Price: ₹59,990
BenQ’s DesignVue series monitors, as the name indicates, are created for graphic designers who need a reliable display for colour-critical applications. The 32-inch PD3205UA and its smaller-sized sibling, the 27-inch PD2705UA, are not your ordinary desktop monitors with flat bases. These are made for professional designer studios with fixed muti-display setups. The stand has to be attached to the desk with the sturdy metal clamp at the base and the monitor is then attached to the ‘ergo arm’. The device has a three-side bezel-less design with a thick frame, curved at the rear. The stand has concealed channels for cable organisation. Apart from the base, all other parts are made of sturdy polycarbonate materials.
The PD3205UA is a 31.5-inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) monitor. The IPS display supports HDR10 and is stated to reproduce 99 percent sRGB and Rec.709 colour spaces, capable of delivering up to 1.07 billion colours. The monitor offers 5ms response time and provides 250 nits of brightness along with 1000:1 contrast ratio. The monitor offers near-accurate colours with a deviation of Delta E <=3. The monitor boasts corner-to-corner uniformity in brightness and colour reproduction with BenQ’s AQColor technology. The display comes Calman Verified and Pantone Validated along with Pantone SkinTone Validated certification for accurate reproduction of skin tones.
The monitor houses a KVM Switch that auto-pairs with input signals via the HDMI or DP connected parallel with the designated USB port. This helps you to connect a PC and a Mac seamlessly with the PD3205UAThe device offers two USB Type-B ports, two USB Type-A ports, one USB Type-C port, an HDMI port and a Display Port at the base along with a Mini USB for the hotkey puck (OSD controller). There is one Type-A and one Type-C port at the side along with a 3.5mm audio output jack. You can use the hotkey puck G2 to switch between inputs. Designers can make use of BenQ’s Display Pilot software, which gives access to various customisation option for colour mode, display and more, and to set up advanced features like ICC Sync, which automatically sets ICC profiles to match the colour mode selected.
As mentioned earlier, this is not a portable monitor. Once clamped to the desk, it is difficult to move it around. But the flexible ‘Ergo Arm’ provides a greater degree of movement than normal monitors and hence the freedom to position the monitor precisely where you want it. With concealed cable management channel on the stand, the setup looks professional and less messy. The part of the base that sits atop your desk is small and flat, hence it occupies less space.
We found the panel delivering uniform illumination across the display area as BenQ claims. We measured the native colour reproduction, and could verify the claims of 99 percent sRGB reproduction (97.3 percent coverage, 118.7 percent gamut volume). The monitor can reproduce up to 77.9 percent Adobe RGB gamut with 81.8 percent volumetric coverage, while the figures for DCI P3 was found to be 83.8 percent and 84.1 percent respectively. The monitor has two 2.5W speakers, but we found it practically useless as in the case of most built-in speakers.
WE’RE IMPRESSED Good colour accuracy, uniform illumination, flexible Ergo Arm
WE’D IMPROVE No shading hood, not portable
THE LAST WORD A colour-accurate studio monitor for creative professionals