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November 16, 2006
[ SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS ]
IN THE COMPLEX WORLD OF MODERN CONSUMER electronics one way of simplifying the operation of gadgets is either to trust the manufacturer or to develop a simple routine and stick to it.
dpexpert believes that microwave ovens should be set at 2 minutes on high for everything and if the results are too hot, just let it cool. And if they are too cold then nuke it again. It seems to work.
However, when it comes to really important gadgets, such as cameras, computers and monitors we always assume that the maker does not see eye to eye with us on critical parameters.
We have never yet met a computer monitor or television receiver that was correctly adjusted straight out of the box. They are always delivered with brightness and contrast set too high. LCD screens are usually more maladjusted than CRT monitors.
When we last wrote on this subject a professional photographer told us that the first thing he does when he takes his new Apple monitors from the box is to turn the brightness down 50 per cent.
At that time we recommended the Pantone ColorPlus monitor calibration device which had a retail price of $240 -- more than most people pay for a monitor. Most readers would dismiss the recommendation to buy the Pantone unit as an expensive counsel of perfection.
If you have Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements installed then you already have a free monitor calibrator on your system. Just go to Start/Control Panel/Adobe Gamma and follow the Wizard steps. It works, but the adjustments are based on the user making some difficult subjective judgements about the appearance of generated tones on the screen. You also need some arcane monitor specifications on hand that you won’t easily find. Do you know the phosphor type in your monitor?
What is needed is an automated process controlled by the computer itself. Such devices were ruinously expensive but now they have become more affordable.
The Pantone people have produced the Huey Colour Correction device that is cheaper ($200 rrp -- the street price is considerable less) than the ColorPlus Spyder but does the same thing.
Plug the colorimeter (Pantone’s term) into a USB port, run the software and follow the on-screen instructions. Nothing could be simpler.
The instructions are sparse but we decided to reduce the ambient light to the dimmest possible and then let the device read the low level room light. When the adjustment process was complete we returned the ambient light to normal and let the device read it again and automatically make the adjustment for the brighter environment.
When we clicked on the before and after image to see the effect of the adjustment we were appalled. How could we have let the monitor drift away from true colour for so long? We know that we should readjust every couple of weeks but we had left it for three months.
Once the adjustment is done with Huey a colour profile for the monitor is generated and saved and will be recalled every time the computer is turned on.
These days when we share photos via the internet we really need to have confidence in the fact that everyone is seeing the same picture. Sadly we are not. And colour correction, like charity, has to begin at home.
[Our Huey test unit came from AIM Digital Imaging, Station Street, Box Hill]
Posted by terry at November 16, 2006 07:27 AM
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