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July 06, 2006
[ COLOUR ME RIGHT ]
Back in the olden times -- say five years ago -- when the standard method of sharing photographs was to simply hand around the prints from the photolab, we all saw the same thing. Well, more or less the same thing, allowing for varying degrees of colour blindness or myopia and astigmatism.
These days, when the preferred method of sharing photographs is through the medium of the Internet and by display on computer monitors, we are all seeing something unique. It would be rare to find two monitors calibrated alike. In fact it is rare to find any monitor calibrated at all. Brightness, contrast and colour are all over the place. Cathode ray tube monitors display a different picture from those of LCD screens. The picture on an LCD screen looks different from different angles.
Most, if not all, LCD screens straight out of the box are over-bright. Just like television sets the manufacturers set the brightness and contrast far too high because they are afraid that potential customers will dismiss a correctly adjusted screen as dull. Monitors also come with over-saturated, garish colour. This is a display characteristic sometimes referred to as “Asian”. “European” means more natural contrast and colour. Virtually all monitors come from Asia so it is not surprising that they have the characteristics favoured by their manufacturers.
At the very least a new monitor needs immediate adjustment of brightness and contrast. One simple and free way to do this is to go to www.dpreview.com and click on any camera review. Near the bottom of the first page of any camera review page there is a greyscale image that shows 26 tones between white and black. A properly adjusted monitor should show perceptible differences between all 26 blocks.
Anyone with Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements installed also has Adobe Gamma adjustment installed. It is located in Control Panel on Windows PCs and can be run as a simple step by step wizard. This routine is a bit like going to the optometrist in that it involves making choices between slightly different images. In other words the adjustment is subjective.
Some questions have to be answered to which the correct answers are not obvious. When Adobe Gamma asks for the gamma number the right answer is 2.2. When it asks for the monitor phosphor (for CRT monitors) the correct answer is probably P22. And when it asks for the hardware white point the correct answer is 6500o K. There may be some arguments about these variables, but these numbers are a good starting point.
The guess work can be taken out of monitor calibration with a device such as the Pantone ColorVision calibrator. This gadget attaches to the monitor screen and connects to the computer through USB. It guides the user through the calibration steps with easy to follow on-screen instructions. The software generates standard red, blue and green patches on screen and the calibrator reads the colour and sends it back to the computer for adjustment. When the job is done the application sets a colour profile for the monitor.
Monitor characteristics change with time so recalibration should be done at least every couple of months.
As LCD monitors become the norm and CRTs disappear (a tragic but inevitable development) monitor calibration is going to be more and more important. A badly adjusted CRT monitor probably won’t be too far from acceptable average. A badly adjusted LCD screen comes from another visual universe.
And here’s a tuning tip that will improve the appearance of any screen. If you are using an LCD and wondering why on-screen type looks like a little bundle of fly specks it is because you have not enabled ClearType. (This is Windows we are talking about here.)
Right click on any empty area of the desktop and choose Properties. In the dialogue box click on the Appearance tab and then the Effects button. Click on “use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts” and choose ClearType.
Then, to make the effect even better, go to the Microsoft PowerToy downloads and download and run the ClearType Tuner PowerToy. Give your eyes a treat!
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Posted by terry at July 6, 2006 10:46 AM
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Comments
G’Day Terry,
I used to think that CRT Monitors were the best for graphics, in fact I was absolutely devastated when Sony announced that they were no longer producing them as they were the best of the CRTs. However, after a lot of research and testing, I ended up buying an Eizo CG210 LCD Monitor with the GretabMcbeth EyeOne Calibrator and so far this has proved to be the most accurate monitor that I have ever seen, better than ANY CRT on the market now. The only drawback with it, is the exorbitant asking price of around $4000.00 for the monitor and calibrator. http://www.eizo.com/products/graphics/cg210/index.asp
http://www.kayellaustralia.com.au/
Posted by: Robert Ashman at July 16, 2006 10:32 PM
Robert:
That is very interesting. What are the unit prices of the Eizo monitor and the EyeOne calibrator?
I continue to use a CRT because I like the softer image -- more "analogue" I suppose.
We also have an LCD monitor and the image that looks sweet and, shall we say "film-like" on the CRT looks harsh and unnatural on the LCD. Both calibrated with the Pantone ColourPlus calibrator.
There is no doubt that the LCD has it all over the CRT for screen geometry. The same applies to our CRT TV -- geometry is ghastly and patches of discolouration require frequent degaussing but the picture is much nicer.
So, tell us about the Eizo. Does it come close to matching a good CRT for natural looking images?
BTW, do you know that Canon/Toshiba are developing a new display that has the best characteristics of both the CRT and the LCD? It's called the SED screen and you can read about it by googling Canon SED.
Terry L
Posted by: Terry at July 17, 2006 01:16 AM
G'Day Terry,
The Eizo CG210 ColorEdge 21.3” LCD is $3760.00 and the EyeOne Display2 is $460.00 both these prices are lifted straight from the Kayell website; http://www.kayellaustralia.com.au/ or 108 Johnston Street Collingwood 3066
Phone: 03 9416 2848. I'm sure if you contacted them, they would gladly give you a demonstration.
As for colour matching, the Eizo is the ONLY monitor that I have ever seen or used that is as close as possible to perfect, one is able to clearly differenciate between all the colours on my 'Kodak Q-60 Color Input Target' from my scanner. At 14 bit rendering and 1600 x 1200 dpi, all my photos are far easier to view and edit on the Eizo than any other monitor that I have used previously including Sony CRTs. A big side benefit with the LCD is the total lack of flicker that seeems to be an integral part of CRTs, no matter how high the refresh rate is set on the VGA set-up, which means I can use it all day without getting headaches. The refresh rate with my set-up is only set at 60 hertz, the default for the monitor.
The main thing I would suggest, if you are going to go for a high-end monitor as this Eizo, is to have a look at what sort of VGA card you are using it on. I have a Matrox Millennium P650 PCIe 128, which was about the only card that I could find, at a fairly reasonable price (around $500.00), that comes anywhere near the specs of the monitor, it is capable of rendering 1 Billion colours, which is a lot better than the 16.7 Million colours that the usual ATI and Nvidia cards can offer. And on the Eizo monitor this is very obvious. http://www.matrox.com/mga/workstation/3dws/products/mill_pseries/millennium_p650_pcie.cfm
Incidently, Barbera Matheson's and your photos look absolutely stunning on my setup, particuarly Barbera's Possum and your Rainbow Lorikeets.
Regards,
Robert Ashman
Lakes Entrance
Posted by: Robert Ashman at July 18, 2006 11:14 AM