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The SW272Q arrives as the baby brother to BenQ's fabulous new flagship, the SW272U. Really for anyone wanting to do colour accurate work, but without the budget for the still quite expensive 4K colour accurate options.
Just about everything we wrote about the SW272U flagship model- barring, of course, the resolution/sharpness - applies equally to this model. The BenQ SW272Q is near identical to the SW272U, except for the difference in resolution, so make sure you also read our comprehensive evaluation of the BenQ SW272U (which thus becomes really our evaluation of this new line of monitors from BenQ!).
The BenQ SW272Q, alongside the SW272U, form really the 'third generation' of BenQ's SW line of monitors - and, as we discovered when evaluating the SW272U, a really great leap forward for BenQ monitors.
Everything we see in that evaluation holds true here - the unboxing, the controls, the wonderfully matte panel, the quality assessment, and the vastly improved calibration software. BenQ have reached a new high water mark with these models, and side by side they are just about the same thing, apart from the resolution (and the very aggressive low pricing of the BenQ SW272Q!).
It's not worth repeating it all here - so, first, go and read our comprehensive BenQ SW272U evaluation and then come back here!
The BenQ SW272Q is ideal for keen enthusiasts, students, and as in 'in-studio' monitor.
It's the monitor we regard as the 'entry level' for serious colour accurate work - i.e. unless the budget is really tight, or you have a space limitation, we think this is your most likely and sensible affordable choice for high quality still imaging work. 'Entry Level' here is a bit harsh in a way - it's fully capable of high quality, professional imaging work. What we mean is that beneath this level you're either compromising on the size/comfort side of things, or you're looking at something noticeably lower in colour quality.
(E.g. there is currently an even cheaper/smaller model - the now rather old BenQ SW240 - that is often also use as an on-site, in studio monitor - but for others we think the days of 24" monitors are numbered - we sell something like 100:1 of 27 inch monitors over any other size!).
The main competitor is the Eizo CS2731 - which is a great and very refined model from Eizo, and pretty much the industry standard entry level monitor for professional retouchers.
The Eizo is substantially more expensive, though, and whilst it's a tad more refined and you get a five year warranty vs. BenQ's three year warranty, it's quite hard to see ~$1000 extra value in the Eizo (and that's not even factoring in the free hood with the BenQ, still an overpriced $200+ extra with the Eizo!). Indeed, it seems almost impossible that Eizo won't be forced to do some price correction in this case, as the SW272Q seems like an absolute bargain for a monitor that, when placed side by side, is very very close indeed in performance for still image work.
Who is it NOT for?
Whilst a monitor like this is fine for what we call 'desktop video' work - i.e. any cutting, and video work destined for your basic contexts like streaming or YouTube tutorials and Real Estate walk-throughs etc., it's most definitely NOT a pro video editing tool.
The limited max. brightness, and IPS glow, make for an overall low contrast display (specifically by high end video/grading standards, I mean).
The contrast is of course absolutely fine for still imaging work (remember, for e.g. fine art print work, we recommend lowering the contrast to ~200 cd/m2 typically - very easy for this unit to achieve).
The two monitors are very, very similar. Side by side you basically can't tell the difference.
There are a few differences to be aware of, though:
None of these differences, except perhaps the sharpness, are of major importance in the context of still image work, which is the core market for the BenQ SW272Q - i.e. photographers, and other visual artists needing accurate colour.
On sharpness: 2.5K panels are still thoroughly usable for imaging work. I used a panel like that for some 15 years and never once did it make a practical negative impact to the work I was doing. The reality is, whether you're using a 4K (UHD) panel or not, you will always need to zoom in to 100% to check your focus/sharpness.
Colour quality is always vastly more important than number of pixels, so e.g. you should never buy some low quality Dell/Apple/Asus or whatever because it's 4K at a lower price - it's the colour accuracy side of you monitor that makes the key difference in achieving high quality work.
Of course if you do have the budget, then 4K is very nice - but really the main thing you notice there is sharper text and UI elements - it makes, e.g., reading a lot more comfortable on your screen. It's a little bit nicer for image work, too, but it really makes next to no practical difference there, it's just a nicety.
(Again, to get the full picture of these wonderful new monitors, make sure you read our BenQ SW272 evaluation!),
The BenQ SW272Q replaces the very popular SW270C. Amazingly, in these times of high inflation, it comes in at $200 cheaper than the older model, whilst still offering very substantial across the board improvements to what was already a very good monitor.
There is, frankly, nothing at the same price level that (currently, anyway!) - that comes close to the BenQ SW272Q. If you're a still image worked, and are after excellent colour accuracy, for a super price, then the BenQ SW272Q is the obvious (and right!) choice.
Available now!
