Monitor Calibration

[Vinod Menon]

This might be a silly question, but I calibrated my monitor using a Spyder and it has looked good. But I am never sure that it is completely right What is the best objective way to check if your monitor is perfectly calibrated?...Any help appreciated

Regards,
-Vinod

 

[greyflash]

ez prints will send you an 8x10 print that you can view next to your monitor to check calibration. Also, if you are using a good printer like WHCC your submitted images should come back looking like your monitor.

 

[Vinod Menon]

Thanks Gordon, I have ordered the prints from ezprints.

Regards,
-Vinod

 

[beaucamera]

CRT monitors shift so, from a best practices point of view, you need to calibrate every two weeks or so. If you eliminate ambient light that will help too. An inexpensive monitor hood is recommended and, when you calibrate, try and wear something black or dark. The pucks generally are pretty good at reading the color your monitor produces so don't be too concerned unless you notice something weird in your results.

Virginia
aka beaucamera

P.S. I have improvised and used my husband's dark parka as a shield!

 

[Vinod Menon]

CRT monitors shift so, from a best practices point of view, you need to calibrate every two weeks or so. If you eliminate ambient light that will help too. An inexpensive monitor hood is recommended and, when you calibrate, try and wear something black or dark. The pucks generally are pretty good at reading the color your monitor produces so don't be too concerned unless you notice something weird in your results.

Virginia
aka beaucamera

P.S. I have improvised and used my husband's dark parka as a shield!

Thanks Virginia. I have been calibrating about every month or so in a dark room. What throws me off is that I occasionally see a picture on the forum in which the colors look slightly off...and I start doubting my calibration... :shock:

Regards,
-Vinod

 

[beaucamera]

Vinod, maybe it's the poster's calibration that's off.

Virginia
aka beuacamera

 

[Vinod Menon]

Vinod, maybe it's the poster's calibration that's off.

Virginia
aka beuacamera

Virginia, that's possible, it is just that I am never sure..I just need to have more confidence in the spyder

Regards,
-Vinod

 

[Iliah]

Let me add some controversy here.

Monitor calibration for web viewing is largely overestimated value. First, most of the monitors are calibrated differently. This is because different black and white points are chosen, different target gammas are selected, different calibration tools are used, different ambient light conditions are in the studio, different tubes/lcds/videocards and even cables respond to calibration differently. Second, normally we prepare images in colour-savvy software packages, that is applying colour profile transform on top of calibration; while on PC viewing is usually done through internet browsers that ignore profiles.

 

[Vinod Menon]

Let me add some controversy here.

Monitor calibration for web viewing is largely overestimated value. First, most of the monitors are calibrated differently. This is because different black and white points are chosen, different target gammas are selected, different calibration tools are used, different ambient light conditions are in the studio, different tubes/lcds/videocards and even cables respond to calibration differently. Second, normally we prepare images in colour-savvy software packages, that is applying colour profile transform on top of calibration; while on PC viewing is usually done through internet browsers that ignore profiles.

Well, thank you Ilah ....Now I am back to square one! :shock:
Interesting information..


Regards,
-Vinod

 

[JeffKohn]

You may not ever get complete accuracy especially when viewing web images in IE, but that doesn't mean you can't improve things a whole lot compared to an uncalibrated display. The calibration tools adjust the gamma ramps in the video card to get things as close as possible before creating the ICC profile, so even though IE ignores the profile you still get the benefit of the video card adjustments.

I regularly post snapshots in my web gallery for family members to view, and a while back I was at my parents house and pulled up my gallery and was absolutely appalled at how terrible the pictures looked. Not only was brightness off but the color was way off. So next time I visited I brought my Eye One and calibrated the display. The difference is huge, images look much, much better now. I've gotten similar results from calibrating other family members' displays since then.

 

[Gale]

SELF PRESERVATION JOHN !!!! :>)))

 

[bpetterson]

I have a folder with several photos which I bring up at times prior to printing.
Far from being exact and you need to depend on your eyes.
Hope that you are not color blind.

Birger

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[Vinod Menon]

Thank you all for the responses...I am not color blind, so I will just rely on my eyes 8) ...

Regards,
-Vinod

 

[TOF guy]

You may not ever get complete accuracy especially when viewing web images in IE, but that doesn't mean you can't improve things a whole lot compared to an uncalibrated display. The calibration tools adjust the gamma ramps in the video card to get things as close as possible before creating the ICC profile.

Agreed. You can do even better than that. If your monitor has individual controls for the 3 colors channels, you can calibrate it so that there is very little correction performed by profiling (by use of the video card LUT which uses 8 bit integers, which means round off errors. So you want to avoid these).

I do that with the spyder2. I even add a little twist: after running the (slow) calibration/profiling procedure, I check the image before/after profiling (meaning not using/using the LUT profiling). If it appears that the profiling adjust the image darker or lighter, I adjust "brightness" up or down depending on the difference and repeat the whole procedure. I can get the images after/before profiling identical, meaning all - or nearly all - color/brightness corrections is performed by the analogous adjustements from the monitor, avoiding banding from the 8-bit LUT.

There are several tests for monitor calibration, and my technique passes them all with high colors - so to speak. For instance in photoshop a black image covering the screen, the image area selected, the "marching ants" hidden, the levels dialog box hidden on the side with the proper entry pre-selected so that pressing the up arrow ups the value by one bit (the image goes from RGB=000 to 111, then 111 to 222 if I press the key twice, etc.), I can see the difference between RGB = 000 and RGB = 111. La creme de la creme .

This being said, I totally with Iliah (do I have a choice :wink: ). There is no predicting how the image will look on somebody's else monitor: most likely not calibrated, most likely set to a different temperature than mine (even if so slightly), etc. not to mention ambient light and ... for some ... these flashy colors that they use for background, window panes, ... :lol:

Thierry

 

[TOF guy]

I can see the difference between RGB = 000 and RGB = 111.

After dimming the lights a little, obviously. :roll:

Yep ! Iliah is right !

Thierry

 

[Vinod Menon]

Hey Thierry, you seem to have the calibration thing all naiiled down. I'm just going to trust the spyder and my eyes and not worry about it any more 8)

Regards,
-Vinod