Monitor Calibration

[Netskimmer]

I have heard that calibration is a must, I have a few questions about this.

Is this only for pro's or anyone that edits their pics
Is there any effective option that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars?
How often does this have to be done?
Is this the kind of thing you could rent from somewhere like Best Buy?

I know that this is an expensive hobby and $200-$500 isn't a major expenditure for some people here but I would still like to try and save money wherever I can, especially if you don't need to calibrate frequently.

 

[The_Traveler]

I have a calibrator (gretag-macbeth).
I'm a hobbyist.
I calibrate once a week.

 

[Netskimmer]

So this is something that has to be done frequently then. How does your monitor lose this calibration once it is set. I have tried googling monitor calibration to learn more but it brings up a mass of links to monitor manuals and tutorials on how to play with the buttons on your monitor, ect.

 

[tirediron]

Monitor calibration is not a must, but it is necesary if you want the best out of your post-processing. There are some software methods which will allow you to ball-park your calibration, but there is no substitute for a good hardware calibrator. You should be able to find something like the Huey by Pantone for <$150.

 

[tirediron]

So this is something that has to be done frequently then. How does your monitor lose this calibration once it is set. I have tried googling monitor calibration to learn more but it brings up a mass of links to monitor manuals and tutorials on how to play with the buttons on your monitor, ect.

It's really dependant on your monitor. I find that once a month is sufficient for me, unless I have a major project to process in which case I'll do it just before to be totally sure it's as good as it can be. Some monitors will hold the settings for a long time, older CRT style could well start to change inside of a week.

 

[KmH]

Many print labs recommend using the i1 Display 2 colorimeter from X-RITE to calibrate your computer display.

Mpix.com - Mpix.com - Help
Scroll down to "Are ICC profiles available for soft proofing?" - click on "DOWNLOAD HERE". Open the ICC profiles file, then open the "Soft-Proofing help.pdf" file.

We recommend the X-Rite Eye-One Display 2. www.xrite.com<a href="http://www.xrite.com./" target="_blank">.

BayPhoto.com - Image File Preparation & Color Management Guidelines | ROES, Digital Prints ? Bay Photo Lab

In order to calibrate your monitor you will need a hardware calibration device. An excellent calibration device is the i1Display 2 by Xrite. Information can be found at www.xritephoto.com. This is a very popular device and we us it in the lab.

 

[flea77]

I have heard that calibration is a must, I have a few questions about this.

Is this only for pro's or anyone that edits their pics

It is a must if you want the printed image to look exactly like it does on the monitor. If you don't care that the blues are off and white really isn't white, then no, don't bother.

Is there any effective option that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars?

Not that I am aware of. You could try buying a used calibration system off the bay for less. There are some systems that do not use a hardware device and while I am sure they are better than nothing, I can not see how they can be really effective.

How often does this have to be done?

Depends, I find once a month to be plenty.

Is this the kind of thing you could rent from somewhere like Best Buy?

Never heard of any place renting them out, besides, it would pay for itself quickly.

I know that this is an expensive hobby and $200-$500 isn't a major expenditure for some people here but I would still like to try and save money wherever I can, especially if you don't need to calibrate frequently.

You don't really need to spend that much, you can find them for less than $200 (at least last time I looked). One thing you didn't mention is that not all monitors calibrate well. Mine were a breeze but then again they were almost $800 each (I have two) when I bought them so I kind of expect that. The cheapo Acer on the machine behind me (that does not edit images) is a pain to calibrate and never really gets it right, I just quit trying on that one.

Allan

 

[Mike_E]

Have a look here.. Monitor Calibration for Photography

 

[thebutler4]

My Acer`s calibrate just fine .. I do know that its more than just your monitors .. I do have a very high end video card .. so that may be why my acers are easy to calibrate.

Anyhow .. I am (at this point) a hobbyist .. I cant call my self a professional by any sense of the word however I calibrate my monitors ever 2 to 4 weeks ...

I don't think you can rent them .. however you may be able to find someone to come out and calibrate your monitors .. Maybe someone in your area .. look in the yellow pages

There was one that I found that was (if memory recalls) like 129 bucks .. but for the life of me I cant remember the name of it .. <looking for it as I type this out>

the only and I mean ONLY reason I have the ColorMunki was because my photography class required it .. its WAY overkill for me however it has some really cool stuff that makes life easer ...

Ok found it .. http://www2.chromix.com/ColorGear/S...&-session=SessID:4B9008010edef231E6Huo2A83D5B

its 90 bucks ..

 

[c.cloudwalker]

There is only one type of photogs that need to calibrate their monitors with anything more than their eyes.

And that's photogs who work with other people who use calibrated monitors. Period.

Everything else is total BS.

Once upon a time, in the time of the dinosaurs that is, commercial pro shooters used mostly transparency film (ie. positive film, slide) because the colors were the colors while negative film was always a matter of interpretation. But the truth of that is that it was still BS. Kodak and Fuji had different dominant tones...

Two other important factors to consider:
1/ I once had a green truck that my wife always referred to as my blue truck.
2/ Most people who will view your photos are not in front of a calibrated monitor.

Don't worry about it so long as it looks normal on your monitor and nobody bitches about your green skies

 

[flea77]

There is only one type of photogs that need to calibrate their monitors with anything more than their eyes.

And that's photogs who work with other people who use calibrated monitors. Period.

Everything else is total BS.

So is that why pro color labs request you to calibrate, and even send you proofs to make sure their printers are calibrated to your monitor, hmmmmm. Sorry, going to have to disagree with you here. If your monitor is not calibrated, and the image looks ok to your eyes, it could still print like garbage.

Allan

 

[thebutler4]

There is only one type of photogs that need to calibrate their monitors with anything more than their eyes.

And that's photogs who work with other people who use calibrated monitors. Period.

Everything else is total BS.

So is that why pro color labs request you to calibrate, and even send you proofs to make sure their printers are calibrated to your monitor, hmmmmm. Sorry, going to have to disagree with you here. If your monitor is not calibrated, and the image looks ok to your eyes, it could still print like garbage.

Allan

I agree. monitor calibration is our friend

lol

 

[KmH]

How does your monitor lose this calibration once it is set. I have tried googling monitor calibration to learn more but it brings up a mass of links to monitor manuals and tutorials on how to play with the buttons on your monitor, ect.

The display ages. another consideration is the amount of ambient light that falls on the display. If it changes, you should re-calibrate. I recalibrate every new moon, which is every 28 days.

There 3 main types of computer display:

1. Twisted Nematic (TN). The least expensive and least desirable for image editing. Most laptops have a TN display.
2. Parallel Vertical Alignment (PVA} Better than TN but still has issues.
3. In-Plane Switching (IPS) The most desireable display type for image editing.

All of these tutorials relate to your thread and one of them is specifically about display calibration: Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

 

[The_Traveler]

There is only one type of photogs that need to calibrate their monitors with anything more than their eyes.

And that's photogs who work with other people who use calibrated monitors. Period.

Everything else is total BS.

Those whose background includes some statistics understand the issue of sampling error and virtually everyone understands a bell-shaped curve that indicates the distribution of some variable.

My intuition is that most monitors are so close to 'perfectly balanced' that images produced and seen on them seem perfectly all right.

There must be, however, some percentage of monitors that are so far from correct that the colors look off, the saturation looks off and the color balance looks off to MOST OTHER PEOPLE.

Well, how do you know if your monitor is in that group that is close-enough-to-perfect or in the group that is so far-enough-away-from-perfect that your colors look not so good.

Well that's where calibration comes in.

I spend lots of money on bodies, lenses and everything else because I want my colors to look good to the printers, on the monitors of most people and to the monitors of the people who care as I do, so I calibrate my monitor routinely.

And let me end with two quotes:

(I’ve learned I do not want to spend the time to learn to do digital PP

.........................August 1, 2010 from a post entitles "I hate you all"

“If you want to visit Paris, the best time to go is during August, when there aren't any French people there”

:lmao:

 

[Netskimmer]

$150 isn't so bad if I'm going to get good use out of the thing, I just didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on something I'd use once and then shove in a closet for 6+ monthes. My monitor is a 245bw, it's a TN LCD. I bought it when I built my gaming rig back in '07 and didn't have photo editing in mind at the time.