In summary
Designed for photographers who shoot video and videographers who take still pictures, the CS2740 boasts a pixel density of 164 pixels/inch, which is almost twice the resolution of conventional Full HD displays at just 96 ppi. This high resolution of the IPS (Wide Gamut) panel means users can edit images and graphics down to pixel level.
The built-in Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) microchip maintains a uniform and constant image display. It also covers the entire colour gamut that can be recorded by modern cameras. For stills, it encompasses 99% of the wide AdobeRGB photo gamut while for video, optimised HLG and PQ gamma curves make images recorded in Log formats appear more realistic for editing. This wide colour gamut accurately reproduces almost all of the ISO-coated and US web-coated CMYK colour spaces used in printing.
If you routinely record 4K video and want the best monitor for editing your footage, a 4K screen is probably worth the investment. But if you seldom shoot video and simply need a screen for photo editing, you’d probably be better off investing in the CG2730.
Full review
The CS series represents the entry level of Eizo’s ColorEdge monitor line-up and the CS2740 is the first 27-inch model with 4K-UHD (3840 x 2160 pixels) resolution. The last 27-inch Eizo monitor we reviewed was the CG2730, which arrived on the market at an RRP of AU$3300 and included a built-in calibration sensor but offered much lower resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels). The CS2740 has higher resolution but requires an external calibrator and lacks a few of the features of the higher-end models, including a bundled hood.
Front view of the ColorEdge CS2740 in use for photo editing. (Source: Eizo.)
ColorEdge monitors are designed for serious graphics users, particularly photographers and designers who can benefit from easy and accurate colour calibration and superior stability. They are also flicker-free and easy on the eyes, making them ideal for anyone who spends a lot of time in front of a computer screen.
The CS2740 is supplied with a power cord, Display Port to Display Port signal cable, USB Type-C to USB Type-C signal cable and Quick guide.
Who’s it For?
Designed for photographers who shoot video and videographers who take still pictures, the CS2740 boasts a pixel density of 164 pixels/inch, which is almost twice the resolution of conventional Full HD displays at just 96 ppi. This high resolution of the IPS (Wide Gamut) panel means users can edit images and graphics down to pixel level.
The built-in Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) microchip maintains a uniform and constant image display. It also covers the entire colour gamut that can be recorded by modern cameras. For stills, it encompasses 99% of the wide AdobeRGB photo gamut while for video, optimised HLG and PQ gamma curves make images recorded in Log formats appear more realistic for editing. This wide colour gamut accurately reproduces almost all of the ISO-coated and US web-coated CMYK colour spaces used in printing.
Angled view of the ColorEdge CS2740 in use for video editing. (Source: Eizo.)
The CS2740 also supports a wide range of video formats via USB-C, HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, enabling it to be integrated into PC-based workflows. It can also be used in multi-monitor setups, although both text and images will appear smaller on the CS2740’s screen when it is used in conjunction with lower-resolution monitors.
Each monitor is calibrated in the factory before it is shipped to ensure process any discrepancies in brightness and colour across the screen are detected and removed. This calibration process plus pre-set defaults mean it’s ready to use out-of-the-box.
The high price (RRPAU$3135) of the CS2740 puts it squarely into the professional market, although it’s not beyond the reach of photo enthusiasts and it’s significantly less than Eizo’s other 4K monitor, the 31-inch CG319X 4K monitor, which is listed at AU$7399. By comparison, the listed price of the CS2731, which has a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, is AU$2090.
Design and Ergonomics
The CS2740 features Eizo’s classic design with an active display area of 596.2 x 335.3 mm surrounded by a narrow bezel. The bezel is only 19.5 mm wide at the top and sides and 20.2 mm wide along the bottom of the screen.
The six buttons controlling all major adjustments are indicated by white LEDs at the right hand end of the lower bezel. The power switch sits to the right of the buttons. Touching any of these buttons displays an ‘operation guide’ with a menu accessible through the button closest to the power switch.
The control panel, which pops up on the CS2740 screen when the menu button is pressed.
The system is quite intuitive, with tick and cross displays to open and close sub-menus. If you’re using a Spyder or i1 Display Pro calibrator, these are the controls you will need.
Menu functions cover Signal, Colour, Screen, Preferences, Languages and Information settings. Users select the adjustment by toggling with the up/down buttons and press the tick button to open the adjustment sub-menu. The horizontal arrows are used to adjust the degree of adjustment.
The CS2740 includes a specially-designed stand with a circular base plate that includes a cable holder. It is attached to the vertical panel on the back of the screen. This panel is counter-sprung to be widely adjustable across a height of 155 mm. The screen can also be pivoted into portrait format, tilted through 35 degrees up or five degrees down and swivelled through 344 degrees.
DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB Type C inputs enable the CS2740 to be connected to several devices simultaneously. The monitor is also equipped with a USB hub that includes two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.1 downstream ports and one USB 3.1 upstream port.
Rear view of the CS2740 showing the height-adjustable stand and carry handle above it. (Source: Eizo.)
A carrying handle on the back of the monitor allows users to move it easily from one location to another. The IPS panel provides high visibility without glare and dimming technology reduces flicker to minimise eye fatigue when the screen is in use for extended periods.
Setting up the CS2740 is straightforward. Once you’ve decided which input to use you simply plug in the supplied cable and connect it to your computer; do the same with the USB cable, load the software and you’re ready to go. Unlike the CG2730, the hood is an optional extra and not bundled with the monitor.
Software
As usual, the software has to be downloaded from Eizo’s website. It includes ColorNavigator 7, an update to the previous ColorNavigator 6 and ColorNavigator NX applications. It performs hardware calibration by directly utilising the monitor’s LUT (look-up-table), enabling calibration to be carried out in as little as 90 seconds.
Anybody who understands the basics of colour management should find ColorNavigator 7 easy to use and very powerful. It’s also essential if you want to upgrade the video capabilities, as outlined below. To use the software, the monitor must be connected to the computer by a USB cable. A step-by-step guide is available on the Eizo website.
With this software, users can make complex adjustments to key controls without affecting the setting in the editing software or printer driver. Users can set their own target values for brightness, gamma, and white point and generate an ICC profile which can be stored for quick access.
ColorNavigator software makes it easy to keep the monitor calibrated.
Also available to download is Eizo’s Quick Color Match software, which provides an easy way to see how an image will look when printed on a Canon or Epson inkjet printer. This software was developed by Eizo in cooperation with Adobe, Canon, and Epson as an easy way to simulate soft proofing.
Features
One of the main reasons for buying the CS2740 will be for editing 4K video and here it has a few features that should be quite helpful. As well as being able to display 100% of the popular sRGB and more than 99% of the Adobe RGB colour spaces, it also displays more than 90% of the DCI P3 colour space, 99% of the ISO Coated V2 colour space and 100% of the Rec709, EBU and SMPTE-C colour spaces.
This makes it extremely versatile for both stills and video editing. 4K video clips are displayed with abundant detail, thanks to the high pixel density of the screen. Playback of movie clips is also very smooth, even at 4K resolution because of the CS2740’s fast refresh rate and the display is flicker-free, which also makes it easy on the eyes.
As well as supporting smooth playback at true UHD-4K resolution, it can also be upgraded to playback recordings made with the HDR (High Dynamic Range) gamma, which has become an important feature in recent professional cameras.
HDR technology displays video playback in a form that simulates the way human vision perceives colour and light, allowing for the often huge differences in the actual brightness ranges of scenes that are being recorded and the gamut range of the display screen. This difference is often a factor of 15x.
The CS2740 upgrade supports both gamma curves that are commonly used for HDR video recording for broadcasting and in digital cinema: PQ (Perceptual Quantisation) and HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma). Eizo’s Australian and New Zealand suppliers can provide customers with details of how to upgrade this monitor, if HDR support is desired. Note: ColorNavigator 7.0.8 or later will be necessary for re-setting the display.
Aside from being usable for video editing, the CS2740 makes a superb editing monitor for stills photography. Precise colour reproduction is provided by the 16-bit look-up-table and up to 10-bit colour reproduction and the wide gamut coverage across the most popular colour spaces means this monitor can be used to match virtually any output medium in common use. It can also be set up to provide quick soft proofing.
Like most of the monitors we’ve reviewed, the CS2740 comes pre-calibrated so it’s ready to use out-of-the box. But we thought we’d check the factory calibration to see just how close it is to the calibration we did with the SpyderX Elite colorimeter. The pre- and post-calibration test images are shown below.
Performance
One of the stand-out features of the review screen was the amount of detail it displayed, which was impressive when viewing images and movie clips recorded with some of the latest cameras we’ve tested. When checking the grey test pattern we could find no colour shifts and the same was true when checking reference images from DataColor.
We expected the screen to be totally flicker-free and were not disappointed. Colour reproduction appeared accurate straight out of the box and we found no evidence of banding. While the specified contrast ratio for the screen is 1000:1, our tests showed it to be a little over 700:1, which is fine for both image and video editing.
We re-calibrated the review monitor with our Spyder5 Elite colorimeter and software, the latest version of a combination we have used when reviewing other monitors in the past. The results presented here can provide an objective comparison of various aspects of monitor performance.
- Colour Gamut
The review monitor delivered excellent performance in this test, as shown in the graph above. The green triangle shows the boundaries of the sRGB colour space, while the purple triangle delineates the Adobe RGB colour space. The red triangle shows the measured colour space for the monitor, which covers almost all of Adobe RGB colour space and is significantly larger than sRGB. - Gamma
Gamma plots show the relationship between the brightness of a pixel as it appears on the screen, and the numerical value of that pixel. They are a good indicator of how mid-tones are reproduced. If gamma is set too high, mid-tones appear too dark.
The graph of the measured tone response (gamma), shown above, shows it complies with the recommended gamma for image editing with Windows PCs.
- Colour Accuracy
This is a very good result. Measurements of colour accuracy shows all hues to be well within acceptable tolerances. There are also no hues with long bars, indicating colour reproduction is free of any hue biases.
- Screen Uniformity
The two Screen Uniformity tests check the brightness and colour consistencies of the display in nine sections of the screen, at various luminance levels. Separate graphs are provided for luminance (brightness) and colour measurements across four luminance levels. We present the upper and lower graphs for each category.
4a. Luminance Uniformity.
Luminance uniformity was above average, although slight deviations from the ideal measurements were identified in the lower third of the screen.
4b. Colour Uniformity.
Colour uniformity results were excellent overall.
- Overall Rating
The graph above shows the review monitor to be an excellent performer with maximum scores for colour gamut, contrast and colour uniformity. Scores for the remaining parameters were almost as highly rated, and the overall rating is what you would expect for a monitor at this level. The evenness of performance across all measured parameters confirms its overall quality.
Conclusion
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SPECS
Panel size: 26.9 inch / 68.4 cm
Active display size (h x v): 596.2 x 335.3 mm
Panel type: IPS with wide-gamut LED backlight
Viewing angles (h, v): 178°, 178°
Brightness: 350 cd/m2
Contrast ratio (typical): 1000:1
Response time (typical): 10 ms (grey-to-grey)
Native resolution: 3840 x 2160 pixels with 164 ppi pixel density
Pixel pitch: 0.155 x 0.155 mm
Display colours: 1.07 billion from a palette of 278 trillion
Colour gamut (typical): sRGB: 100%, Adobe RGB: 99%
Built-in Calibration Sensor: No
Internal processing: Colour Adjustment, Input Colour Format, YUV Colour Matrix, Input Range, Noise Reduction, I/P Conversion, Picture Expansion, Menu Rotation, Power Save, Input Skip, Mode Skip, Custom Key, Information Display, Key Lock, DUE Priority
Screen adjustment: Supports Easy Screen-to-Print Colour Matching Tool Quick Colour Match
Colour (user) adjustments: Mode, brightness, temperature, gamma, colour gamut, advanced settings (hue, saturation, gamut, gain, 6 colours), reset
Preset modes: Colour Mode (User, Adobe RGB, sRGB, Calibration)
Video input terminals: USB Type-C (DisplayPort Alt Mode, HDCP 1.3), DisplayPort (HDCP 1.3), HDMI (Deep Color, HDCP 2.2 / 1.4)
Digital scanning frequency (h / v): USB Type-C, DisplayPort: 25 – 137 kHz, 23 – 61 Hz HDMI: 15 – 135 kHz, 23 – 61 Hz
USB ports & standard: Upstream: USB 3.1 Gen 1: Type-C (DisplayPort Alt Mode, Power Delivery Source 60 W max.), USB 3.1 Gen 1: Type-B; Downstream: USB 3.1 Gen 1: Type-A x 2, USB 2.0: Type-A x 2
Power consumption: 36 W (typical); 168 W (Maximum)
Power Management: Power Save & Standby modes – 1.0 W or less
Height adjustment range: 155 mm
Tilt / Swivel / Pivot: Tilt: 35° up, 5° down / Swivel: 344° / Pivot: 90°
Dimensions (w x h x d): With Stand: 638 x 404.1 – 559.1 x 265 mm; Without Stand: 638 x 378.2 x 75 mm
Net weight: With Stand: 10.3 kg; Without Stand: 6.7 kg
Distributor: EIZO Australia, Ph (02) 9462 7516
Rating
RRP: AU$3135
- Build: 9.0
- Features: 8.5
- Performance: 9.0
- Versatility: 9.0
BUY
