Monitor Calibration

[Heidi Moore]

Hi

My name is Heidi Moore I am new to BPN and I need some help with monitor calibration. I want to calibrate my laptop monitor so I can post images for your review. I am not happy with Adobe gamma. Can someone please tell me if there is a calibration product they prefer? Where can I order these products and cost? I am new to editing for the web. I just purchased CS4 and am getting to know it. I want to be able to upload images to a printing service also so I can order prints in the future and have some type of color control. Any help would be appreciated. I hope to upload an image in the future. I have seen some amazing images on this site and need to learn how to edit/color correct etc. first. I have Mr. Morris's book and will start the learning process with it. I am a novice at post processing. Love taking nature pictures, trying to correct in the computer another story.

Thanks
Heidi

[Alfred Forns]

Big Warm Welcome Heidi

Calibrating the monitor is very easy. I use the DataColor Spyder3Pro It comes with a sensor that you hang over the screen and just follow the prompts. Price is just over 150 btw there are many others and I'm sure you will get more info in this thread.

Should look in our Educational resources for tips on saving and posting images. Processing wise just come over to ETL and will help you out !!! Looking forward to seeing some images and don't be shy !!!!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Welcome to BPN, Heidi! I use XRite Eye One Match 3 to calibrate my desktop and laptop. If I am not happy with the result, I just let it run again. Having a calibrated monitor makes a big difference.

[David Smith]

I use a Pantone Huey and am very happy with it.. Measures room light, then attach to monitor screen and it will calibrate your monitor. Leave it hooked up to your USB port and it will correct the moniter to changing light conditions.

Dave

[Heidi Moore]

Thanks everyone for the calibration info.

Heidi Moore

[Daniel Cadieux]

Welcome to BPN Heidi!! I'm looking forward to what you will present us in the near future :-)

For brightness you can always calibrate using the "Monitor calibration strip" found at the bottom of every page here on BPN. I know it won't do much for colour, but at least you can have the brightness corrected really quick.

[Heidi Moore]

Thank you Daniel for the info. How do I use the calibration strip to correct the brightness?

Heidi Moore

[Alfred Forns]

Look a the strip and you should see all steps from one end to the other.

If your monitor shows the end steps as all white or black it is off !!! ... then increase or decrease brightness !!!

Great point Daniel !!! Easiest way to check !!!

[Jay Gould]

Look a the strip and you should see all steps from one end to the other.

If your monitor shows the end steps as all white or black it is off !!! ... then increase or decrease brightness !!!

Great point Daniel !!! Easiest way to check !!!

Dunce question: Al, what do you mean "the end steps as all white or black, it is off"?

Interestingly, I too am trying to learn to use the Spyder3Pro, and setting monitor brightness before calibration is a question I have been chasing.

I can see 17 distinct boxes in the calibration strip from black on the right to white on the left; the left 5 I would call degrees of black to dark grey, the right 5 I would call degrees of white to light grey, and the middle 7 degrees of grey.

The least variation between any two boxes are the left two boxes which are black and barely less than black with the monitor set to full brightness.

I have 15 steps of brightness (Dell Studio 17); when I have reduced 4 steps of brightness the left two boxes effectively become one large black box. Continued reduction affects the black side of the strip significantly more than the right side.

Since the dongle measures ambient light before starting the calibration, should I keep the screen on full brightness throughout the calibration process?

My brother in reviewing some of my images has suggested because my monitor might be too bright, that is resulting in my making my images a bit too dark in that I am seeing details on my bright monitor that might not be visualized by others with a less bright monitor. He is suggesting that if my monitor were darker then I would make my images lighter. Does that make sense?