Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsNot impressed
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2015
I bought this monitor to replace an 11-year-old LCD monitor. I mainly use my PC for photo editing. I had high hopes because this monitor had great reviews, both from users and from professional reviewers. Unfortunately, it came up short.
The problem with this monitor is its black levels. Even after calibrating this monitor, blacks look gray. In combination with the typical IPS/PLS corner glow, which this monitor has, dark images look washed out. Because of this, the overall image quality--aside from the higher resolution--was below that of the ancient monitor I was trying to replace.
There were other nuisances. The stand--which has only a tilt adjustment--is wobbly, and the controls on the monitor are not intuitive and are difficult to see. In this price range, I understand that a stand with full adjustments isn't realistic, but it should at least be solid.
To top things off, I had problems with Viewsonic's quality control. The monitor I received had had greasy handprints on it, and I thought it was refurbished. I requested a replacement from Amazon. The replacement monitor came with an obvious manufacturing defect: a hair trapped inside the panel, which was plainly visible when viewing bright images. After calibrating the second monitor and seeing the poor black levels, I decided to return it for a refund.
For the price of this monitor, I expected more, especially in the area of image quality. If it was 200 dollars cheaper, I would say it's a great value for casual use. At this price, I don't know who it's for.
In short, this is an okay monitor that's priced too high. I would recommend it for web surfing, office work, or casual media usage. For serious media work, look elsewhere.
