LCD Luminance too high?

I need some advice regarding LCD displays. I recently switched from Windows PCs (with huge bulky and heavy CRTs) to Macintosh and purchased two 24” iMacs for Photoshop work. When I tried to calibrate (profile) the displays using my Eye-One, the lowest luminance I could achieve is ~200-250cd/m2. This is with the brightness control at the lowest setting possible. The Eye-One software suggests a luminance of 120 cd/m2 and I have read that 140 cd/m2 would be optimal for most LCD displays. Because the screens are so bright, my prints come off the printer (Epson 9600) rather dark. As a stop gap measure I have been applying a slight tone curve correction in ImagePrint to lighten the prints—not optimal but workable. I also do not have the ability to increase the ambient lighting in the room to match the display luminance.

In searching the web I find that many iMac users are having the same problem. Apparently the only real solution is to purchase a second monitor that can be properly adjusted (luminance/brightness). I’m a bit annoyed by this since now I have to shell out more money for another display. I had hoped (in my Apple naiveté) that the iMac display would be similar to the Apple Cinema displays—apparently not so.

So my question is, what is a good LCD monitor (~20-24”) for less than $2000 that can achieve a luminance of 120-140cd/m2? Most display specs list maximum brightness (usually around 400 cd/m2) but do not say anything about minimum brightness. I’m not too concerned with being able to reproduce the Adobe RGB gamut (50% would be fine) as my printer can’t come anywhere close to that anyway.

I’ve heard good things about NEC, Eizo, LaCie, Samsung, and even some of the Dell displays. What LCD displays are you all using and can you get the luminance down to a reasonable level?

Thanks in advance!

The one I've seen recommended most is the HP LP2465...check out this very extensive thread on NatureScapes about LCD brightness, calibration, and print matching. It starts off talking about the HP, but also touches on other monitors and focuses on getting proper brightness.

Not sure about the HP LP2465.
A fellow whom I respect immensely for his image editing capabilities (Kent Conrad) makes some good observations in his reply in this thread.
Note that he mentions that his preferred monitor (HP 2065) has a brightness problem similar to yours and he mentions adjusting the RGB settings in order to get correct brightness. Perhaps you can save some $$$ if you can figure out how to do that.

You can do a search for 's-ips' to find that particular configuration in LCD monitors here.

Phillip,
I gave the LP2465 a go earlier this month and was less than satisfied. I'm sure it's an o.k. monitor for most and it's definitely a great deal, but mine had quality control issues and didn't feel like messing around with another copy of the same display. I ended up getting the NEC 2490WUXi and I calibrate using an Eye-One with NEC's SpectraView II software. If you research the 2490WUXi I'm sure you'll see that it gets very high marks for image editing.

The best deal I found on the display was through Provantage.com and I got the SpectraView II software direct from NEC. A word of caution; be careful if you order anything from NEC, they ran my credit card four times for the same purchase.

Thanks for the replies. I read through the threads but didn't find much that would help. I have no idea how to access the graphics card in my iMacs. I did several searches but came up empty handed. I'm not sure its even possible to adjust the RGB settings on the Mac. It appears to be well hidden.

I noticed yesterday that both of my iMacs have reset their brightness back to 100%! WTH?? Don't know how this happened and so far I haven't been able to reproduce it. I guess now every time I go to print something I have to double check to see if my brightness is where I left it and if not I'll have to reset it and re-profile the displays. I'm starting to have serious doubts about the iMac as a useful tool for photo editing. A Mac Pro would have been nice but they are more than double the cost. Do any of you long time Mac users know what's going on?

Adam,

What luminance is your NEC display running at? Also, do I need the NEC SpetraView if I have a GretagMacBeth Eye-One? Is there an advantage to the SpectraView? Can I use it with the Eye-one? Thanks.

Phillip,

I'm running at 120 cd/m2. With the GretagMacBeth software the lowest brightness level I could achieve after calibration was a little over 140 cd/m2. The Eye-One is the same puck that NEC sells in their SpectraView kit, and yes you can use it.

I think the NEC site does a good job of explaining the advantage of the SpectraView II software:

The SpectraViewII system uses a color sensor to take color measurements of the display screen during calibration. The software analyzes these measurements and sends color adjustment commands directly to the display monitor. This means that color adjustments are made in the monitor rather than in the video graphics adapter, resulting in full use of the number of colors available on the graphics adapter and a much brighter image with the maximum possible color gamut. With SpectraViewII, the video graphics adapter is not used at all to make any gamma or Tone Response Curve corrections to the display, so the full color resolution and fidelity of the system is maintained.

I hope this helps.

Thanks Adam. I read that but wasn't sure if I could still use my eye-one or if I had to use NEC's version.

I'll have to give this display some serious consideration.

Regarding the NEC 2490WUXi display, I just read this on NewEgg:

This monitor uses the same L.G. Phillips H-IPS panel as the new 24" iMac. The only difference is that the NEC uses a polarizer to eliminate hazing at extreme viewing angles.

Now I'm really confused! If this is true I would think that there should be a way to have more control over my 24" iMac display. Perhaps its my newness to Macintosh but I cannot find any way to do anything except decrease the brightness (which, even at its lowest setting, is still too bright). The iMac would be a great little machine if I could get out of the display what its capable of. I wonder if the SpectraView software would work on the iMac?? Probably not. That would sure solve a lot of problems for a lot of people!

Thank you very much for the advice on the NEC 2490 monitor, Adam!

I had been shopping for a new and larger monitor for some time, and after reading your post and researching the NEC monitor for what seemed like hours, I went ahead and ordered it.
I reckon that color management guru Andrew Rodney's endorsement of this monitor was the final nudge I needed.

So, thanks again, Adam! Back to you, Phillip.

John,
Glad to help. I think you'll be very pleased. Andrew Rodney's endorsement is what finally led me to getting the 2490WUXi.

Have you changed the default iMac Gamma? Many references state you should change the Mac to 2.2 which is used by PC's generally. This may not solve your printing issue, but it is suppose to make your image look the same on a Mac and a PC. I believe changing your monitor gamma to 2.2 WILL actually darken your image on the Mac.

Troup

Hi Troup,

I set the gamma to 2.2 and the temp to 6500 on both iMacs. I then ran the Eye-One software and calibrated the displays. I ran the advanced mode and skipped the contrast adjustment (since I can't adjust it anyway), selected RGB presets (since I can't adjust them individually) and set targets for 6500 and 140 (luminance). It then ran the brightness routine where it tells you to lower your brightness and it takes a reading. I set it a low as it will go. On one iMac it registered 151 cd/m2 but when the entire calibration was done it reported out 177 cd/m2. On the other iMac, during the brightness routine it measured 218 cd/m2 and at the end of the calibration it reported 212 cd/m2. Not sure what is going on there. Same software and same Eye-One on both iMacs. I can't believe the display fluctuates from 150 to 177 in just a few minutes! If it does, I've got bigger problems!

At any rate, the luminance is still too high on both iMacs. I'm guessing I'll just have to live with it or buy another monitor.

Phillip,

Have you disabled Adobe Gamma?

Adam,

How do I do that on a Mac?

How do I do that on a Mac?

I'm not a Mac user, but it looks as though it may not be necessary on a Mac.

"So my question is, what is a good LCD monitor (~20-24”) for less than $2000 that can achieve a luminance of 120-140cd/m2?"

I've looked into this extensively, and I believe the answer is the NEC spectraview (pro) line. Eizo is another specialized brand that is also good, but somewhat more expensive. Since you already have an eye-one. the 30 inch NEC multisync is suppose to be close to the the quality of the pro line, but without the calibration tool.

The mac monitors are old and not as accurate as other brands.

I feel its best to buy a better monitor and be "done with it" for a few years. It gets expensive trying to save money with less expensive monitors.

Hi Phillip,

Sorry to be entering this thread so late, but there are a few possible solutions to reducing your brightness on the iMac. We went into it in some detail in a recent newsletter: http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/My_Printer_Is_Too_Dark

Most monitor profiling systems depend on you being able to adjust the brightness on the screen - and then they take over the job of adjusting the color, and that color adjustment gets into the graphics card which controls all the color going to your computer. There are a few monitor profilers that will make use of the graphics card to reduce the brightness if necessary also. The only one practical in your situation would be ColorEyes Display Pro. It's a very good software package that comes with a few advanced features (like the one you need). You can get it as software only - without the colorimeter, since you already have the i1 device. You can download the demo which is fully functional for I think 15 days or so. http://www.integrated-color.com/

Sorry to sound like a commercial. I don't work for ColorEyes. We do sell the CEDPro here, but we've run into this problem a lot with the iMac - and this is the best thing we've found. At least it's less expensive than a new monitor.

If anyone is monitoring this thread I thought I would mention that I may have found a solution. I found a free app called "ScreenShade" that reduces the brightness of the iMac display farther than the iMac hardware allows you to. So far I have been able to dim the screen to 140 cd/m2 (and much lower if I wanted to) and then use the i1 to profile the dimmed display.

I have not tried printing yet with this arrangement so I'm not sure if this is a 100% fix to the problem but it may work. I'll post here if it works or if I have more problems.

That's great news, Phillip. I hope it works out.