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PCM2Did you read the thread I linked to? I appreciate it’s long, but it’s worth reading thoroughly because it justifies exactly why I prefer the BenQ EW3280U and the AUO panel. It also has excellent input from user “jens”. So summarise; likely superior uniformity, superior screen surface and lack of colourful ‘corner bleed’ issue that can develop over time on the LG panels. I’m also comfortable recommending it given I had good personal experiences with it and I don’t see any compelling reason to go for the options with what I see as inferior panels. It offers a particularly good ‘Rec. 709’ sRGB emulation mode as well. Some such modes are brightness-locked or offer obvious undercoverage or over-extension. As per the review, the setting on the BenQ EW3280U is good with respect to gamut and brightness adjustment – although it targets ‘2.4’ gamma so you’d need to profile that for ‘2.2’ (profile given in review which should help). As for the Lenovo, it’s certainly an interesting choice. But a relative unknown which I can’t shed further light as – I’ve really said as much as I can about it in the other thread.
regaphysiksThanks. Yeah, I read the other thread. Uniformity with the LG panels seems to be an issue in some samples – but they do get lots of good reviews as well so it’s hard to judge if its just squeaky wheels giving amazon reviews or a legitimate issue. I plan on purchasing from a vendor that gives free returns and 3 year warranty so its low risk in that regard. One last question – is the EW3280 superior to the P3200U in every regard, or is there still reason to consider the 3200u?
Thanks!
PCM2I look much deeper than Amazon reviews when I gather feedback on products. I receive a lot of direct feedback from users and often scour foreign-language forums and other sources that provide detailed and ongoing feedback of various monitors. You’re right to identify uniformity as an issue that varies between units, certainly true. Your question is covered earlier in this thread, by the way. Greater freedom and flexibility for sRGB working without a colorimeter. And there’s the greater ergonomic flexibility to consider, quite a secondary point really.
regaphysiksMost manufacturers (dell, lenovo, BenQ) offer 3 year warranties. So if there is a serious issue with the backlight, I can return / warranty claim it. I won’t buy from LG because they have only a 1 year warranty. Because of that, I’m a bit less concerned with the possibility of a lemon with serious backlight issues. In any event, I understand you dislike the LG because of the uniformity and screen grain/haze issues.
Edit: Sorry I saw the issue earlier about PD3200U having better sRGB presets. Assuming you have a colorimeter, then, the EW3280 would be better then because you can just make a custom profile for sRGB? That’s the only major difference?
PCM2That’s correct.
regaphysiksHi – I’ve been doing a bit more research and I’m wondering if you can tell me if there’s any way to tell what type of LUT is used on a monitor? Only Viewsonic, BenQ, and a few others mention a programmable 14-bit LUT. Many displays (pretty much every LG display and/or Dell) don’t mention the LUT used. I assume pretty much all of these monitors actually do use an internal LUT, right? Even if they’re 8 or 10 bits?
PCM2They all have LUTs and they’re used for the presets, sRGB emulation modes, gamma adjustment and suchlike. They’re usually only explicitly mentioned in marketing material or spec sheets if they’re also programmable (i.e. hardware calibration is supported).
WadeHi everyone,
First of all, I want to thank you all for the extensive reviews and thorough descriptions, they really help to make an informed choice. I have read your website thoroughly.
I’ve gone for the Benq PD3205U. Came with almost perfect uniformity and no bleeding. I know about IPS glow and I donβt mind as Iβm always working in a room with enough light and donβt watch movies on it.
The hub and KVM is really useful.
loving this monitor more and more everyday.
It doesnt have a dedicated DCI-P3 mode unfortunately.Hopefully this can help some of you guys.
PCM2Thanks for sharing your impressions on the PD3205U – I’m glad they’re so positive! It’s a model I’ve had my eye on for a bit now for potential review and this is the first feedback I’ve received on this screen. π
solaris54I have been reading through this discussion forum and keep seeing a mention that the PD3200U uses a LG panel. When I go to the call out it is AU Optronics M320QAN01. Did they change the panel over the years or am I missing something?
PCM2It does indeed use an AUO panel as covered in the review and that was always the case. You may be confusing it with mentions of the PD3220U which is based on an LG Display panel. I can see earlier on this thread a user incorrectly mentioned that the PD3200U uses an LG panel, so I’ve corrected my reply to them to make it clear it doesn’t. My reference to “the LG Display panel” there was with relation to the wide gamut alternatives that use LGD panels, not the PD3200U.
benmonmonHello. I’m looking for a good sRGB monitor for office work and web design. Given budget and features etc, I’ve narrowed it down to the BenQ PD3200U (100% sRGB coverage) and the BenQ PD3205U (99% sRGB coverage). I don’t own a colorimeter so having great sRGB calibration out of the box is very helpful.
Something I’ve been wondering is why the PD3205U has less coverage – if only by 1% – and if that mattered or hinted at other inferior traits (e.g. uniformity, backlight bleed, all the stuff we worry about π ). The PD3205U has a USB-C input which would be handy, so if the outputs were basically of the same quality, and given the two monitors are roughly the same price at the moment, the PD3205U would be the obvious choice.
The PD3220U also caught my eye, but given it’s twice the price, and the DCI-P3/Display P3 mode is a nice-to-have, I assume it’s not worth the extra cost at this time.
Do you have any new thoughts on this topic in the 1.5 years since it was mentioned previously?
PCM2Hi benmonmon,
I agree the PD3205U is a good choice with strong sRGB coverage in mind. In fact its 27″ counterpart is currently featured as a recommendation in the segment and I should really have the 32″ model in the section for the same reasons. The PD3200U has 100% sRGB specified because it has a native gamut that extends a bit beyond and lacks an sRGB emulation setting that clamps that down properly (or at least the unit I tested did). The PD3205U has a stricter gamut clamp which is probably where the 99% sRGB specification comes from. So it’s actually a good thing rather than a negative in this case – and in practice the 1% difference vs. 100% coverage will be negligible. I consider 98%+ sRGB coverage without significant overcoverage to be excellent.
benmonmonAhh yes, that makes sense. Thank you for (more of) your wisdom PCM2.
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