Monitor calibration advice?

[JeffGlue]

Hi all,

I'm looking to calibrate my LCD monitor and haven't done so before. Does anyone have any advice/recommendations on hardware/software I should be looking at?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Bindii]

Hi Jeff... no sure about whats available down there... but have a hunt around and see if you can hire a Spyder Pro.. they are good and generally only cost about $40 to hire for the day...

[jdear]

I would go either x-rite (formerly gretag macbeth) or colorvision

... the spyder 3 / eyeOne series.

I wouldnt choose the huey (maybe the Huey Pro is ok)

J

[mickeyjuice]

I've got the old Gretag-MacBeth Eye Display 1, and am very happy with it.

[MATT]

I have a spyder2express cheap as chips seems to do the job..

MATT

[Vodka]

If you have a multi monitor setup, it's probably better to go for the Spyder2 or Spyder2Pro versions rather than Express. Spyder2Express only support 1 monitor.

Ben

[JeffGlue]

Thanks for all the advice folks! I might see if I can order in a Spyder3Pro from B&H perhaps. Comes to about $200US incl postage.

[Justb]

Hey Jeff before you go and buy one you can hire from L&P (or total photographics) in Adelaide. $10 for the weekend.

[talpheus]

Hi, I'm totally new to forums and thought this was a good place to start...

I just bought a new monitor Samsung 226BW and am running dual monitors from my laptop (IBM R50, 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7500). I would love to use the huge monitor for photo editing (I'm not a pro, but would definitely like to see realistic colours tho...) I was rather bothered that that contrast on the big screen (Samsung one) was very strong compared to my laptop screen and after I tried turning the contrast down, the brown/red hue was still very strong. I would think my laptop screen reflected colours closer to real life than my large screen. The reason I'm saying this is because I compared a photo of my dog (a light brown coated furry dog) on both screens. The dog on the big screen looked 'harsh', 'reddish' and that on my laptop looked 'softer' and closer to real-life.

My questions are:

1) Would monitor calibration equipment help to bring my large screen colours/contrast to reflect real life colours?

2) Any other things I'm missing out? (I'm sorry, I'm a total newbie here...)

Thanks in advance for any tips~!

[Glen]

Ming I have the same screen and yes it benefits from calibration. There is also a way to print out a smaple sheet and try matching though I haven't used that

[mickeyjuice]

Monitor calibration is, IMHO, essential for anyone who cares what their images look like. (And if they don't, why bother taking them?)

It's easy to do, and well worth it. The lower-end calibration tools are now very affordable.

[talpheus]

Thanks for your replies~!

What kind of calibrating tools do you recommend? Spyder2 express? I'm a student...so hopefully something cheap and good would be nice~!

I heard calibrating using my printouts and eye...but I don't think I'm at that level of expertise... and I wouldn't count on my judgement...

1) What lower-end calibration tools are available? The only one that I've heard about online is the Spyders...
2) If I have to try using print and eyepower, what do I do? Do I print out a colour palette? What kind? sRGB?
3) Then do I just match what I see on paper with what I see on the screen? And adjust the contrast, brightness, gamma?

Thanks for the advice~! I really appreciate it~!

[ATJ]

I use a GretagMacbeth Eye-One Display. I got it through Dave_B, one of the members here. It was reasonably cheap and easy to use. There are cheaper options but you get what you pay for.

Note that while monitor calibration is essential, when you display your images on the web how the images look will be dependent on whether the person viewing them calibrates their monitor. Even if they do calibrate, neither Internet Explorer or Firefox (at least the current GA versions) do any colour management, so images may still not look as good.

[mickeyjuice]

I've got that old GB as well, and it still works fine, and they're still ensuring the software updates work with it. Good for them, I say.

And while you can't ensure how others see your shots, calibrating your monitor gives you the best chance of them looking good. (To say nothing about how much easier it makes printing, etc.)

[Oz_Beachside]

i have found the greytag huey a good starting point on a budget. and its not too much to outlay while you learn more about colors, and profiles etc... think they are $100

spyder 2 express looks about the same price

[Suri]

For what it may be worth.
I use Sypder2 Pro 2.2 and am happy with the results.
Monitor calibration IS A TRICKY business - and should not be attempted by the faint hearted.
While I felt I did achieve a significant improvement with colour management, I think my print quality improved much more from an understanding of the power and advantage of a dedicated printing program such as "Qimage" other than from JUST the monitor calibration process.
The other significant consideration I have found is to check your output on an alternative monitor/location and web browser.
What you think you are presenting can appear very different on other devices and computer set ups.

[talpheus]

The other significant consideration I have found is to check your output on an alternative monitor/location and web browser.

Exactly... I used the same photo on my widescreen LCD monitor and on my laptop monitor. One was natural (laptop) and the other had too high contrast with a red tinge (widescreen LCD), hence my drive to calibrate the monitors.

I was looking through some products, namely Spyder 2 express and Spyder 3 Pro. Spyder2 Express gives a fixed setting of 2.2 gamma and 6500K, and also calibrates 1 monitor only. Spyder 3 Pro calibrated multiple monitors and gives a larger range of gamma and temp. Would these be of any concern?

[talpheus]

Hi everyone, would just like to say thanks for the advice on monitor calibration