Monitors...

[DoryBreaux]

Hi there, first post...

I am looking for some advice on calibrating my monitor with a software solution. I've tried the nVidia tool, to no avail, it always comes out waaaay too dark.

I am also looking into buying a new monitor and using my current one as a second. Does anyone have any suggestions? Sub-$400 preferably, good for photo editing/lightroom/PS use...

Thanks,
Dory

 

[jwbryson1]

I just bought this one because (i) it's an IPS monitor and (ii) it has great reviews. For the price point, it seems pretty hard to go wrong with it.

Dell UltraSharp U2412M Monitor with LED Details

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome aboard Dory.

You can't properly calibrate a monitor with just software, you need a hardware device. The more popular ones are probably the ColorMunki and the Spyder.

As mentioned, you will probably want to look for a screen that is the 'IPS' type.

This question gets asked a lot around here, so snoop around the forum and read some other thread to see what people have already said.

 

[DoryBreaux]

Thanks guys!

Big Mike, I was really just looking for a temporary solution, but I guess in the long run it would make sense to buy it right...

 

[KmH]

Computer displays have to be calibrated routinely, like every 4 to 6 weeks or so, because displays age and calibration drifts.

If the ambient light falling on the display changes, it has to be re-calibrated for that ambient light environment, which is why the portability of laptops make them a poor choice for image editing.

Here are some tutorials you may find helpful - Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

 

[Garbz]

The problem with calibrating using software is what are you calibrating against? The eyes are as fantastic at picking up problems as they are at glossing over them. I used to really love seeing people try and calibrate the white balance on their screen using a series of grey boxes and then always defaulting to leaving the settings as they were and on another computer doing the same despite having two completely different colour balances, their eyes adjusted to the monitor. You can't visually perfect colour deviation or tone either. At best you can guestimate a gamma adjustment for your screen using a series of solid and banded coloured squares but even this is incredibly hit and miss.

The other thing about calibration is profiling. This is the calibrator checking what the primary colour output of the screen is and creating a profile so that software like photoshop can compensate for your monitor not showing the same colour red as another one. This is not something that is doable without a reference, which is what the colour calibrators provide.


For your monitor, the important thing is viewing angle. Photographers use IPS screens for this reason, like the Dell linked above. The IPS technology ensures wide viewing angles. I suggest if you see a monitor you like you head over to www.tftcentra.co.uk and type the model into the panel lookup tool. That'll tell you what type of panel is in it and who manufactured it. But also remember that just because a monitor has an identical panel to another does not mean they are in the same league. For instance NEC have monitors at twice the price of the above linked Dell which have identical panels, but they also include important features like a better digital processing board, and a colour lookup table to store calibration curves. Basically what I'm saying is stay away from those Korean monitors which claim they are as good as the top of the line NECs.

 

[TheFantasticG]

I just bought this one because (i) it's an IPS monitor and (ii) it has great reviews. For the price point, it seems pretty hard to go wrong with it.

Dell UltraSharp U2412M Monitor with LED Details

I just purchased one of these myself.