Monitor Calibration

[Neil]

I went through PhotoShop's Monitor Calibration -- Adobe Gamma.
Following the directions, I set the monitor to Contrast 100 (because
it said to set it to the highest setting), Brightness 57 to make the
pictures look as it described, then there was a slide to set something
else, eventually Save. But, I don't see the purpose, although I guess
everytime the light in the room is the same as when I ran the routine,
I should set the monitor to Contrast 100, Brightness 57. That
combination is too bright for me. What am I missing here? Thanks.

 

[Roy G]

I went through PhotoShop's Monitor Calibration -- Adobe Gamma.
Following the directions, I set the monitor to Contrast 100 (because
it said to set it to the highest setting), Brightness 57 to make the
pictures look as it described, then there was a slide to set something
else, eventually Save. But, I don't see the purpose, although I guess
everytime the light in the room is the same as when I ran the routine,
I should set the monitor to Contrast 100, Brightness 57. That
combination is too bright for me. What am I missing

here? Thanks.


If you are using Photoshop, (or another Colour Management aware program),
then PS will automatically use that Saved Profile to adjust your Monitor
display.

Adobe Gamma does NOT work with a lot of Flat Panel
Monitors.

Flat Panels do tend to be a bit too bright, even after being Calibrated and
Profiled by using a Hardware Device like Spyder or Eye One.

Did you also adjust the colour Temperature of the Display to 6500K instead
of its native 9300K ?

Did you also adjust the individual Gammas for each of the 3 Colours or did
you adjust the Single Gamma ?

The Ambient room lighting needs to be kept constant at the same level as
when the Monitor was being Calibrated.

Once a Monitor is Calibrated and Profiled, then its own Controls should not
be altered until it is being re-calibrated.

Roy G

 

[Neil]

Roy, thanks for your reply. Let me know if you can tell me any more
based on my answers.

If you are using Photoshop, (or another Colour Management aware program),
then PS will automatically use that Saved Profile to adjust your Monitor
display.

Using Photoshop.
I don't detect anything like that happening.

Adobe Gamma does NOT work with a lot of Flat Panel
Monitors.

Flat Panels do tend to be a bit too bright, even after being Calibrated and
Profiled by using a Hardware Device like Spyder or Eye One.

Mine is a picture tube -- Samsung SyncMaster 753DF.

Did you also adjust the colour Temperature of the Display to 6500K instead
of its native 9300K ?
No


Did you also adjust the individual Gammas for each of the 3 Colours or did
you adjust the Single Gamma ?
Single

The Ambient room lighting needs to be kept constant at the same level as
when the Monitor was being Calibrated.

Did that

Once a Monitor is Calibrated and Profiled, then its own Controls should not
be altered until it is being re-calibrated.

OK, but I couldn't leave it at B57 and C100 -- too bright.

 

[Roy G]

Roy, thanks for your reply. Let me know if you can tell me any more
based on my answers.

went through PhotoShop's Monitor Calibration -- Adobe Gamma.

If you are using Photoshop, (or another Colour Management aware program),
then PS will automatically use that Saved Profile to adjust your Monitor
display.

Using Photoshop.
I don't detect anything like that happening.

Adobe Gamma does NOT work with a lot of Flat Panel
Monitors.

Flat Panels do tend to be a bit too bright, even after being Calibrated
and
Profiled by using a Hardware Device like Spyder or Eye One.

Mine is a picture tube -- Samsung SyncMaster 753DF.

Did you also adjust the colour Temperature of the Display to 6500K instead
of its native 9300K ?
No


Did you also adjust the individual Gammas for each of the 3 Colours or did
you adjust the Single Gamma ?
Single

The Ambient room lighting needs to be kept constant at the same level as
when the Monitor was being Calibrated.

Did that

Once a Monitor is Calibrated and Profiled, then its own Controls should
not
be altered until it is being re-calibrated.

OK, but I couldn't leave it at B57 and C100 -- too bright.

Roy G

If it is a CRT and is too bright, then you have not got the Calibration
correct.

Change the Colour Temp to 6500K using the Monitor controls first.

Adjust Brightness until the little black square is just visible.

Use Single Gamma first and then switch to Colour Gammas.

Repeat the whole process several times, taking care and save the Profile as
something sensible like "My Monitor".

BUT you will probably really only get the best result by using a device like
the Spyder.

Roy G

 

[Neil]

Change the Colour Temp to 6500K using the Monitor controls first.

OK, dd that. Now do I set Contrast 100, Brightness 57 and just leave
them there? Thanks.

 

[Neil]

Roy, I think I'm getting the idea -- monitor calibration is for
getting the monitor's settings to be right for the room light and
other factors. I can see someone setting up different profiles, such
as 1) shutters open, 2) ceiling light, 3) desk light. And if the
application, like Adobe Gamma, is good, plus the monitor being of good
quality, the user is properly guided to make the right monitor
settings. I was only setting Brightness and Contrast in the past, just
adjusting each time I sat at the computer and as I worked. And my
verticals and horizontals fill the screen and I have not touched those
in a long time. Now I also have the Temperature set to 6500, and that
allows the Contrast and Brightness to be much higher than I could have
them at 9300 and I like the result -- images look natural. But I don't
understand the settings in Adobe Gamma after the B and C are set --
for that slide bar where the center box is supposed to blend in with
the patterned frame -- gamma midtones they call it. Since that's not a
monitor setting, what does it do, how is it saved, and how does it
come back? I don't see how I can bring up different profiles -- that
my present T6500 C100 B55 is set with the monitor, and when I close
the blinds I'll run Adobe Gamma and see what new settings to make. I
don't see how I'm supposed to be able to choose another saved profile,
like Desk Light, and the settings on the monitor change without me
pushing the settings buttons. Please tell me what I got right and what
I need to know or do. Thanks.

Neil

 

[Roy G]

Roy, I think I'm getting the idea -- monitor calibration is for
getting the monitor's settings to be right for the room light and
other factors. I can see someone setting up different profiles, such
as 1) shutters open, 2) ceiling light, 3) desk light. And if the
application, like Adobe Gamma, is good, plus the monitor being of good
quality, the user is properly guided to make the right monitor
settings. I was only setting Brightness and Contrast in the past, just
adjusting each time I sat at the computer and as I worked. And my
verticals and horizontals fill the screen and I have not touched those
in a long time. Now I also have the Temperature set to 6500, and that
allows the Contrast and Brightness to be much higher than I could have
them at 9300 and I like the result -- images look natural. But I don't
understand the settings in Adobe Gamma after the B and C are set --
for that slide bar where the center box is supposed to blend in with
the patterned frame -- gamma midtones they call it. Since that's not a
monitor setting, what does it do, how is it saved, and how does it
come back? I don't see how I can bring up different profiles -- that
my present T6500 C100 B55 is set with the monitor, and when I close
the blinds I'll run Adobe Gamma and see what new settings to make. I
don't see how I'm supposed to be able to choose another saved profile,
like Desk Light, and the settings on the monitor change without me
pushing the settings buttons. Please tell me what I got right and what
I need to know or do. Thanks.

Neil

Roy, thanks for your reply. Let me know if you can tell me any more
based on my answers.





Using Photoshop.
I don't detect anything like that happening.





Mine is a picture tube -- Samsung SyncMaster 753DF.




Did that




OK, but I couldn't leave it at B57 and C100 -- too bright.




If it is a CRT and is too bright, then you have not got the Calibration
correct.

Change the Colour Temp to 6500K using the Monitor controls first.

Adjust Brightness until the little black square is just visible.

Use Single Gamma first and then switch to Colour Gammas.

Repeat the whole process several times, taking care and save the Profile
as
something sensible like "My Monitor".

BUT you will probably really only get the best result by using a device
like
the Spyder.

Roy G

Strange as it may seem, Photoshop Help files have a lot of info about Colour
Management & Colour Profiles, and Windows help explains how to manually
select a Monitor profile.

I no longer have Adobe Gamma on my system, so I cannot verify what its
instructions advise, I am just relying upon my memory.

For lots of theory have a look at
www.computer-darkroom.com

Roy G

 

[Neil]

Strange as it may seem, Photoshop Help files have a lot of info about Colour
Management & Colour Profiles, and Windows help explains how to manually
select a Monitor profile.

Roy G

I followed the instructions for Windows: Display Properties - Settings
- Advanced - Color Management. I added the profiles I created (the
last one I created was the only one there) and the default profile
sRGB Color Space Profile.icm. Applying any of them changes nothing on
the monitor -- Brightness, Contrast, Temperature, nothing. Does a
certain application have to be open? If you're willing to continue
explaining I'll try to understand what monitor calibration is all
about.

Thanks,
Neil

 

[Roy G]

Strange as it may seem, Photoshop Help files have a lot of info about
Colour
Management & Colour Profiles, and Windows help explains how to manually
select a Monitor profile.

Roy G

I followed the instructions for Windows: Display Properties - Settings
- Advanced - Color Management. I added the profiles I created (the
last one I created was the only one there) and the default profile
sRGB Color Space Profile.icm. Applying any of them changes nothing on
the monitor -- Brightness, Contrast, Temperature, nothing. Does a
certain application have to be open? If you're willing to continue
explaining I'll try to understand what monitor calibration is all
about.

Thanks,
Neil


The first part of the Adobe Gamma process, where YOU adjust the Monitor
Settings is Calibration. Once completed it works all the time the Monitor
is on.

The second part creates a Profile which is saved onto the system and is used
by Photoshop to alter the Colour Numbers of your image, so that the colours
on screen look correct.

The Profile does NOT alter the Monitor Control Settings, but it does make
alterations to the way the image displays.

Roy G

 

[Neil Gould]

I followed the instructions for Windows: Display Properties - Settings
- Advanced - Color Management. I added the profiles I created (the
last one I created was the only one there) and the default profile
sRGB Color Space Profile.icm. Applying any of them changes nothing on
the monitor -- Brightness, Contrast, Temperature, nothing. Does a
certain application have to be open? If you're willing to continue
explaining I'll try to understand what monitor calibration is all
about.

Adobe Gamma does not change the monitor's on-board controls, it provides a
profile that sits between the application or operating system and your
video card and adjusts the output of the card to compensate for the
monitor's native performance.

What Adobe Gamma is attempting to do is balance the adjustment between the
monitor's capabilities and the observer's perception, so that what is seen
is easier to translate into what one gets on output. It is a secondary
tool that, IMO does not replace either the specific monitor profile that
comes with (or is downloadable from the manufacturer for) many monitors or
special tools such as calibration spyders.

But, also IMO, after a point a lot of this resembles religion, because
there are just too many relevant variables that are not addressed by
calibrating a monitor to itself. All of that said, Adobe Gamma is a
starting point to insure that your color balance is perceptually
reasonable and that no primary is way out of whack, but it is limited to
adjusting the gamma, and doesn't address non-linear in-gamut performance
(the manufacturer's profile addresses some of this).

Color management goes well beyond monitor profiling. There is also scanner
profiling, proof printer profiling, and output device profiling that are a
part of the overall effort. If one thinks about it, it becomes apparent
that the idea behind monitor profiling is to give the user a good idea of
what they can expect when they output their files. So, what the monitor
displays should be relative to a particular output profile. There are
generic output profiles, such as "AdobeRGB", sRGB, LaB, and various CMYK
press options, and each has a slightly different color space. The purpose
of adjusting the monitor is to represent these different spaces as closely
as possible. You might correctly surmise that this is no easy task.

Best,

 

[Empedocles]

I went through PhotoShop's Monitor Calibration -- Adobe Gamma.
Following the directions, I set the monitor to Contrast 100 (because
it said to set it to the highest setting), Brightness 57 to make the
pictures look as it described, then there was a slide to set something
else, eventually Save. But, I don't see the purpose, although I guess
everytime the light in the room is the same as when I ran the routine,
I should set the monitor to Contrast 100, Brightness 57. That
combination is too bright for me. What am I missing here? Thanks.

Neil, I've read this thread. Obviously, you don't have any idea of
color management. Buy a book on color management, such as Tim Grey's
"Color Confidence," Andrew Rodney's "Color Management for
Photographers," or Bruce Fraser's, et al., "Real World Color
Management." I have all three. Search Amazon.com for either the latest
edition or a used copy. You're grasping around in the dark, here.

 

[Neil]

Neil, I've read this thread. Obviously, you don't have any idea of
color management. Buy a book on color management, such as Tim Grey's
"Color Confidence," Andrew Rodney's "Color Management for
Photographers," or Bruce Fraser's, et al., "Real World Color
Management." I have all three. Search Amazon.com for either the latest
edition or a used copy. You're grasping around in the dark, here.

Don't be too hard on me. I understand a lot about color management and
came here to fil the gaps that my software's Help is not explaining.
Calibration and Profiles are complicated subjects. I'm trying to learn
about them, and based on your recommendaton, I've ordered from our
library Color management for digital photographers for dummies / by
Ted Padova and Don Mason (though I'm no dummy).

Neil

 

[Empedocles]

Neil, The "dummies" book is a good start. I have several on other
computer topics. I don't know, nor do I think I need to know, the type
of output you want. If you're looking for the best quality of output
from your system, then you need to calibrate & profile your monitor
with a colorimeter or spectrophotometer package, rather than trying to
eyeball it with Adobe Gamma. If you're willing to compromise on that
quality in order to save money, then I suppose AG will work for you.
It's just what results you're satisfied with, based on what you can
afford.

The Internet has lots of good sites dealing with color management.
Just google "color management." If monitor calibration is all you're
interested in, google that. The books I cited, earlier, all describe
how eyeballing your monitor calibration with Adobe Gamma is not a good
way to go if you want optimum results from your system.

 

[PDM]

On Apr 28, 3:48 pm, Neil <[email protected]> wrote:

Neil


Neil, Here is another tip for setting up. Squint a little. This puts the
squares slightly out of focus and makes it easier to set match up the innner
and outer parts. The same tip works when colour matching. This is a very old
printers tip.

PDM