Screen Calibration Tools

run_Forrest_run

I've been thinking about getting one of these tools to calibrate my screen.

Now, I'm no pro photographer btw!

I have a HP laptop but would like to get the best from my screen and get the best colours from my pics when viewing them on it.

I've heard ColorVision Spyder2 been mentioned in Thom's D80 User Guide.

1. Is it worth getting a tool like Spyder2 for the amateur photographer who only takes pics every few weeks? (I put a lot of my pics on my flickr page)

2. I have great intentions in learning how to use my installation of PS CS2 but at the moment I stick to Picasa for basic editing. Would Spyder2 have any benefit when using Picasa or would it really show up more when using an advanced package like PS?

3. Are these tools easy to use?

4. Are they limited by the quality of the screen you have ie; Would I be better off if I bought a CRT monitor before purchasing Spyder2?

Thanks!

davmigil

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

I've been thinking about getting one of these tools to calibrate my screen.

Now, I'm no pro photographer btw!

I have a HP laptop but would like to get the best from my screen and get the best colours from my pics when viewing them on it.

I've heard ColorVision Spyder2 been mentioned in Thom's D80 User Guide.

1. Is it worth getting a tool like Spyder2 for the amateur photographer who only takes pics every few weeks? (I put a lot of my pics on my flickr page)

2. I have great intentions in learning how to use my installation of PS CS2 but at the moment I stick to Picasa for basic editing. Would Spyder2 have any benefit when using Picasa or would it really show up more when using an advanced package like PS?

3. Are these tools easy to use?

4. Are they limited by the quality of the screen you have ie; Would I be better off if I bought a CRT monitor before purchasing Spyder2?

Thanks!

Disclaimer: very much an amateur myself, so hopefully the more learned will correct any blatant nonsense!

1. Colour calibration more beneficial for printer output, won't matter so much if just uploading to flicker

2. CS2 has built in colour management abilities, I don't think Picassa does. So definitely more sense if using CS2.

3. Yes

4. I would imagine laptop LCD could be a limiting factor, depends on the quality of the LCD screen used. Also if you use your laptops in different locations the ambient light conditions will change too.

There are inbuilt software colour calibration tools in XP and Mac OSX. They require you to calibrate by eye, which is pretty difficult and very much effected by the ambient light conditions of the light in the room. Hardware ones definitely superior, but might be a good place to start.

stcstc

ambient light has nothing to do with screen or print calibration. what you are doing when you calibrate your screen or printer is setting it to a international standard (thats where the ICC comes from)

Calibration isnt about making your monitor look better or anything. its a mathematical thing.

as for laptops, generally they have a couple of flaws when it comes to photo editing etc

Firstly the controls you get on you laptop screen are generally limited (like brightness etc)

secondly, the screens and graphics cards in laptops are generally not as good quality as a professional monitor for editing and retouching.

run_Forrest_run

stcstc wrote: »

ambient light has nothing to do with screen or print calibration. what you are doing when you calibrate your screen or printer is setting it to a international standard (thats where the ICC comes from)

Calibration isnt about making your monitor look better or anything. its a mathematical thing.

as for laptops, generally they have a couple of flaws when it comes to photo editing etc

Firstly the controls you get on you laptop screen are generally limited (like brightness etc)

secondly, the screens and graphics cards in laptops are generally not as good quality as a professional monitor for editing and retouching.

so am I wasting my time trying to calibrate a monitor screen and should I go ahead and get a decent CRT monitor?

Paulw

Get a decent CRT or else a S-IPS LCD display, and then get it calibrated (Spyder or such).

A laptop is probably the least likely to give you a quality view of your image.

stcstc

as paul says get a decent monitor and plug it into your laptop then calibrate that

JMcL

davmigil wrote: »

1. Colour calibration more beneficial for printer output, won't matter so much if just uploading to flicker

I'd disagree, both are important. While a well profiled printer will always give you best results, if you've got a decent manufacturer profile for the printer and aren't using odd paper/ink combinations, the printer output will usually be fairly decent.

The problem with screens, LCD in particular, is that out of the box they're usually far too bright, and the white point is usually set too high, giving a blue cast on the screen. This is grand for normal use, and is good to look at, but is a disaster for photo editing. As an example, when I calibrate my monitor, brightness usually needs to be set to about 7% (that's not a typo!). The problem is that you can edit you photos to look good on screen, but when you send them off to be printed, they'll frequently come back too dark.

As for your laptop, I'd see if you can talk nicely to someone with a calibrator, and try it before you splash out to see what the results are like. It probably won't be as good as a decent external monitor, but it should be an improvement. If you do decide to fork out, have a look at Colour Confidence, their prices are usually fairly decent. I have the EyeOne Display 2, and find it excellent. The Spyder 3 is also supposed to be decent, and I've heard mixed reports on the Spyder 2 (if it's still available). There's a light version of the Eyeone which I believe works well, not sure if there's a light Spyder. The Huey is only supposed to be ok

mloc

I use a Spider 3 Pro, which has successfully stopped the images from my Dell 2407WFP turning out grey and flat on other monitors. Everything is close to spot on now, and by calibrating my other screens to the same settings everything seems to be more consistent also.

davmigil

JMcL wrote: »

The problem with screens, LCD in particular, is that out of the box they're usually far too bright, and the white point is usually set too high, giving a blue cast on the screen. This is grand for normal use, and is good to look at, but is a disaster for photo editing. As an example, when I calibrate my monitor, brightness usually needs to be set to about 7% (that's not a typo!). The problem is that you can edit you photos to look good on screen, but when you send them off to be printed, they'll frequently come back too dark.

I was thinking of getting something like a Spyder to calibrate my LCD monitor, as that is exactly the problem I have - i.e. looks fine on screen, but comes out too dark on my ink jet printer. How does the calibrator work with brightness, do you adjust the hardware controls on the LCD and the calibrator tells you when the adjustment is correct etc.

Also when I have used software calibration tools I find my screen is too dark for general PC use and gaming - do most people switch brightness inbetween photo work and general usage?

stcstc

i never change my brightness, i think you should aim to use something else if you need the brightness, well if your trying to be consistent

the other thing people do miss about printing is the fact that a screen is a backlit medium and a print is a reflective type medium

quite often people dont have enough light in the room they are trying to view the prints in. a good rule is to use your light meter and measure at iso 100 125/s until you get f2.8. this will give you the kind of amount of light you should have in the room your trying to view the prints.

Fionn

i didn't realise how 'off' screens can be til i set up a two monitor config i have a good S-IPS LG panel which shows the grey in this message dialog box as about 20% grey, while on a Dell FP something or other TN panel it looks like 15% grey with a blue/cyan tint, totally off and buch much brighter.
So any calibration is better than none

PoleStar

Hi

Sorry to "semi" hijack this thread.

Im just an amateur photographer but have wondered myself about getting a monitor calibrator. I use mainly a sony vaio laptop which has the best screen I have personally come across in a laptop.

However the crystal clear bright images obvsiouly dont transfer to my prints.

I have seen the spyder2express. Just wondering if anyone here has any experience with this. I have a standard desktop crt monitor and also the laptop lcd screen which I wish to calibrate. I know it says on the website that it works for both but before I fork out 85 euro for this wanted some opinions.

Thanks!!!!!

Paulw

I have a Spyder3 and find it brilliant.

I calibrated my laptop screen and the images are a lot more realistic than before. But, calibrating my desktop screen means that I now know what I see on ths screen is what will come out printed.

It certainly makes a big difference.

Any calibration is better than none. You could always maybe borrow someone's Spyder to try and see how it effects your images.

MagicMarker

Just thought i'd bump this thread...

In the last few days i've noticed a significant difference in quality of colour/contrast. I first thought it was flickr but i now know it's my browser, if i view my pictures in Safari i'm very happy with them, but in Firefox they look less colourful with less contrast. I don't mind personally because i can just keep viewing them in safari, but i don't know how other people view them or what they look like in IE. Also when it comes to printing i don't know how it will come out, if it was like the view i see in firefox then i wouldn't be happy.

Anyone else ever noticed this?

stcstc

the latest versions of most of the browsers are actually colour aware now, ie they actually recognise the colour profile in the image file. this could account for the change in colours your seeing.

safari i belive its on by default. i think firefox you have to enable it

for printing. if you have a calibrated screen, and you use a decent print company they should be able to provide you with a profile for the paper there using. and then you could do soft proofing in photoshop of the image. this is no means a perfect way to check, but will give you a good indication of what the colours will like on your prints

MagicMarker

Cool! Didn't know any of that, i just did a google and downloaded the colour management add on for firefox 3 and now there are no differences between firefox and safari!