If you are interested in Photography, you need to view your images on a monitor that is accurate for color rendition. Looking at your images on just any monitor is like looking through a window that may be dirty or could have a tinted film on it. What you see on such a monitor is not really what you saw in the camera. And editing when you cannot see an image accurately is a complete waste of time. The monitors intended for photographers or graphic designers are excellent, however they tend to be rather expensive. So for the high end hobbyist or someone just getting into photography, or anyone on a limited budget, the best monitor for image viewing has been way over budget, until now. 

    BenQ has released a new 24 inch monitor at a price point that opens accurate color to everyone. With a 1920 x 1200 screen size and 16:10 ratio, the new BenQ SW240 can display more than one billion colors with its 10 bit display, thus eliminating the banding that appears with lower end monitors. The BenQ can also show 99% of the Adobe RGB colors space, meaning that it shows a greater range of colors, and a more realistic color representation, particularly for outdoor photography. You can read more about color rendition and accuracy at BenQ’s website, BenQ.com. Just be sure to select the Photographer Photo Editing Monitor Series.

    All monitors, including those on laptops, should be calibrated on a regular basis using a hardware colorimeter or spectrophotometer like the ones from xrite.com to make sure the colors shown are accurate and stay accurate. With the BenQ SW240 you can use various hardware colorimeters (a must for photographers and graphic designers) with the free Palette Master Element software or use the x-rite software. Both software applications make calibrating the monitor very simple.

    Glare from ambient light can alter your view of what is on the monitor. Although BenQ’s larger sized Photographic monitors come with a shading hood, with the SW240 the hood is an optional but still affordable accessory, and anyone doing photographic or design work should have a monitor hood.

    The SW240 is easy to set up and even easier to adjust to the best height and angle for your viewing position. And to make photo and artwork editing even more convenient, the SW240 can quickly swivel around so you can view a vertical image in portrait mode - and yes, the hood can be used in both orientations!

    The SW240, like BenQ’s other photographic monitors, should definitely be considered a part of any-level photographers’ tools.