Results 1 to 13 of 13

Thread: Calibration Strip Tutorial

  1. #1
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indian Lake Estates, FL
    Posts
    32,557
    Threads
    1,438
    Thank You Posts

    Default Calibration Strip Tutorial

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Not sure why I did not post his way back when :) IAC, I finally got tired of writing and re-writing this on individual threads:

    The appearance of your images are determined by the viewing angle to your monitor. Get in the habit of using the calibration strip at the bottom of each BPN page to properly adjust the angle of your monitor.

    First, scroll down to the bottom of any BPN page to the calibration strip. Next, adjust the angle of your monitor until you can differentiate the tonalities of the two or three dark boxes on the left and the two or three light/white boxes on the right. The last box on the left should be pretty close to black, the next, very dark grey, and the next dark grey. On the right you should be seeing close to pure white on the right, then a very light grey (nearly white) box, with a light grey box next in line.

    Once you have done this you can be confident that your brightness slider adjustments during conversion (or your mid-tone slider adjustments in Levels in Photoshop) will be accurate. Get in the habit of checking the angle of your monitor regularly while you are working. Sometime I process my images at a desk, sometimes in bed, sometimes in an easy chair, and sometimes in a car (using the Think Tank Pixel Sunscreen); it is important to check the calibration strip and adjust your monitor angle regularly in order to produce consistent results.

    If you find it impossible to adjust your monitor angle so that you can differentiate the light and dark boxes as above it is likely that you need to calibrate your monitor.
    Last edited by Arthur Morris; 05-29-2011 at 07:31 AM.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  2. Thanks Len Modderman thanked for this post
  3. #2
    Banned
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    3,949
    Threads
    254
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Artie,

    While I agree with everything you say above, the issue of screen angle is mostly limited to TN-type LCD monitors, common in many laptops and cheap desktop displays. Good IPS-type LCDs are mostly immune from this problem. See:

    Choosing an LCD Monitor for Photo-Editing/Viewing
    http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/...n_LCD_monitor/

    Regarding calibration, I started some threads on digital workflow on this subject. I have seen people complain about colors shifting when converting to sRGB or posting on BPN. There should be no color shifts on a properly calibrated system.

    The threads in digital workflow are:
    Color Management Tutorial

    http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ement-Tutorial


    Color, Color Management, Settings and Work Flow

    http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...raphy-Workflow

    I've tried to clarify all this in a web page I just put up a few minutes ago (so still may be a little rough):

    Calibrating Your Monitor and Color Management
    http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/....your.monitor/

    Roger

  4. Thanks Barry Ekstrand, Stuart Hill thanked for this post
  5. #3
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indian Lake Estates, FL
    Posts
    32,557
    Threads
    1,438
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Thanks Roger. I figured that you would stop by. I have an HP Elite Book with what I believe to be a very nice display. I have no clue as to whether it is a TN-type monitor. On this and on all of my previous laptops adjusting the monitor angle is and has been a vital part of my workflow. I do 100% of my image optimizations on my laptop and the general consensus over the past few years is that my images do not suck.

    That said I have an old Apple 23" cinema display in my office. Because the plastic stand kept breaking at about $90 a pop we went to a rigid guitar (I think) stand; it is impossible to adjust the screen angle and all the dark bars on the left of the calibration strip look black (and all of my images too dark). Am I missing something?
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  6. #4
    Banned
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    3,949
    Threads
    254
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Thanks Roger. I figured that you would stop by. I have an HP Elite Book with what I believe to be a very nice display. I have no clue as to whether it is a TN-type monitor. On this and on all of my previous laptops adjusting the monitor angle is and has been a vital part of my workflow. I do 100% of my image optimizations on my laptop and the general consensus over the past few years is that my images do not suck.

    That said I have an old Apple 23" cinema display in my office. Because the plastic stand kept breaking at about $90 a pop we went to a rigid guitar (I think) stand; it is impossible to adjust the screen angle and all the dark bars on the left of the calibration strip look black (and all of my images too dark). Am I missing something?
    The HP probably is a TN-type display as they can be made very thin, thus ideal for thin laptops. I have been a lot more impressed with the newer LED backlit displays, both desktop and laptop. They do not seem to vary as much with viewing angle. I like the colors better too.

    Regarding the Apple cinema, those generally are excellent monitors and I thought cinemas were all IPS monitors. I would not expect it to vary much with viewing angle. Have you checked the gamma? Go down about half way on this page:
    http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html
    and see what your gamma is set to. If it is not 2.2, a new calibration is in order.

    Roger

  7. #5
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indian Lake Estates, FL
    Posts
    32,557
    Threads
    1,438
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Thanks Roger. I will check the gamma stuff when I get home. In the meantime I think that it is pretty cool that I have been able to create superb images on my inferior laptop screens and make an incredible living with those very same images. :). I guess we can attribute part of my success at least to the benefits of technical ignorance.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  8. #6
    Banned
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    3,949
    Threads
    254
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Thanks Roger. I will check the gamma stuff when I get home. In the meantime I think that it is pretty cool that I have been able to create superb images on my inferior laptop screens and make an incredible living with those very same images. :). I guess we can attribute part of my success at least to the benefits of technical ignorance.
    Well, you obviously recognize the limitations of the monitors and work to mitigate the problem, as you discussed in the original thread. I wouldn't call that technical ignorance at all; just the opposite.

    Roger

  9. #7
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Illinois USA
    Posts
    414
    Threads
    39
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    out of interest, what happened to the calibration strip? i don't see it anymore, but used to use it when working on my laptop as a quick check.

  10. #8
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indian Lake Estates, FL
    Posts
    32,557
    Threads
    1,438
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Ben, I just checked. It is still at the bottom of all the pages even this one.... If it is not there try setting another page style. I am using Blackened.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  11. #9
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Illinois USA
    Posts
    414
    Threads
    39
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Ok, got it. It is just not there with the BP-Light, which is the one I was set to. Thanks.

  12. #10
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indian Lake Estates, FL
    Posts
    32,557
    Threads
    1,438
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Glad to be of hlep. (Elaine and I taught for so long that we would always spell simple words wrong for a laugh.)
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  13. #11
    BPN Member Anette Mossbacher's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Switzerland
    Posts
    1,818
    Threads
    95
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Late entry to this, but I checked with all "skin" I cannot see that calibration strip. I assume it has been removed by now. Got one to download

  14. #12
    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    26,311
    Threads
    3,979
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Anette, it is still there...I am looking at it right now. Near the very bottom of the page. You need to scroll down all the way.

  15. #13
    BPN Member Anette Mossbacher's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Switzerland
    Posts
    1,818
    Threads
    95
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Daniel,

    good for your and very good for me. I have found the fault. Safari browser don't shows me the strip, but Chrome does!!!!

    Thanks a lot Daniel

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics