories as well.
In the volume chart, we’ve mapped gamuts for DCI-P3 rather than Adobe RGB, along with the usual sRGB. All six monitors have that color mode, and all come close to the 90% mark except the BenQ EW277HDR. The BenQ EW3270U has the largest gamut volume we’ve measured so far, by a small margin.
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