Dell UP2716D vs U2713H

Long story short - not yet :S

Apparently the first batch that was delivered to regional wholesale distributor was sold out very fast and the second batch only arrived couple days ago. My retailer said that it should be arriving to them tomorrow. I really hope so, because in the past month 4 retailers have promised me to get it, but failed. I was almost ready to get one from big retailers in Europe, or directly from the local Dell distributor for significantly higher price...

I will update this week, if I finally get one!

Yes, it would be very nice, cant wait!

Finally got my screen yesterday and here are my initial thoughts after doing quick calibration and processing one shoot in LR. I have not done brightness and color uniformity tests myself, so this is perceptual evaluation only, not a scientific test.

First the good:
- love the minimalist, yet elegant, design with thin bezel;
- brightness uniformity is pretty good on my copy, both by factory calibration report and to my eye, even without uniformity compensation enabled;
- love the USB3 hub with ports both on back and side. SD reader on the side would be nice addition, but I already have two Lexar Workflow SD SR2 readers, which I can now leave on screen foot and plug into back ports of the screen, so not a biggie;
- power LED is low brightness pale white, not the annoying bright blue like on many devices today. Plus you can turn it off in the menus, if it's still a distraction;
- the supplied AdobeRGB and sRGB profiles are visibly ALMOST exactly the same as the profiles I got doing calibration with my i1Display Pro. So using built-in profiles is viable for someone have no immediate access to calibration device.

Some neutral observations:
- I had to update screen firmware before I could use the Dell calibration software;
- screen is VERY bright out of the box, but calibration takes care of this, adjusting the brightness to your chosen target;
- supplied DP cable is not very long. Something to be aware of when putting the PC under the desk;

And finally the negative:
- my copy has significant color deviation in the top left corner. It is visible when viewing gray on the screen and also present in the factory calibration report. It is unlikely I can do much about it, as the deviation falls under 2dE, so it passes the quality control. While bit annoying, this is not a major issue when viewing real world images - it is far corner and only noticeable when viewing solid gray.



Overall I am satisfied, but I do wish the color uniformity was better on my copy

Thanks for you reply!

And what about picture quality, contrast and limitation of 60Hz for the refresh rate?

Since I am using it mostly for photo editing, I do not really need a higher refresh rate.

Contrast, after calibration for 120cd/m2, measures aaround 950:1, slightly below the spec. Overall picture quality is great, at least compared to every other screen I have used so far.

I do have an issue with color uniformity, though. In "Standard" mode the screen uses "Uniformity Compensation" which works pretty well for both brightness and color uniformity. That feature, however, is not available in any of the color space, built-in or user calibrated, modes. My copy has slight variation between left and right side of the screen - neutral grays on the left are shifted slightly towards greens, while right side is slightly purple. The "Uniformity Compensation" deals with that very well, and in "Standard" mode whole screen looks pretty uniform in color, at least to the eye. This is not a major issue and only visible when viewing solid neutral gray across the screen, but it really bugs me that they have not provided "Uniformity Compensation" for the color space modes, which is obviously how most users will use this screen.

I am now considering options:

- try to exchange the screen, but that is probably not going to be easy as the screen probably matches Dell QC criteria for uniformity;

- just live with it since it only affects 1/4-1/5 of the sides where I usually only have Lightroom/Photoshop toolbars and the problem is not clearly visible when viewing real world photos anyway;

- run the screen in 10bpp, using "Standard" color mode, which uses "Uniformity Compensation" feature and applying calibration profile in the video card, rather than monitor itself. This should be good enough when used in 8bpp workflow, but it does defeat the reason why I chose this screen to begin with...

Would I recommend this screen to a friend? Probably yes, as there are not many alternatives in this price range. However, I would recommend to buy it from a seller with generous return policy to deal with bad samples.

Are you folks using Macs? On Windows the profile is stored in the video card.
--
Bill

TwoMetreBill said:

Are you folks using Macs? On Windows the profile is stored in the video card.
--
Bill

Click to expand...

This depends on the monitor hardware and not the operational system, if the monitor has the
proper hardware like an internal programmable hardware LUT(12 to 16 bit), then with the proper
calibration device+software the calibration curve can be stored in the monitor LUT(12 to 16 bit).
Only the more expensive models have this feature, none of the Apple monitors have this and
the calibration curve is stored in the graphic card LUT(8 bit).

Interesting! Thanks for info every one. I'm also looking for a low/mid range 27 monitor for 3rd screen image check. I wonder if the UP2716D does improve on the yellow light/light bleed and other issues that the previous series of monitors had.

Does any of you have any light bleeds/tints issues?

For what it's worth, here is a review I posted recently about the UP2716D on the site of a large online retailer which also owns this site:

I purchased this product, mostly to edit pictures with Photoshop and Lightroom, with the hope of also using it as a standard 'sRGB' monitor, but the display quality wasn't good enough to keep it.

As this is the first true wide gamut I've purchased, my reference points are the Dell 2407WFP, Dell U2311H and Benq BL3200PT monitors which I currently use and which are all significantly better in terms of backlight bleed and ultimately color consistency/uniformity (the BenQ does have some slight banding, which while not ideal is less disturbing than the issue with the screen under review).

On the positive side:
- There were no dead or active pixels
- The gamut is very large (covers aRGB, most of the DCI-P3 space, with some extension in other directions), and the display takes advantage of a 10-bit workflow (tested with a ATI FirePro card and Photoshop 5.5)
- Brightness uniformity was decent to the eye even without using the 'Display Uniformity' (DU) feature (see below for more about it), although, with DU off, the center of the screen measured as hot point (5%-10% brighter than the rest)
- The feature list is long (dual USB3 inputs, audio decoding, many colour modes -see below for usefulness of them, etc.)
- The hardware looks decent, and the narrow bezels make for a compact package (same height as my 1920x1200 monitor)

On the negative side:
- There was significant backlight bleed towards parts of the bottom edge and parts of the top edge (meaning that dark grays were not uniform at all)
- Contrast was not that great - I never measured more than 600:1 in the center in a day of testing
- With and without 'Display Uniformity' (DU) off, one side of the screen was 'warmer' than the other by 300K (with some visible tint shifts as well)
- DU does help keep luminance stable (3% max deviation on 'whites' and 'medium gray', but still significant deviations in dark grays, probably partly because of the backlight bleed)
- DU is only available with brightness set at 75 (which is way too bright), with native gamut and with the native white point (~7000K). It is not possible to use it in any other condition (say sRGB or calibrated mode), which makes it value very limited in practice
- The hardware calibration software is quite picky (only works reliably with USB2 and with only one monitor connected, and requires some restarting from time to time). It roughly does the job in terms of controlling gamut, white point and luminance, but needs tricks to give quality results (e.g one has to target a luminance around 150 cd/m2 to get 120 cd/m2... similar tricks may be possible to get the right color temperatures). Results are also quite coarse, requiring a second software calibration to get good color gradients, and gray scales
- The Display Port inputs are picky (they don't work with my Lenovo X200 and T410 laptops, which my BenQ and other monitors support without problem at the same resolution)
- (Maybe more subjectively), the display controls are not very easy to use as they don't light up before being pressded and it's hard to know what one is pressing ahead of time. Menu navigation is OK but not as good as some other monitors from Dell or others.
- Most the the display mode presets are of limite use and offer little adjustments (e.g. sRGB has a fixed and unusual color temperature, etc.), requiring the use of a hardware calibration to get the usual D65 results.
- A card reader and extra USB ports in the back would have been nice (but not indispensible)

For me, if the backlight bleed and colour uniformity issue weren't there, this would have been a good product. If hardware calibration were more precisely and the DU feature were available after adjusting brightness and in other modes, this would have been a great product. As it stands, this is not usable for color sensitive work.

Eiffel said:

As it stands, this is not usable for color sensitive work.

Click to expand...

And what monitor is in your opinion?
In this price range, this size and this resolution?

voodoofox said:

Eiffel said:

As it stands, this is not usable for color sensitive work.

Click to expand...

And what monitor is in your opinion?
In this price range, this size and this resolution?

Click to expand...

I'm frankly not sure. There may be some good copies of this monitor which, for £500 would then be a good choice. The Eizo CS240 (slightly cheaper, but a bit smaller as it is a 1200x1980 16:10 24" display) or the more expensive CS270, might also be worth considering for those looking for a wide gamut display. From what I read, they are not perfect though. The BenQ SW2700PT 27" monitor is also worth a close look.

In the end it depends on what one's priority is:

I ended up taking a punt on a Dell UP2715K (27" 5K monitor for about £200 more than the UP2716D), which while not perfect (glossy, visible light bleed and quite demanding in term of hardware per my review: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1457805374), had decent brightness and color uniformity and represents a very significant step forward in resolution... which I also valued.

If this hadn't worked, I would have saved for an Eizo CG247 or the upcoming CG2420... at roughly twice the price of the Dell UP2716D (at with a lower resolution). The other alternative would have been a NEC PA272W (but these don't seem to be as good as the top of the line Eizos in terms of contrast and glow/light bleed).

Eiffel said:

voodoofox said:

Eiffel said:

As it stands, this is not usable for color sensitive work.

Click to expand...

And what monitor is in your opinion?
In this price range, this size and this resolution?

Click to expand...

I'm frankly not sure. There may be some good copies of this monitor which, for £500 would then be a good choice. The Eizo CS240 (slightly cheaper, but a bit smaller as it is a 1200x1980 16:10 24" display) or the more expensive CS270, might also be worth considering for those looking for a wide gamut display. From what I read, they are not perfect though. The BenQ SW2700PT 27" monitor is also worth a close look.

In the end it depends on what one's priority is:

I ended up taking a punt on a Dell UP2715K (27" 5K monitor for about £200 more than the UP2716D), which while not perfect (glossy, visible light bleed and quite demanding in term of hardware per my review: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1457805374), had decent brightness and color uniformity and represents a very significant step forward in resolution... which I also valued.

If this hadn't worked, I would have saved for an Eizo CG247 or the upcoming CG2420... at roughly twice the price of the Dell UP2716D (at with a lower resolution). The other alternative would have been a NEC PA272W (but these don't seem to be as good as the top of the line Eizos in terms of contrast and glow/light bleed).

Click to expand...

OK so, in that price range, size and resolution, answer is...unfortunately... none

For color sensitive work in print, I think wide gamut is a must.

So only one to get close is BenQ sw2700pt, which has its own problems...

Sadly, there are very few wide gamut options in the UP2716D price range, and how good each individual display is seems to be a lottery.

The way around this is to buy from a seller with an good return policy (or be able to test the monitor in store... which allows to spot obvious defects which seem to mysteriously escape quality control!). The owner of this site is quite good for this, but finding something OK may still take time.

Owning display devices with DCI-P3, aRGB and sRGB gamuts, I would not say that an aRGB or DCI-P3 display is indispensable today, and they aren't without drawbacks for multi-purpose computing

Eiffel said:

Sadly, there are very few wide gamut options in the UP2716D price range, and how good each individual display is seems to be a lottery.

The way around this is to buy from a seller with an good return policy (or be able to test the monitor in store... which allows to spot obvious defects which seem to mysteriously escape quality control!). The owner of this site is quite good for this, but finding something OK may still take time.

Owning display devices with DCI-P3, aRGB and sRGB gamuts, I would not say that an aRGB or DCI-P3 display is indispensable today, and they aren't without drawbacks for multi-purpose computing

Click to expand...

Yeah, fortunately I found a store which is willing to give 2 week return policy if I am not satisfied with monitor, so at the end I'll probably do just that.

Eiffel said:

For me, if the backlight bleed and colour uniformity issue weren't there, this would have been a good product. If hardware calibration were more precisely and the DU feature were available after adjusting brightness and in other modes, this would have been a great product. As it stands, this is not usable for color sensitive work.

Click to expand...

Hi,

I am a new born photographer and I going to buy a new monitor. I will use it for mainly photo editing. In my country, prices of Asus PA249Q and Dell UP2716D(or previous version U2713H) are slightly same. I couldn't decide which would be best for me?
A 24" monitor with better test results, relatively higher contrast ratio, better color uniformity and lesser backlight bleed or a 27" Dell with higher size and resolution.
What you are going to buy if you are in my shoes?

My suggestion would be to only buy it from a seller where you can return it "no questions asked". Color uniformity is bad on my UP2716D in color space modes. It's slightly purple on the right and greenish on left. Not too bad when working with color images, but somewhat annoying with B&W images and gray backgrounds. It is a bit better with Uniformity Compensation turned on, but that cannot be used in any of the color space modes (sRGB, AdobeRGB or user calibrated modes). Dell refuses to exchange it as it supposedly falls within the quality control margins.

Apart from the color uniformity, it is a great screen. Good contrast, nice colors and calibrates well.

But do not buy it if you cannot return it. If you get a copy with bad color uniformity, you will be annoyed, just like I am.

Pictus said:

DCooper said:

That's Dell customer services for you.

I had one Dell technical customer services agent telling me to buy the iDisplay pro and download the software for the monitor software, in order to find out the bit depth of the LUT.

I don't think I have ever dealt with such lazy and bad customer service before. It really does put me off buying their products.

I am now considering the Benq SWT2700PT or the Eizo CS240 or the Eizo CX271 somewhere down the line...

D

Click to expand...

Eizo is "perfect" and the CX271 is outstanding and got no IPS glare.

Click to expand...

Pictus,

Do you mean that the Eizo CS240 is "perfect"?

I am considering the Eizo CS240, & the Dell U2515H or UP2516D & I seem to be hopelessly confused/undecided. (I think I've read all the articles you've referenced but I've come into this venture with little previous knowledge.)

I like the "2.5K" resolution of the Dells but I also want nice accurate colors. Not sure if I really need wide gamut unless it results in demonstrably better color as seen on the monitor. One review seems to suggest that the colors might be better on the U2515H than the UP2516D. (I also may have misunderstood this.)

Do you like the Eizo CS240 display best, even though it has "standard" resolution? (It is considerably more expensive.)

Sorry to be hanging on your every word but you seem to know what you are doing. (I don't always end paragraphs with parentheses.)

I appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Coop

PS - I just bought an iDisplay Pro (on sale).

Flycoop said:

Pictus,

Do you mean that the Eizo CS240 is "perfect"?

I am considering the Eizo CS240, & the Dell U2515H or UP2516D & I seem to be hopelessly confused/undecided. (I think I've read all the articles you've referenced but I've come into this venture with little previous knowledge.)

I like the "2.5K" resolution of the Dells but I also want nice accurate colors. Not sure if I really need wide gamut unless it results in demonstrably better color as seen on the monitor. One review seems to suggest that the colors might be better on the U2515H than the UP2516D. (I also may have misunderstood this.)

Do you like the Eizo CS240 display best, even though it has "standard" resolution? (It is considerably more expensive.)

Sorry to be hanging on your every word but you seem to know what you are doing. (I don't always end paragraphs with parentheses.)

I appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Coop

PS - I just bought an iDisplay Pro (on sale).

Click to expand...

Flycoop,
The Eizo Color Edge and the NEC PA series are "Perfect" because
their panels are very homogen(color/luminance) and their calibration
software is bug free and capable to calibrate to any know standards
like D65/D55, Gamma 1.8/2.2 L*.

With all other brands it is a lottery, you may get a good panel or not.
Without luck you get a panel with some color cast in the corner
or some bright spot.
Even with luck on the Dell side of things their calibration software
is not bug free or a bit "crude".

All modern 8-bit IPS monitors can display accurate colors after proper
calibration, the wide gamut models will also display more saturated colors
that standard gamut can not, but only Eizo/NEC will have a guarantee for
homogen panel from left to right and "hassle free calibration"(but not free from
cables problems, Operacinal System idiosyncrasies, etc...) they are professional
tools, you got what you pay for...

IF you can send back the monitor, get the Dell UP2516D and if not good enough
send it back and get an Eizo and be happy.

Pictus said:

Flycoop said:

Pictus,

Do you mean that the Eizo CS240 is "perfect"?

I am considering the Eizo CS240, & the Dell U2515H or UP2516D & I seem to be hopelessly confused/undecided. (I think I've read all the articles you've referenced but I've come into this venture with little previous knowledge.)

I like the "2.5K" resolution of the Dells but I also want nice accurate colors. Not sure if I really need wide gamut unless it results in demonstrably better color as seen on the monitor. One review seems to suggest that the colors might be better on the U2515H than the UP2516D. (I also may have misunderstood this.)

Do you like the Eizo CS240 display best, even though it has "standard" resolution? (It is considerably more expensive.)

Sorry to be hanging on your every word but you seem to know what you are doing. (I don't always end paragraphs with parentheses.)

I appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Coop

PS - I just bought an iDisplay Pro (on sale).

Click to expand...

Flycoop,
The Eizo Color Edge and the NEC PA series are "Perfect" because
their panels are very homogen(color/luminance) and their calibration
software is bug free and capable to calibrate to any know standards
like D65/D55, Gamma 1.8/2.2 L*.

With all other brands it is a lottery, you may get a good panel or not.
Without luck you get a panel with some color cast in the corner
or some bright spot.
Even with luck on the Dell side of things their calibration software
is not bug free or a bit "crude".

All modern 8-bit IPS monitors can display accurate colors after proper
calibration, the wide gamut models will also display more saturated colors
that standard gamut can not, but only Eizo/NEC will have a guarantee for
homogen panel from left to right and "hassle free calibration"(but not free from
cables problems, Operacinal System idiosyncrasies, etc...) they are professional
tools, you got what you pay for...

IF you can send back the monitor, get the Dell UP2516D and if not good enough
send it back and get an Eizo and be happy.

Click to expand...

Thanks Pictus. That sounds like great advice.

Unfortunately I have more questions.

Should I also be considering the NEC PA242W? It seems to get good reviews.

How about the Eizo CS270? The Eizo CS270 is now almost the same price as the CS240. (Does that suggest problems with the CS270?)

The CS270 has a "2.5 K" resolution ( 17" screen) - would images appear to be sharper than on the CS240?

Thanks again for your help.

Coop

Flycoop said:

Thanks Pictus. That sounds like great advice.

Unfortunately I have more questions.

Should I also be considering the NEC PA242W? It seems to get good reviews.

How about the Eizo CS270? The Eizo CS270 is now almost the same price as the CS240. (Does that suggest problems with the CS270?)

The CS270 has a "2.5 K" resolution ( 17" screen) - would images appear to be sharper than on the CS240?

Thanks again for your help.

Coop

Click to expand...

Glad to help,
Should consider everything ...
No problem with the Eizo CS270, it is the best of the bunch.

The CS270 have more resolution and higher PPI than CS240, the
photos will look better in the Cs270.

Reviews for the NEC/ Eizo
http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/test/2013/test-nec-pa242w-bk.html
http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/test/2015/test-eizo-cs270.html