OK THIS IS IT - I have GOT to calibrate my monitor!

[stayathomedad]

I have a macbook and I've got to calibrate my monitor...

I'm tired of all my images coming out way too hot...

I don't have a ton of money to spend... So with that in mind, which calibration product should I go with?

All I'm looking to do is set my monitor so I don't have to worry about the colors looking awful on other people's screens, or the images looking blownout.

I really don't need any advanced features...

Suggestions?

 

[Dr A]

I use the ColorVision Spyder2Express and it works just fine. It retails for about $60.

 

[stayathomedad]

I'm wondering now if such a product will "fix" my overexposing/too hot issue...

Yes, I might get the right colors from such a product, but will it fix my main problem of images being too hot when viewed by anyone else?

The images do look bright on my macbook, but are not overexposed such as they are when I go view them on our PC upstairs...

 

[latazyo]

have you tried the calibration utility on the macbook?a

System Preferences > Displays > color > callibrate

 

[kiwi]

I think you arre barking up the wrong tree, I'm pretty sure you are overexposing in the camera not in PP based on the wedding photos. Post some as shot to here to verify.

 

[jfrancis]

Is this after you have post-processed them? Because if you see such differences right out of the camera, the issue is probably one of monitor luminance.

 

[LindaZ]

On a Macbook you should use the brightness setting at 50% - I also use a spyderexpress2. My prints comes out just about right.

 

[sonyam]

Spyder2Express...yes it will correct the hot issues as well as the color.

 

[Matt S]

One of the first things the monitor calibration tools will have you do is manualy adjust your brightness and contrast to where you can see all the gradiations in a particular tone chart. Once your in the ball park the tool will take over and do the fine tuning.

the huey pro I have adjusts for room light. Very cool. I flip on the overhead and my screen adjusts accordingly.

 

[stayathomedad]

I think you arre barking up the wrong tree, I'm pretty sure you are overexposing in the camera not in PP based on the wedding photos. Post some as shot to here to verify.

kiwi,

What I shoot in the camera shouldn't matter since I'm going to run everything through ACR... So even if the shot is overexposed in the camera, I'm addressing it in ACR...

The problem is what looks good in ACR on my screen comes out overexposed/hot on everyone else's screens.... and I cannot jackup my brightness anymore on my macbook...

 

[stayathomedad]

On a Macbook you should use the brightness setting at 50%

Wouldn't I want the brightness to be jacked up as high as possible so any overexposing would be more evident?

It seems backwards to me that I would want to cut the brightness to help address the issue of overexposing.

 

[Gary7770]

Thats a terrible line of thinking ... Get it right in the CAMERA ...

Gary

kiwi,

What I shoot in the camera shouldn't matter since I'm going to run everything through ACR... So even if the shot is overexposed in the camera, I'm addressing it in ACR...

The problem is what looks good in ACR on my screen comes out overexposed/hot on everyone else's screens.... and I cannot jackup my brightness anymore on my macbook...

 

[Terri French]

Try this website for a quick test of your settings.

http://w4zt.com/screen/

 

[Clix Pix]

Is the screen on your MacBook glossy? That is one problem right there because of the oversaturation issues. Another thing to remember is that Macs have a different gamma than Windows machines, so that something won't look the same on a Windows machine as it does on the Mac.

 

[stayathomedad]

Is the screen on your MacBook glossy? That is one problem right there because of the oversaturation issues.

Yes it is glossy...

Another thing to remember is that Macs have a different gamma than Windows machines, so that something won't look the same on a Windows machine as it does on the Mac.

I have mine set to 2.2

 

[LindaZ]

Wouldn't I want the brightness to be jacked up as high as possible so any overexposing would be more evident?

It seems backwards to me that I would want to cut the brightness to help address the issue of overexposing.

I get perfect prints at 50% brightness, at just about any lab. I also emailed spyder2express and that's how I found about how to set the brightness. Could it just be that you do overexpose in camera too much, so it can't be adjusted in PS? Once something is totally blown, it can't really be recovered.

 

[Terri French]

I looked at the original NEF that you posted and it looked perfectly exposed on my monitor.

 

[vulturetec]

Here's another quick test pattern, you should be able to see the light gray test bars on the left side of the extreme center of the target, and a box within a box in the 0/5% and 95/100% boxes on the 4th from the bottom row. If the gamma, contrast, or brightness is significantly off those sometimes disappear. I use this one as a quick test on laptops when I'm on the road.

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

...and another one; this one should have a very smooth gray-scale transition in the middle without significant banding or grays turning to color. Even with calibration some monitors can't quite achieve perfection on this test - mine is one of 'em.

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

 

[stayathomedad]

is this correct?

I can barely see those boxes... I didn't even know they were there at first...

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

 

[vulturetec]

Yup! Those are they. They should be pretty clearly seen. The "sold gray" boxes are, in fact, solid gray.

Here's a webpage that explains the targets

Just my opinion - even a cheap calibration device is better than nothing. It's very easy to set the contrast and brightness to a level that looks nice, but is completely wrong for interpreting images. My old Monaco puck is getting long in the tooth, but I can see a big difference between uncalibrated and calibrated. I'd like to update it with a Spyder3 some time, but it still works ok.

PS: I don't think either of these tests proves anything definitively, but having seen them on an uncalibrated monitor vs a calibrated one, I can say that the first one with the boxes seems to come in "just right" once a monitor is calibrated. I use it to do quick adjustment/comparison on monitors I haven't calibrated.