neil poulsen
20-Oct-2023, 12:06
If you're looking for a monitor or unhappy with what you have, consider purchasing a Ben-Q. I have two, and I think they're terrific.
Not wishing to overwhelm my space with oversized monitors, I chose two SW240 24 inch monitors. They claim to offer a gamut that's 99% of Adobe RGB '98. B&H indicated that they're high quality, in that Ben-Q manufactures their own screens. (They don't rebrand other manufacturer's hardware.)
Like a true graphics color monitor, they offer 10-bit color depth and a 12-bit look up table. But to achieve the latter, one needs to use Ben-Q's own Pallet Master Element color-management software. (Downloads are free.) Like the monitors themselves, this is excellent software and easy to use. My old X-Rite Display II Pro colorimeter works fine with this software. One can select from either "Basic" or "Advanced" modes. To install the 12-bit table, one needs to select the "Advanced" mode and also plug in an accessory cable that's supplied with the monitor. One end is a USB connector for the computer, and the opposite end plugs into its own special port on the back of the monitor. This cable also enables convenient USB ports on the side of the monitor.
Going into Advanced mode, one can select from the usual defaults. In particular, I leave in place the D65 white balance (similar to a 6500 Kelvin white balance), the standard 2.2 Gamma, the Adobe '98 gamut selection, and the "Absolute Zero" black point. However, I have better luck if I lower the Luminance target from 120 to 100. (I work in a darkened room.) Advancing to the next screen, I increase the patch set from "Small" to "Large" to achieve the most sensitive look-up table. Thereafter, it's a matter of placing the colorimeter on the monitor and beginning the measurement phase for profiling.
What's neat about this software when used with Ben-Q monitors, RGB color, contrast, and brightness levels are automatically set in the background by the software. No need to mess around with buttons. Moreover, once the profile has been completed and installed in the correct folder, to avoid unanticipated errors, the software-monitor combination disables the brightness and contrast controls. (Of course, changing either will throw off color management and correct use of the profile.) Very cool! If one finds that the whites in their color managed monitor images are either too bright or too dull, one can lower or increase the Luminance value by color managing the monitor a second time.
Having color managed many different types of monitors with different colorimeters, this is by far the most sophisticated, and easiest to use, system that I've encountered.
Check B&H, and you'll find that the price of these graphics quality monitors is definitely right.
So, three cheers from me for Ben-Q.
Not wishing to overwhelm my space with oversized monitors, I chose two SW240 24 inch monitors. They claim to offer a gamut that's 99% of Adobe RGB '98. B&H indicated that they're high quality, in that Ben-Q manufactures their own screens. (They don't rebrand other manufacturer's hardware.)
Like a true graphics color monitor, they offer 10-bit color depth and a 12-bit look up table. But to achieve the latter, one needs to use Ben-Q's own Pallet Master Element color-management software. (Downloads are free.) Like the monitors themselves, this is excellent software and easy to use. My old X-Rite Display II Pro colorimeter works fine with this software. One can select from either "Basic" or "Advanced" modes. To install the 12-bit table, one needs to select the "Advanced" mode and also plug in an accessory cable that's supplied with the monitor. One end is a USB connector for the computer, and the opposite end plugs into its own special port on the back of the monitor. This cable also enables convenient USB ports on the side of the monitor.
Going into Advanced mode, one can select from the usual defaults. In particular, I leave in place the D65 white balance (similar to a 6500 Kelvin white balance), the standard 2.2 Gamma, the Adobe '98 gamut selection, and the "Absolute Zero" black point. However, I have better luck if I lower the Luminance target from 120 to 100. (I work in a darkened room.) Advancing to the next screen, I increase the patch set from "Small" to "Large" to achieve the most sensitive look-up table. Thereafter, it's a matter of placing the colorimeter on the monitor and beginning the measurement phase for profiling.
What's neat about this software when used with Ben-Q monitors, RGB color, contrast, and brightness levels are automatically set in the background by the software. No need to mess around with buttons. Moreover, once the profile has been completed and installed in the correct folder, to avoid unanticipated errors, the software-monitor combination disables the brightness and contrast controls. (Of course, changing either will throw off color management and correct use of the profile.) Very cool! If one finds that the whites in their color managed monitor images are either too bright or too dull, one can lower or increase the Luminance value by color managing the monitor a second time.
Having color managed many different types of monitors with different colorimeters, this is by far the most sophisticated, and easiest to use, system that I've encountered.
Check B&H, and you'll find that the price of these graphics quality monitors is definitely right.
So, three cheers from me for Ben-Q.