monitor calibration

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Adam S

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Adam
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Hi

Has anyone used a monitor calibration tool, to get accurate colours on there pc monitor?
If so is it worth it or is the default icc profile than comes with the screen and just manually adjusting the brightness and contrast enough?

The reason I ask is, I've just ordered a nec ea241wm-BK 24 INCH monitor, and want to get the most out of it, however its not one of those really expensive wide gamut screens but the colours are pretty good according to the reviews.

If anyone has any advice that would be good, or if anyone has a calibration tool I could borrow to save me shelling out another £100/150 that would be even better.

Regards
Adam
 
I have used the Huey calibrator, not the most expensive, just upgraded to pro software to deal with my dual screens. It works resonably well and i have had no complaints.
There are more expensive ones out there that probably do a better job. Its down to budget.
 
If you only have one monitor and are only going to view your images on it then you can survive without calibration. However if you start printing those images, then I would suggest that calibration is well worth it. It's the only real way to get what you see on the screen to end up on the print.

As far as devices are concerned, the Spyder 3 seems to be getting good reviews, and is a good price. I have an X-Rite which is more expensive, but for most people I would think the Spyder is more than adequate
 
What screens have you guys got? As do you know if it's worth calibrating a screen that does not display 100% of the abobe rgb spectrum?

I have printed some things out, as they look different than on the screen, I suppose I could just print out images, and adjust my screen to suit, however that will be a lot of hassle.
 
Adam S said:
What screens have you guys got? As do you know if it's worth calibrating a screen that does not display 100% of the abobe rgb spectrum?

I have printed some things out, as they look different than on the screen, I suppose I could just print out images, and adjust my screen to suit, however that will be a lot of hassle.
Click to expand...

As I said earlier if you are going to be printing then monitor calibration is a very good idea. Even if you don't have a screen that reproduces Adobe RGB, you'll find calibration is a good idea.
 
Have you got one I could borrow then John? Or am I best buying my own?
 
Adam S said:
Have you got one I could borrow then John? Or am I best buying my own?
Click to expand...

Buying your won is definately the way to go as calibration isn't a one-off event - it needs to be repeated on a regular basis (say monthly) to counter changes in the display.

I have the Pantone Huey which is on all the time. It monitors the lighting in the room and adjusts the display according to the changes it sees. It also prompts for recalibration every four weeks.

HTH :)
 
Bristolian said:
Buying your won is definately the way to go as calibration isn't a one-off event - it needs to be repeated on a regular basis (say monthly) to counter changes in the display.

I have the Pantone Huey which is on all the time. It monitors the lighting in the room and adjusts the display according to the changes it sees. It also prompts for recalibration every four weeks.

HTH :)
Click to expand...

Agree, its a nice bit of kit, I just calibrated my loan monitor till my dual setup arrives and really shocked by the difference.

i got mine for £60,a calibrator is one of the best bits of kit you will ever have regardless of the cost of the monitor.
 
Adam S said:
Have you got one I could borrow then John? Or am I best buying my own?
Click to expand...


You're probably best buying one as has been already said, but out of interest, where about's are you....... I have a spyder 2 that you could use
 
also, get some test prints done by your lab of choice and compare with the on-screen image. even though the colours were good i had quite a lot of bother with dark prints for example.

i know DSCL have a calibration image that they can send you.
 
Woblee said:
You're probably best buying one as has been already said, but out of interest, where about's are you....... I have a spyder 2 that you could use
Click to expand...

HI

I live in Rochdale, it would be good if I could borrow your spyder, as i'm not convinced it's worth spending a fair bit of money one. If your in Oldham, I could come any pick it up from you, however my new screen has not even arrived yet, so ill let you know when it does, if that's ok?

Adam
 
Yeah sure, either you can pick it up or I could bob over with it and you'll be able to run it in the time it takes for the kettle to boil, lol.


I'll PM you my mobile so you can text/phone when the screen has arrived.
 
just dont plan any re-installs in the near future.
 
I thought calibrators were hundreds of pounds. If theyre only £60 or so I might purchase one myself. I do a lot of travelling so it might be a pain having to calibrate all the time but I hope to print some of my own images soon :)
 
basic ones are that cheap, it does the job to a degree but definatley better than if trying to do it by eye!
 
Hi people

My new NEC EA241WM Screen arrived today, and I’ve set it up and the colours are completely different to my old Samsung 226BBW screen, I can see that the white are whiter in comparison, however the colours still look off. I'm hoping after calibration they will look better, as Lee is going to loan me this Spyder 2, If not I may return it.

However it seams to make a buzzing noise at certain brightness levels less than 100%, it seams to quite down around 70% and 50%. Also it’s painfully bright at 100% so setting it to that is not an option. Has anyone else experience similar issues with NEC screens or any other monitors for that matter?

Finally I was thinking that since ive spent £300 on this screen and it looks like I need to spend another £100 on a Spyder or similar, would I not be better off with the Asus PA246Q Wide Gamut 24inch monitor as it comes “pre calibrated” at £420, however does this mean I just plug it in and the colours will be perfect?
 
You need to recalibrate from time to time - especially if you want to match monitors to each other. You should view a calibrator (BTW, the eye one is considered the better of the cheaper calibrators) as a tool that gets used more than once.
 
Does anyone have a Dell U2311 23 inch Widescreen IPS Panel LCD Monitor?

I hear the color is very good for the price, however its not led.

Any recommendations for a 23/24 inch monitor for photo work that is under £350, I hear a combination of an Ips panel and led backlight will give best results?
 
Bristolian said:
Buying your won is definately the way to go as calibration isn't a one-off event - it needs to be repeated on a regular basis (say monthly) to counter changes in the display.

I have the Pantone Huey which is on all the time. It monitors the lighting in the room and adjusts the display according to the changes it sees. It also prompts for recalibration every four weeks.

HTH :)
Click to expand...

Are you using the 'older' Huey or the Huey Pro? Have you found it alters the monitors colours/brightness/contrast to such an extent that photo prints are closer to the image you see on screen?
 
Adam S said:
Does anyone have a Dell U2311 23 inch Widescreen IPS Panel LCD Monitor?

I hear the color is very good for the price, however its not led.

Any recommendations for a 23/24 inch monitor for photo work that is under £350, I hear a combination of an Ips panel and led backlight will give best results?
Click to expand...

Just got 2 of these. the monitors are pretty damn good out of the box, maybe a tad warm but the calibrator sorted that with no problem. They are not LED, bit of backlight bleed in the corners but nothing to worry about, Movies play smooth with no noticeable ghosting. The USB ports are a god send if you have loads of devices you are plugging in/out.
 
I agree I got a dell u2311 today as its very good, much better than my va Samsung panel, Ips is definally the answer, there is a slight bleed in the corners but you don't notice it unless your looking at a black screen. I used lee's spyder 2 and put it ok rgb mode as in standard mode it gave too much saturation. Also after the calibration there was a slightly red tint which was easily solved by setting the red rgb slider to 98, now it looks perfect exactly like the calibration image I got from photobox.
Not sure about the 16:9 ratio it does look a lot smaller that a 24 inch 1920x1200 monitor. But to buy one with simular image quality is getting on for twice the price.
 
I have a U2311 and initially found the reds to be a bit too warm for my liking. I don't have a monitor calibrator but did find some custom RGB values about halfway down the following page:

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1275291737

Probably not the ideal way of doing things but I do think the screen looks great now. Will probably still buy a calibrator at some point but if you don't have one and do have this screen then these settings might work well for the time being.
 
yeah about 32% brightness is about right
What's your email address Klopek ill send you the ICC profile that the spyder 2 created from the u2311.

Regards
 
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