For what it may be worth....
This is my 2nd Dell UP2715K monitor. The first died. I thought I'd try the Dell UP2718Q which I realized I would need to return as soon as I turned it on. I decided to buy the BenQ SW271 and wrote the follow review on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1360KWM57O01W?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dell Quality Control and Feature Corners Cut, But Kept the Premium Price
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2019
A little background: I started producing photographs in a darkroom in 1974. Since 2012, I have taught photography and digital image processing at colleges and universities, camera stores, and other community venues. I produce prints on two large-format Epson printers. I calibrate my monitors, and create my own printer profiles. Suffice it to say I have experience in the field.
Unfortunately I had to buy a new monitor, because my fairly recently acquired Dell UP2715K which retailed for around $1800 just passed its three year warranty period and has power issues causing it to not turn on. Dell does not repair their out of warranty monitors nor make parts available. Take note…
Having had good experiences with the Dell UP2715K, I naturally sought out Dell’s replacement. The box shipped by Dell had previously been opened, as the box was ripped in two places, it appears the tape had been opened, and the box showed other signs of distress. Again, for such an expensive item geared toward imaging professionals, you would think Dell would pay attention to what they ship.
Despite the packaging flaws, the contents seem to be fine, but that was not to be the case. As soon as I started the computer with the new monitor attached, I noticed an obvious blue spot on the startup screen which also reappeared on the desktop. Additionally, I also noticed a cluster of dead pixels, and another few dead pixels above that, which was obviously disappointing. Again, for an expensive product, it should be flawless.
I should reiterate that I was quite happy and impressed with my previous Dell UP2715K. It was stunning. It had a bezeless, anti-reflective glass screen, Harman Kardon speakers, an SD memory card reader, and a 5K (not just 4K) resolution screen. Images looked great and the design was beautiful. Sadly, Dell replaced the glass screen with a plastic one, eliminated speakers, eliminated the card reader, eliminated the bezeless design, and reduced the resolution to 4K. The only thing they kept was the premium price.
With the flaws, it was clear that this monitor was going to be returned, but instead of just replacing it, I had repeatedly read great reviews over and over on the internet about the BenQ SW271, so I ordered one to compare. The result: the Ben Q has better image quality with noticeably better details in the shadows and highlights, looked more neutral, has more features including an SD memory card reader, a “hotkey” USB device with buttons for switching color space modes, a hood to protect from extraneous light, a written report with its factory calibration results, and costs 25% less then the Dell, retailing for $1099. The Ben Q is a better monitor at a cheaper price.
To make the comparison fair, both monitors were calibrated with an X-Right, i1Display Pro monitor calibrator with the same settings applied. Results were viewed in Lightroom while both monitors were connected to observe the differences simultaneously. Wondering if there was a difference caused by viewing the images on the second screen mode, I switch primary and secondary monitors repeatedly and the results were consistent. I found that the Ben Q displayed more detail in the shadows and highlights, and the colors look more neutral. In actuality, neither was actually neutral (and one could argue that my testing methodology was either flawed or not scientific, but it was consistent): I white balanced on a photo of one our our tuxedo (black and white) cat’s nose so it was absolutely neutral, photographed both screens with my iPhone 7, then read them with the white balance tool in Lightroom. The Dell was cooler with a bias toward green; the BenQ toward red, but the BenQ looked better and more neutral. If you have experience in postprocessing your images, you will know that almost nothing, especially people, look better with a green color cast the Dell exhibited.
The BenQ was the clear winner. With better image quality, better details in the highlights and shadows, a more pleasing display, more features, and not arriving with screen flaws in a damaged box, and cheaper, there is simply no reason to even consider this monitor.
