BenQ SW242Q photo editing monitor review

24 inches? For a monitor aimed at photographers? Oh dear, this is going to be a blocky, low-res 1080p affair, right? Nope. The BenQ SW242Q is actually a 1600p panel. With a 16:10 aspect ratio, that makes for 2,560 by 1,600 pixels.

Many creative pros and photo editors might prefer a 4K panel, for sure. But a 4K monitor with the kind of feature set offered here costs serious money. So the BenQ SW242Q's proposition is to offer a slightly smaller screen that still offers decent pixel density, plus a very strong feature set at an appealing price.

What kind of feature set, you ask? Highlights include USB-C with 90W of power delivery, Pantone and Calman verification, factory calibration, broad colour coverage, plus a few extra frills like an SD card reader and more. Overall, it's a strong package in the field of best monitors for photo editing. And an intriguing value proposition versus a cheap 4K panel for similar money that doesn't come with the comprehensive creator-friendly feature set.

BenQ SW242Q: Design & features

• Great build quality
• Fully adjustable stand
• Comprehensive connectivity

When it comes to screens aimed at content creators, the 24-inch BenQ SW242Q feels distinctly compact. But it's very nicely built and feels like a quality item throughout. The stand is sturdy, while the faux-leather pad on the base adds an unusual aesthetic and tactile flourish, while the minimalist design looks contemporary and is unlikely to date.

You also get full adjustability, including height, tilt, swivel and rotate into portrait mode. Connectivity is another strong point. The usual HDMI and Displayport interfaces obviously feature. But given how popular laptops now are with photo editing pros, the USB-C connector with 90W of power delivery is the main highlight.

The single-cable connectivity it allows for laptops is something you won't be able to live without once you've experienced it. The BenQ SW242Q also has a two-port USB-A hub and an SD Card slot. So you can use that USB-C magic to do everything from drive this display, keep your laptop charged, and connect peripherals like keyboards, mice and external storage.

All told, it;'s a slick package and the compact proportions make it a great choice if desk space is at a premium. It's usefully smaller than the 27-inch and 32-inch panels that are more common in the creator monitor market.

BenQ SW242Q: Performance

• Lovely IPS panel
• Decent pixel density
• Excellent accuracy and colour coverage

An immediate concern with any 24-inch monitor is pixel density. That's because 1080p is very much the norm when it comes to native resolution with 24 inchers. But not here. The first clue that the BenQ SW242Q does things a little differently is its 16:10 rather than 16:9 aspect ratio.

That give you a little more vertical space than usual. That slightly taller form factor means that this monitor offers 1,600 vertical pixels, a useful number more than commonly seen on 2,560 by 1,440 panels, otherwise known as 1440p.

Anyway, that higher resolution translates into 125 pixels per inch, a notable upgrade on the 92DPI of a standard 1080p 24-inch monitor. It's admittedly lower density than both 27-inch and 32-inch 4K monitors. But it still allows for nice, crisp fonts and plenty of image detail. Notably, this monitor looks great with MacOS and Apple MacBooks, which really benefit from decent pixel density.

Resolution aside, the main highlight is the quality of the IPS panel. It comes factory calibrated with sub 1.5 DeltaE across the board and you can really see that, whether it's the perfectly balanced colours or the accuracy of flesh tones.

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It's worth noting that you're getting a clear step up in terms of calibration, accuracy and validation with this panel compared to a generic IPS display, including Pantone Validation, Calman verification and 16-bit 3D LUT support and 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 digital cinema colour space. So, it's right up there with the best monitors for video editing too. You also get a year's free subscription to the Pantone Connect Premium smartphone app.

While this is primarily an SDR display and lacks features like local dimming, it can hit 400 nits, which is plenty punchy and also supports HDR10, and so is capable of showing HDR colours correctly.

What's more, the SDR colour calibration is actually excellent in SDR mode, giving you the option of leaving this display in HDR mode and thus not needing to toggle between modes depending on content type.

If you're looking for weak points, well, the contrast levels are nothing compared to an OLED panel. And the pixel response is nothing special. But these are givens with an IPS panel with no local dimming. If you want an OLED or mini-LED monitor with pro features, you'll be paying many, many times more.

BenQ SW242Q: Final verdict

A 24-inch monitor for content creators would normally be a hard sell. But the BenQ SW242Q is a surprisingly appealing package. Partly that's down to the strong feature set. The USB-C interface is central to that, with single-cable connectivity that includes 90W power delivery, an SD card reader and a USB-A hub.

Then there's the broadly excellent image quality, thanks to a quality factory-calibrated IPS panel and plenty of creatures for content creators, including Pantone validation and good colour coverage. `of course, the real kicker is the 2,560 by 1,600 resolution.

That's a notable step up on the 1080p norm for 24-inch monitors and makes for both more desktop working space and improved pixel density. It also means this monitor is a great companion for both PCs and Macs, with the latter particularly appreciating decent pixel density.

Granted, the BenQ SW242Q lacks true HDR support and the 24-inch panel size will be restrictive for some users. But if either your desk space or budget is too limited for the usual 27-inch and 32-inch suspects in the prosumer photo editing monitor market, the BenQ SW242Q is well worth a look. It's a very strong package at an appealing price.

For more content creation displays, we tested the best monitors for graphic design.