Apple 27-inch LED Cinema Display Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 28, 2010 12:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Displays
- Mac
- Apple
- Cinema Display
Brightness and Contrast
For brightness, black level, and contrast points, we use the same colorimeter setup described earlier. Specifically, we use an Xrite i1D2 with ColorEyes Display Pro, and take measurements at maximum and minimum brightness of white and black targets. Dynamic contrast is turned off. We also let the panels settle in for a half hour at the respective settings before taking any measurements.
The new 27-inch LED Cinema Display is bright. It's within 10% of the 2707WFP and brighter than Dell's CCFL backlit U2711, which has a similar panel to what Apple uses in the 27-inch LED Cinema Display. If you're a fan of very bright displays, the 27-inch won't disappoint. I tossed in my 30-inch Cinema HD Display results as a reference point but keep in mind this is a very old unit (originally purchased in 2004) so it's not going to perform quite as good as it did while new.
Drop brightness all the way and the 27-inch LED Cinema Display gets dim. There's a good amount of dynamic brightness range on this display, it's very flexible.
Absolute black levels are simply ok, not stellar for a high end display but not horrible either. It's clear Apple optimized for maximum brightness rather than deep blacks in order to compensate for the glossy front cover.
At the lowest measurable brightness setting the black levels are very low. You can actually get the display dark enough for my eyeOne D2 to register 0 nits. I had to bump brightness up a bit just to get the black level to register.
This isn't terrible but I would've liked to see something above 1000:1. Again it's sort of middle of the road for a high end display. Note that even at 200 nits the contrast ratio is 837:1, so unless you significantly reduce brightness you won't see a huge difference in contrast ratio.
Thanks to very low black levels at the lowest brightness settings the contrast ratio skyrockets. As I mentioned before, at 200 nits the contrast ratio is still down at 837:1 so the numbers above aren't very real world unless you like using very dim displays. You can also count on the 27-inch display being quite usable at lower brightness settings as a result.
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piroroadkill - Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - link
Also, the new Dell OSD controls are awesome. Proximity sensor with glowing controls? Bitching.BZDTemp - Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - link
Agree but it would have been nice to see the review compare the Dell and the Apple more especially since afaik there are no other displays like them.I for one am certainly loving my U2711. I would have liked split-picture function to be an adjustable Picture-in-picture function and the gaming mode is stupid but other than those small details I have no issues. It's hooked up to a PC, a Mac, a PS3 and a 360 all on the same time - great stuff.
I dream of even more pixels per inch2, but for now the U2711 and the 27" Apple are the best choices bringing even more pixels per inch2 than a 30" panel. When someone makes a "retina" display in 27"+ size it will be a good day :-)
ijhammo - Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - link
he he, can you imagine the cost of a 27" retina display!!!!BZDTemp - Thursday, September 30, 2010 - link
For sure it would cost an impossible amount at first but as with all tech the prices will come down. For example back some 2.5+ decades ago or so my dad paid something $8,000 for a phone the size of a small suitcase and now...Or to stay with computers. The first one I bought back when I was a kid cost $500, it had 1 KB memory total and for display I used an old TV and storage was a audio tapedeck. In other words some day... :-)
ijhammo - Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - link
yeah, one day!! And we'll be here reminiscing how a an base 8 core Mac Pro cost $3000 whilst talking about the new faster than light optical processors....Gotta love technology :-)
ijhammo - Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - link
Well that depends really on use. I would like a 27" screen with as few as cables as possible to use in a fairly limited space. So a monitor with built in speakers and a charger for my laptop seems like a reasonable choice.If ultimate colour quality etc is the goal though, surely you wouldn't even go for the 2711?
BZDTemp - Thursday, September 30, 2010 - link
I must admit to not knowing enough about colours to truly judge my U2711 but it is the first LCD that I have seen come close to my trusted old Sony GDM-F520 (a 21" CRT and perhaps the best CRT ever made).Most likely you can get better colour control with a high end EIZO or something like that but these new 27" panels offer finer pixels so it depends on what you're needs are.
IceDread - Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - link
I really disslike 16:9, a 16:9 27" is just like a 24" 16:10. The loss of height in the 16:9 aspect is huge and very annoying.I also do not like the reflection that can occur to easily and distract me on the apple screens. It may look good at first but it's really annoying when using it.
BZDTemp - Thursday, September 30, 2010 - link
You forget that while the physical size is not as a 30" the 27" still offers a lot more pixels than a 24" 16:10 and the pixels are smaller as well.Check out the Dell U2711 to avoid the reflection hell (and gain a lot of nice features)
AstroGuardian - Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - link
"For some reason color tracking in the lower left of the screen was measurably worse than anywhere else."Guess what...