High expectations for iMac 5k?

[PannaKO]

I got the newest iMac 5k about a week ago and I was quite underwhelmed with the screen quality regarding the black levels.

I know IPS screens are known for poor black levels, but I don't see any improvement over my old mid-2014 Retina MacBook Pro.

Being a 5k screen, I thought Apple would try to increase the contrast ratio...or was that just wishful thinking?

 

[Puonti]

Increasing resolution does not on its own improve black level, and there haven't been any breakthroughs in IPS black levels (and I don't expect there will be). So yeah, wishful thinking.

 

[priitv8]

But what's exactly wrong with the black level? Unless you run it at high brightness levels, they are quite ok to my eyes.
I calibrated mine to 120nits.

 

[mmomega]

High expectations will ruin absolutely anything.
The resolution just means the resolution increased. Apple doesn't make the IPS panel and essentially all IPS panels have "IPS Glow"
I would suggest trying calibration tools, if these can not make the panel acceptable for you, I believe you should return it as soon as possible and find another computer and panel rather than being stuck with something you do not enjoy.

 

[bpeeps]

But what's exactly wrong with the black level? Unless you run it at high brightness levels, they are quite ok to my eyes.
I calibrated mine to 120nits.

There’s nothing wrong with it. OP is picky. Return it, enough said.

 

[Khaleal]

Well while 5k imac panels aren’t perfect, they’re the best at this price point

 

[PannaKO]

Increasing resolution does not on its own improve black level, and there haven't been any breakthroughs in IPS black levels (and I don't expect there will be). So yeah, wishful thinking.

High expectations will ruin absolutely anything.
The resolution just means the resolution increased. Apple doesn't make the IPS panel and essentially all IPS panels have "IPS Glow"
I would suggest trying calibration tools, if these can not make the panel acceptable for you, I believe you should return it as soon as possible and find another computer and panel rather than being stuck with something you do not enjoy.

I realise an increase of resolution doesn't result improved black levels, I just thought Apple might've increased the color range of the screen to take full advantage of its potential visual quality.

I'm not that unhappy with it or expected something mind blowing, I just thought there might be some improvement over the last 4-5 years.
If it's true that this is about the best you can get out of an IPS panel (and at this price point), then that's good enough for me.
To my eyes, it seems like the color is quite even across the screen and no immediately noticeable backlight bleed so I'm happy to keep it.

But what's exactly wrong with the black level? Unless you run it at high brightness levels, they are quite ok to my eyes.
I calibrated mine to 120nits.

I actually run my new iMac at brightness level 1 out of 16 (sometimes even at 1/4 of 1) and only up it to between 2-5 in the day time.
It's just when I watch any movies/TV at full screen it's pretty hard to see any detail in dim/dark areas/colors in the scene, but other than that I'm pretty happy while using it for other visual content.


But again, if this is about the best you can get from an IPS panel in this form factor, then I'm happy to keep enjoying using it.