I finally got a new laptop and love it. but looking back at some of the images I've posted, many are really blown out - is this what others have been seeing??!!
they were tweaked to what i thought was perfection on my PC where i do most of my editing.
How and with what do people calibrate their computers? And how do I know that whast looks good HERE looks good THERE ??
Thanks for any thoughts -
Sandy
Posted by Nat Coalson on January 9, 2008 at 3:30 PM
To view accurate color on your monitor you need to use a hardware calibration device.
I highly recommend the i1 (EyeOne) Display 2 from X-Rite. The LT version is adequate but the full version offers more control.
Avoid Spyder and Huey. Not accurate.
Modern LCD displays are very bright and have very high contrast. During the calibration process you should consider using slightly dimmer/less contrasty settings for a more accurate representation of the colors and tones that are actually in your images.
And laptop displays are less accurate - and less easily calibrated - than desktop models. If you can afford a second display you will get better color.
Unfortunately, when you're posting images to the web or sending by email you have no control (or even any way to know) how it will look on someone else's monitor.
But fortunately, most serious photographers calibrate their monitor to some degree.
The first step in a color managed workflow is calibrating and profiling your own display.
The second step is correctly using ICC profiles. When posting to the web, always convert your file to sRGB first.
These two steps will get you 75% of the way to predictable, accurate color.
For more detailed info and technical articles please visit the Knowledge Center on my printing web site and my blog.
Posted by Don George on January 9, 2008 at 3:38 PM
I find its troublesome to do editing on a laptop. As the screen moves forwards and backwards the image quality changes. I do all my editing etc on my desktop. The laptop however is great for field work,,,downloading and checking your images etc...
I'll second Nate's advice and add a couple of things...
Check out Chromix.com. They sell the iOne and other color management tools, including a printer profiling service. They also have some nice tutorials. They are good folks and are easy to work with: Highly receommended.
Be sure to calibrate and profile your PC's monitor and your laptop. It is best to the operations in a darkened room so that there are no reflections off the screens. Also, LCD screens look different depending upon the angle at which you view them. Be sure to look at them 'head-on'.
Before profiling, be sure to disable Adobe Gamma by removing it from your 'Startup Folder' (I am assuming you are using Windoz, here). The X-rite software (assuming you use that tool) will install your new profile and set it as the 'Default' for you.
Kind Regards,
-PB
Posted by John Mumaw on January 9, 2008 at 3:59 PM
Avoid Spyder and Huey. Not accurate.
This simply isn't true. I and many, many others use Spyder calibration products with complete success.
From color management guru Andrew Rodney in 'Color Management & Your Display':
"Some of the packages on the market you may wish to examine are the Pantone huey, the Color Vision Spyder, the X-Rite OPTIX and Eye-One Display-2."
I won't dispute that the i1 Display2 may be the best. However, when using a Spyder hardware calibration device, my prints match my monitor as closely as a transmissive image will match a reflective image, and that's all I care about.
We calibrate Sandy, but like others have said, laptops are problematic because of the apparent changes in appearance with viewing angle changes. If you use a lab for any of your printing, check with them about recommended equipment, software and settings. The biggest part of our work (and income!) revolve around healthy relations with a lab, so we use their POV as a starting point for our own setups.
Posted by David Bostedo on January 9, 2008 at 6:05 PM
Sandy - First things first. Did you ever calibrate your old CRT? If so, whatever you used for that is likely to work now. If not, then perhaps your LCD is just further from calibrated than your CRT - which is why you might not have noticed before.
Also note that some laptop screens (just like desktop LCDs) are much better than others. Not only in resolution, but in angle of view and color accuracy. I'm lucky in that the laptop I got before getting into photography is 1680x1050, doesn't change much with angle (for a laptop), and I can get accurate (to my inexperienced eye anyway) color out of prints. (FWIW, prints from 3rd parties, like MPix and West Coast, seem to be close to my monitor as well.)
So your laptop could work out fine...
Posted by Nat Coalson on January 9, 2008 at 11:55 PM
In his recommendation Andrew Rodney is making sure to appear non-biased. There are a wide range of consumer color management products out there and a wide range of buyers.
But after using all the current crop of calibration devices I stand by my assertion that X-Rite's products are the only game in town when it comes to "professional level" calibration. Of course, not everyone needs this, and if saving money is the top priority, any hardware calibration is potentially better than none. (i1 Display 2 is over $200 and the Huey is less than $100.)
When working with my consulting clients and students, I have seen ample examples of both Huey and Spyder producing less than acceptable results. Both have the tendency to introduce unwanted color casts and in some cases these are extreme.
The bottom line is that current laptop screens will never produce perfect color.
Posted by Kelly Rowe on January 10, 2008 at 12:15 AM
I'm in Nat's camp. I've used the PrintFix Pro Suite that includes the Spyder, and it just doesn't do the job as well as i!. It doesn't examine ambient color cast, and doesn't calibrate monitor luminosity. I was wondering why my prints were so much darker than my images on screen, and it was simply that my monitor brightness was turned up way too high. PrintFix had nothing to say about that since it didn't measure it. i! did and I made some serious adjustments.
If you decide to go with the PrintFix suite, I'll sell it for $200, a $300 savings. I have fully disclosed my opinion of it though...
Posted by Ron Niebrugge on January 10, 2008 at 4:07 PM
Not many seem to like Spyder 2, but that is an old product. What about Spyder 3?
Posted by Grace Blair on January 18, 2008 at 10:46 AM
DGR https://www.digitalgraphicsresources.com/index.asp has the i1 Display2 on sale for $215 and an additional $15 off if purchased before Jan 22!
Discussion
10 repliesthey were tweaked to what i thought was perfection on my PC where i do most of my editing.
How and with what do people calibrate their computers? And how do I know that whast looks good HERE looks good THERE ??
Thanks for any thoughts -
Sandy
I highly recommend the i1 (EyeOne) Display 2 from X-Rite. The LT version is adequate but the full version offers more control.
Avoid Spyder and Huey. Not accurate.
Modern LCD displays are very bright and have very high contrast. During the calibration process you should consider using slightly dimmer/less contrasty settings for a more accurate representation of the colors and tones that are actually in your images.
And laptop displays are less accurate - and less easily calibrated - than desktop models. If you can afford a second display you will get better color.
Unfortunately, when you're posting images to the web or sending by email you have no control (or even any way to know) how it will look on someone else's monitor.
But fortunately, most serious photographers calibrate their monitor to some degree.
The first step in a color managed workflow is calibrating and profiling your own display.
The second step is correctly using ICC profiles. When posting to the web, always convert your file to sRGB first.
These two steps will get you 75% of the way to predictable, accurate color.
For more detailed info and technical articles please visit the Knowledge Center on my printing web site and my blog.
I'll second Nate's advice and add a couple of things...
Check out Chromix.com. They sell the iOne and other color management tools, including a printer profiling service. They also have some nice tutorials. They are good folks and are easy to work with: Highly receommended.
Be sure to calibrate and profile your PC's monitor and your laptop. It is best to the operations in a darkened room so that there are no reflections off the screens. Also, LCD screens look different depending upon the angle at which you view them. Be sure to look at them 'head-on'.
Before profiling, be sure to disable Adobe Gamma by removing it from your 'Startup Folder' (I am assuming you are using Windoz, here). The X-rite software (assuming you use that tool) will install your new profile and set it as the 'Default' for you.
Kind Regards,
-PB
This simply isn't true. I and many, many others use Spyder calibration products with complete success.
From Dry Creek Photo Monitor Calibration Review:
"The tonality and accuracy of shadow colors (of Spyder2) is excellent. Grayscale accuracy is, overall, exceptional."
From color management guru Andrew Rodney in 'Color Management & Your Display':
"Some of the packages on the market you may wish to examine are the Pantone huey, the Color Vision Spyder, the X-Rite OPTIX and Eye-One Display-2."
I won't dispute that the i1 Display2 may be the best. However, when using a Spyder hardware calibration device, my prints match my monitor as closely as a transmissive image will match a reflective image, and that's all I care about.
Also note that some laptop screens (just like desktop LCDs) are much better than others. Not only in resolution, but in angle of view and color accuracy. I'm lucky in that the laptop I got before getting into photography is 1680x1050, doesn't change much with angle (for a laptop), and I can get accurate (to my inexperienced eye anyway) color out of prints. (FWIW, prints from 3rd parties, like MPix and West Coast, seem to be close to my monitor as well.)
So your laptop could work out fine...
But after using all the current crop of calibration devices I stand by my assertion that X-Rite's products are the only game in town when it comes to "professional level" calibration. Of course, not everyone needs this, and if saving money is the top priority, any hardware calibration is potentially better than none. (i1 Display 2 is over $200 and the Huey is less than $100.)
When working with my consulting clients and students, I have seen ample examples of both Huey and Spyder producing less than acceptable results. Both have the tendency to introduce unwanted color casts and in some cases these are extreme.
The bottom line is that current laptop screens will never produce perfect color.
If you decide to go with the PrintFix suite, I'll sell it for $200, a $300 savings. I have fully disclosed my opinion of it though...