The Viewsonic VP2786-4K a.k.a. ColorPro 27 Monitor

Several people mentioned the 27-inch Viewsonic VP2785-4K in the comments to the previous post. I almost listed that one as being a good alternative, but B&H Photo lists it as "No Longer Available" and the manufacturer currently lists it as "out of stock," and I've been doing this for long enough that I get a little edgy when presented with signs that a model is nearing its end of life. So I called ViewSonic, and, sure enough, that model was discontinued last April 22nd, although you can still find new ones here and there if you look. You probably shouldn't have to pay full price.

ViewSonic told me that the replacement is the VP2786-4K (above), which it has also apparently dubbed the "ColorPro 27." Since we approve of names that human beings can remember, I think I'll use its movie-star name instead of the alphanumeric soup name. The ColorPro 27, which is all new, allows for USB-C connection, and boasts some high-end specs as well as at least one very unusual feature.

It covers 100% of AdobeRGB with true 10-bit color depth. Explanation of that word "true": there's a "fake" 10-bit spec out there that is really 8-bit+FRC (which stands for "frame rate control"). Basically, as far as I understand this, 10-bit color is simulated by flashing different colors so quickly that your eye registers the modification to the colors but can't see the trick that's being pulled. Perceptually, it appears so close to 10-bit color that you probably won't be able to tell the difference—while, at the same time, true 10-bit color doesn't actually exist on your screen. So that's one thing to look out for when buying a monitor—is it 8-bit, 8-bit+FRC (fake 10-bit), or true 10-bit?

The ColorPro 27 also has a feature called the "ColorPro Wheel." To say this is not well explained in the promo materials is an understatement—I really had to dig around to figure out what the heck it is and how you're supposed to use it (wait, here it is—just found it. Go here and scroll down until you reach "Fingertip Color Control"). It's an attached manual dial on a wired puck for selecting monitor controls, not unlike BenQ's Hotkey Puck, that also interfaces with Photoshop and other Adobe programs as well as Capture One. It allows you to click on a slider, say, and make changes to the slider by turning the dial, giving you finer, and easier, control while allowing you to keep your eyes on the image as you do it.

But that's only half the story. When you remove the base, it turns into a colorimeter, the sensing device for calibrating the monitor with ViewSonic's calibration software.

ColorPro Wheel with the dial side uppermost

Upside down, with the base removed, it becomes a colorimeter

Nazi zombies
Anyway it does look like the ColorPro 27 is intended for us—photographers and graphics people. They call it a "photo editing and printout monitor" someplace on their site. It will probably mystify the brand's usual lower-level customers, who will simply think its refresh rate is mystifyingly slow for killing Nazi zombies and piloting space modules into Death Stars. They won't have much of an idea why any self-respecting gamer would want Fogra certification or factory calibration to Delta E ≦2 (here's that).

It even has a backlight that shines on your desk behind the monitor (recommended, no matter how you accomplish it), and comes with a hood at no extra charge. I paid extra for mine.

Best of all is the price. Check current prices at B&H Photo and Amazon. It costs considerably less than the other "monitors of interest" I listed yesterday, namely the 27-inch EIZO ColorEdge CS2731 (here it is on Amazon), the Dell UP2720Q (B&H Photo), and the BenQ SW321C (B&H Photo). But it sure looks like it belongs in that company. I don't feel so bad about NEC abandoning us any more.

Mike

Featured Comments:

Mike Chisholm: "A thousand dollars plus for a monitor? I have to say it's a relief to see there are so many ways photography can be restored to its preserve as a rich man's hobby...."

Mike replies: Well, I spend more time at my monitor than I do on my mattress. A monitor is a lot like a mattress when you think about it. Both cost about the same...$500 to $2,000 (roughly £420–£1,700), both last about as long (8–10 years), both are things we use a lot, both are things we pay for grudgingly, and both are things that make your life better if you spring for a good one.

Comments

[Richard Man]

I used a 24" ColorEdge for years. It was great. Last year I replaced it with a slightly used BenQ 2700 monitor. Works just as great.

[Well, whatever you're doing, you're doing well. I've seen your work.... ---Mike]

[John Winder]

Nice goin', Mike--I just clicked through on your B&H link, and the ColorPro 27" is now "temporarily out of stock". :-)

[Sal Santamaura]

...A monitor is a lot like a mattress when you think about it...both last about as long (8–10 years)

While I admit to having purchased several new monitors as technology changed over the last couple of decades, that analogy reveals you've succumbed to the marketing nonsense of bedding manufacturers. We still sleep on the same Sealy Posturepedic Royale bought when we married in 1978. Flipped over every couple of years, it's as good as new. It does help, of course, that we're not part of the adult U.S. population who are overweight (73.6%) or obese (41.9%). :-)

[Is it a latex mattress? Those can last that long, and they were popular in that timeframe.

Otherwise, we need an experiment. You buy a new mattress, then tell us if your old one was really still okay. :-) --Mike]

[Sal Santamaura]

Is it a latex mattress? Those can last that long, and they were popular in that timeframe...

Then-top-of-the-line inner-spring mattress. I'm unaware of any latex components.

...we need an experiment. You buy a new mattress, then tell us if your old one was really still okay. :-)

No need. Even though we're 44 years older, our sleep comfort is unchanged from what it was back then. I stand by "good as new." :-)

[Mike Chisholm]

And, just to be annoying, I'll add that I'm still using the HP 2011x monitor I bought for my daughter rather more than a decade ago, attached to my ancient HP Pavilion 500 PC, and yet I still seem to manage to squeeze out the odd decent photo using Photoshop Elements 10 via my Epson SureColor P400 printer. Just lucky, I guess... (But mainly careful and creative with my limited income).

Mike

[Yes, "careful and creative" are the most important ingredients in the magic cauldron! Puts me in mind of hearing a description of Edward Weston in old age showing a visitor how he could work carefully and creatively in his dirty old darkroom with its ancient and very basic equipment. He exposed his prints, for instance, using a common light bulb, taping pieces of paper over it to control its intensity. I think I'm remembering that right. --Mike]

[Mani Sitaraman]

That Eizo monitor has been in my wish list on Amazon for a good two years, but I balk at the price, somehow. It is good to know about the NEC alternative.

PS: A good mattress can last for two or three decades. Even lesser mattresses can last a long time, though both foam and spring mattresses fail quickly, when they do. Foam collapses flat at some point, without much warning, and box springs give way suddenly, too. And, of course, mattresses do get damaged through misuse.

I'm happy to report that the mattresses I've had in my home have lasted since 1995.

I wish they'd last another 27 years, but I know I'll have to replace them someday, likely soon.

But I worry about the cost of replacement. I walked into a store recently and realized the prices of premium mattresses have gone up by a factor of four or five in that length of time. A good Sealy or a Serta costs much more than that Eizo.

[KeithB]

8 bit +FRC sounds a lot like the Amiga "Hold and Modify" color mode:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hold-And-Modify

While it was good for some impressive demos, I don't know that it ever really caught on.