Your Thoughts on The Mac Studio M2 & the BenQ SW272Q Display

[kitv52694284]

With the increased use of AI in Photoshp, Lightroom Classic & Topaz Photo AI, my againg 2017 iMac 27 is showing its age. Currently I am looking at the Mac Studio M2 & the BenQ SW272Q as replacements. The Mac Studio can be quite expensive with the memory & storage that I would like. But I can keep the price within reason with the use of external SSD drives.

As for the BenQ display.... although it only has 2K resolution, my primary consideration is color accuracy. If I understand correctly, The BenQ SW227Q shares the same features as its 4K big brother (the SW272U), but minus the heftier price tag.

I would appreciate the thoughts of those who have had experience with either the Mac Studio M2 or the BenQ SW272Q display in your photo processing work. Thank you kindly.

[D Fosse]

I don't do Mac, but generally, relying on external drives quickly becomes a major inconvenience. What few people consider is that you shoul never save directly to external storage. It is slow, unreliable, and with much greater risk of file corruption. Extra internal storage is well worth the cost.

As for BenQ, it's probably the best of the budget brands, but check for panel uniformity. Also, their calibration software has a long history of bugs and problems. Don't know the current status.

Edit - but yes, 27 inch at 2560 x 1440 is ideal for photography. You need to get a feel for the pixel structure, and you don't get that with 4K/5K. For vector work and text (ID and Ai), it makes much more sense.

[NB, colourmanagement]

@kitv52694284 yeah as D.Fosse states: "[benQ] calibration software has a long history of bugs and problems.."

That’s true - but, like him, I've not tried it for some time. And do beware of panel unevenness, you'd be surprised what some manufacturers consider to be acceptable. Probme. there is, if its poor, you may not be allowed to return as it may be "within manufacturer tolerance". There has been lot of talk on here about how uneven Dell screens can be. 

If you can stretch to an Eizo Coloredge I would recommend that. 

I've "solved this for a few clients by using basICColor display to celebrate and profile the screen. Is there a downside? yes - display cannot access the benQ's internal calibration LUT. You may see this as banding (contouring) if you use artificial gradients. On photos, not so much due to image noise. 

2K is fine, maybe even preferable for image work that’s not video.

neil barstow - adobe forum volunteer,

colourmanagement consultant & co-author of 'getting colour right'

See my free articles on colour management

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