Eizo FlexScan EV2313W review

We’ve already seen Eizo join the legions of manufacturers touting their green credentials with the EV2333W, and this EV2313W follows suit. It’s essentially an identical EcoView-branded monitor but with the former’s excellent PVA panel replaced by a TN alternative, presumably to appeal to a slightly less discerning and affluent clientele.

Even before you put its eco-friendly claims to the test, the EV2313W makes a fine first impression. Although it’s available with a basic stand, our review unit came with Eizo’s considerably more versatile FlexStand. The slender profile pivots and twists as expertly as any stand we’ve used, and also anchors the monitor to the desk with reassuring solidity. Our only gripe is that the tilting mechanism was more than a little stiff and needed the firm grip of two hands to crane it back and forth.

The EV2313W is more frugal than many business-class monitors, though, sucking just 23W of power in standard desktop usage. Enable the Auto EcoView setting and the combination of a brightness sensor and a presence sensor reduces power draw to just 14W – and even switches the display into standby mode when you leave your desk.

But if you’re expecting the usual sterling image quality from an Eizo monitor, the EV2313W proves desperately inconsistent. Greyscale ramps smoothly blend between shades, and are free from any undue colour tints. Contrast, too, is excellent, with the Eizo confidently discerning between the subtlest variation in both dark and light shades.

Display a solid black background, however, and the poor LED backlighting leaps to the fore. An unmistakable glow emanates from the display’s edges, seeps across the display and leaves blacks looking grey. It’s bad enough to look like accumulated patches of grime on the top and left edges of a screen of pure white.

It’s a dreadful shame, as there’s plenty to like about the Eizo’s performance. Images are handled with a tonal delicacy beyond most TN panels, and our suite of HD movie clips and photographs benefitted with natural skintones and pleasingly saturated colours.

The final nail in the EV2313W’s coffin, however, is that it currently costs exactly the same as its PVA stablemate, the EV2333W. If efficiency and adjustability are more important than image quality the EV2313W may retain some appeal, but at this price we’d expect nothing less than all-round accomplishment.