INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   The way i see it the consumer market is currently cut up into 4 categories of people, regular/casual users, gamers, enthusiasts and professionals all of which need and/or want different things. For example, in regards to LCD monitors even though casual users and even professionals will have very little need for high refresh rates (and thus frame rates) gamers and enthusiasts alike who also spend quite a bit on graphics cards usually opt for just that. Casual users on the other hand put cost first whereas image, video and 3D animation professionals are always looking for the best image clarity possible coupled with plenty of screen surface and of course build quality. Still there are always those in between (myself included) who may sacrifice high refresh rates and low cost for image clarity, build quality and screen surface and there's no better example of that than the latest FlexScan EV3895 UWQHD+ Curved Ultrawide Monitor by EIZO.

    ‘EIZO’ is Japanese for ‘image’ and is the name of one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-end monitor solutions. EIZO aims to produce the best possible monitors for each area of application. That is why EIZO monitors can be found wherever exceptional image quality is desired or is absolutely necessary. This includes: back offices, hospitals, flight safety centres, design and photo studios, ship bridges, architecture firms and stock exchanges. EIZO Corporation is a global leader offering total imaging solutions with a range of monitors, software, video capture, processing and distribution solutions, cameras, and advanced integrated technologies to meet the specialized needs of customers in business, creative fields, healthcare, air traffic control, maritime, security & surveillance, and more.

   Even though as its name clearly states the FlexScan EV3895 (this too is available in black and white colors) is of the same class as the FlexScan EV2795 i reviewed a while back (review here) not only does it feature a much larger (37.8 inches - 95.25cm diagonal) and curved panel but it sports a maximum resolution of 3840x1600p (UWQHD+) and follows the not so typical aspect ratio of 24:10. We're still talking about a LED-backlit IPS 8-bit panel (W-LED) with a refresh rate of 60Hz, 5ms (GTG) response time, 1000:1 contrast ratio that covers the entire sRGB gamut but this time over it features a pixel density of 111ppi together with a maximum brightness of 300cd/m2. In terms of available connections, the FlexScan EV3895 comes ready with a USB-C port which can be used both to provide power (85W max) and Ethernet connectivity to compatible devices, HDMI port (v2.0), single DisplayPort port (v1.4), Ethernet RJ45 Gigabit port, 2 USB 3.1 host ports, 4 USB-A 3.1 ports and a 3.5mm jack. Just like the EV2795 the EV3895 also includes several innovative technologies such as a light sensor (auto brightness control), Picture By Picture, EcoView (power and CO2 reduction), TUV certified flicker free, low blue light, non-glare matte panel and two front facing speakers (1W each - stereo). Typically, EIZO covers the FlexScan EV3895 with the same impressive 5 year limited warranty and their zero bright pixels warranty for a period of 6 months.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EIZO is not into looks and that's reflected even on their boxes which have just their logo on both the front and rear.

 

 

The product classification is printed on both sides just over the company name and the Made In Japan remark (we just don't see that often enough).

 

 

Along with the FlexScan EV3895 and its power cord inside the box you'll also find a rear plastic cover, 2 USB 3.1 host cables, USB-C cable, HDMI cable, DisplayPort cable, energy compliance sticker, warranty information paper, contact information paper, recycling information paper, regulatory compliance paper and the user manual.

 

 

THE FLEXSCAN EV3895

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a diagonal of 95.3cm the FlexScan EV3895 is the 3rd largest PC monitor to arrive in this lab.

 

 

EIZO has of course equipped the EV3895 with their innovative base which at its lowest point puts the monitor just 11mm from your desk.

 

 

At its highest point this base can raise the EV3895 up to 224mm from your desk.

 

 

Even though EIZO has once again used very thin top and side bezels for this screen the actual black/unused area is almost 10mm.

 

 

The bottom bezel on the other hand is roughly 19mm thick (there's no black/unused area after this bezel).

 

 

A total of 7 touch buttons are located at the center left of the lower bezel.

 

 

The FlexScan EV3895 is also equipped with two stereo speakers, each 1W in power.

 

 

Taking a look at the rear of the screen we see the EIZO logo and the exposed connections area.

 

 

Obviously here you can use the bundled plastic cover.

 

 

The on/off button is located on the rear right of the screen while the two HDMI v2.0 ports and the DisplayPort v1.4 port are located on the rear left just over the USB-C and USB 3.1 host ports (the 4 USB-A 3.1 ports are further on the left just over the 3.5mm jack).

 

 

Just like the EV2795 the stand of the EV3895 features an easy to use cable management system.

 

 

Unlike most screen stands only part of which swivels thanks to its base the entire EV3895 can swivel up to 70 degrees on either side.

 

 

You can also tilt the screen up to 35 degrees upwards and 5 degrees downwards.

 

 

EV3895 MENUS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just like with the FlexScan EV2795 the EV3895 comes ready with 4 picture presets plus 2 user/custom ones.

 

 

You can quickly increase and decrease both the volume of the front facing stereo speakers and the brightness levels from the above menu.

 

 

More settings are accessible via the main menu.

 

 

From the color tab you can adjust the color mode, brightness and contrast levels, set the temperatures and gamma and enable/disable the super resolution feature (ideal for blurry images).

 

 

Inside the advanced settings you can find the overdrive function which is quite important if you also plan on using the EV3895 for gaming (reduces GTG response time from the standard 6ms to 5ms).

 

 

Screen ratio, color format and input range are all accessible from within the signal tab.

 

 

Features like power save, power indicator and USB and sound selection can all be adjusted from the preferences menu (you can also reset the monitor to its factory state).

 

 

The FlexScan EV3895 also features EIZO's EcoView technology which automatically adjusts brightness levels and helps reduce power requirements.

 

 

Typically, the OSD is available in 9 different languages.

 

 

Finally, some details about the screen are present inside the information tab (the power on hours is perhaps the most important one).

 

 

SCREEN INSTYLE SOFTWARE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connecting the FlexScan EV3895 to your system via either the USB host ports or the USB-C port allows you to access most of its menu features (and then some) via EIZO's Screen InStyle software.

From here you can adjust the color settings, volume (if supported by your model), enable/disable the eco settings, configure the layout of the screen for the split screen feature (very useful for people who need different areas for work) and sync your settings with other EIZO connected screens.

 

 

You can also use the color briefcase (import custom color settings), enable/disable auto color mode (ties specific settings to specific applications), enable/disable the circadian dimming schedule, enable hotkeys, access the power management features and connect to the server version of the InStyle Software (centralized).

 

 

I strongly recommend performing a firmware update to your FlexScan EV3895 as well (if there is one, there was one at the time of this review).

 

 

VIEWING ANGLES / PICTURE QUALITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IPS screens are very accurate when it comes to viewing angles so as you can see there's no image distortion when you look from anywhere but the center.

 

 

Even though the FlexScan EV3895 is not an OLED monitor (some of you have been pointing that lately) EIZO has done a very good job with color reproduction and vividness. Yes, colors may not be quite as good as OLED monitors but they do come very close.

 

 

The FlexScan EV3895 is not a gaming monitor and so even though you will have no issues with like 70% of the games out there (including World Or Warships and even DCS World) when it comes to fast passed ones (like for example Forza Horizon 4 or Star Wars Squadrons) some image ghosting is visible if you pay attention.

 

 

TEST RESULTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DATACOLOR SPYDERX ELITE MEASUREMENTS

By using the SpyderX Elite Colorimeter by Datacolor i measure both the color gamut (SRGB and Adobe) and the brightness levels of the monitor at hand.

 

 

Here you can see results for Color and Luminance Screen Uniformity (instead of just listing results at 100% brightness I’m listing all of them - 50/67/83/100%).

 

 

Datacolor rates monitors based on their overall results so it was decided to include this chart as well.

 

POWER CONSUMPTION

Power consumption may not be what most people look for when out to get a brand new monitor but at the end of the day it's still an important factor so i do hope this is of interest to some of you.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Before I continue with my objective opinion about the EIZO FlexScan EV3895 i feel i must first disclose that I’ve been using it for well over 2 months now and the reason for that is simple really, i wanted to test it with everything and what better way than to use it as my primary monitor for a rather long period of time? Now the good news is that the EV3895 didn't disappoint, image quality is superb, build quality is equally great and as for its size, well 38 inches may not come close to the 49 inches of the Viotek monitor i have in the lab but thanks to its 24:10 ratio the EV3895 feels like a much more comfortable screen (at least for me). Now of course this isn't a gaming monitor so with a refresh rate of 60Hz even its overdrive feature can't do miracles. Still i belong to the same group of people who grew up with CRT monitors and who had LCD screens with the same refresh rate up until roughly 5 years ago so at least to me that's not a problem when playing games, even fast passed ones. Would i had liked it more had the EV3895 features a higher refresh rate? Certainly, I’m not trying to hide behind my finger here. All I’m saying is that even 60Hz for some people is ok when playing games, especially when you're exchanging image quality, screen surface and build quality for it. The stereo speakers are ok if you don't listen to music, watch movies or play games (meaning for office use) but anything other than that and, well, you should be getting a pair of external speakers (or a soundbar). Finally the 4-USB 3.0 hub is extremely convenient, when you finally get it working that is. You see the 2 USB 3.0 hub cables which you are required to plug into your system might just not provide enough power for connected devices (yes, even self powered ones), in that case you also need to plug the USB-C port into your system, either with a USB-C to USB-C cable (if your system supports it) or a USB-C to USB-A cable (in my case i used the latter and everything started working like a charm - sacrificing 3 USB 3.0 ports to get 4 is still worth it in my book - of course this "solution" may apply to other monitors as well).

   EIZO has always manufactured some of the highest quality PC monitors money can buy and the FlexScan EV3895 is no exception since it currently retails for no less than 1549Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). This is indeed a hefty price tag if one is to consider that most 49-inch models cost less but for professionals the EIZO name is enough to put all these considerations to rest. Still the FlexScan EV3895 is clearly not gamer material, sure it can fill up that role if you’re not very demanding but other than that you’d be better off with another monitor from another brand. That being said I’m very happy with the EIZO FlexScan EV3895, both image and build quality are superb, the features-list is not something we see with most monitors out there and as for size, well 37.5 inches should be plenty for most people working from their desk. So aside its basic refresh rate which renders it a rather poor choice for very demanding and professional gamers (and of course its price tag for some people) I really can’t find anything wrong with the FlexScan EV3895 by EIZO and that’s why it gets the Platinum Award

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- 3840x1600p UWQHD+
- WLED IPS Panel
- Excellent Image Quality / Color Accuracy (100% sRGB / 86% AdobeRGB Gamut)
- Features (Light Sensor / Eco Mode / Color & Brightness Adjustments / Picture By Picture)
- 5ms GTG Response Time (Overdrive)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty / 6 Months Zero Bright Pixel Warranty
- Versatile Stand (Tilt / Swivel / Height Adjustment)
- 4xUSB 3.1 Ports / USB C Port (85W)
- Stereo Speakers (1W Each)
- Available Ports (HDMI v2.0, DisplayPort v1.4, 3.5mm Mini Jack, RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet)
- On / Off Power Switch
- Available In Black & White Colors

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Not Ideal For Gaming (60Hz)