Re: Color profiles and correct usage

In article <fid2s7ld13rui3sqekrak63q4l96uda7vj@xxxxxxx>,
Robert Coe <bob@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sat, 26 May 2012 03:00:14 -0500, Andrew Haley
<andrew29@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
: Me <user@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
: > On 26/05/2012 4:37 a.m., isw wrote:
:
: > When using a hardware calibration device (spyder etc) to calibrate a
: > screen, it's typical when first doing the calibration to disbelieve
: > the result that the calibration system is showing - as your eyes are
: > used to how it was, and despite being much more colour accurate
: > after calibration, it can look very wrong until your eyes adjust.
: >
: > That's why, within reason, unless you need to be able to match
: > colours precisely across display devices - including between
: > matching screen and print - then within reason, colour accuracy
: > isn't as important as many people seem to think.
:
: Well, it saves a lot of paper; all that printing of test images gets
: tedious before very long. And also, if someone else is doing the
: printing, there's a lot to be said for having a good idea of how the
: print might come out. I suppose there are some photographers who
: don't print, but even then I don't suppose they look at only one monitor.

They don't, and my laptop displays colors in a way that's annoyingly different
from my monitors at home and at work. So when I edit images on the train to or
from work, I have to remind myself to stick to brightness and composition
issues and not get too finicky about color values, which I'd just have to
re-jigger later.

For all of their faults, one advantage of CRT technology was that,
because of the very limited set of phosphors manufacturers had available
to choose from, most of them exhibited rather similar colorimetry.

LCD technology changed all that. Not only can the backlight's spectrum
be chosen almost arbitrarily, but there's essentially no constraint on
the colors that can be used for the three primary filters,since they are
just transparent colored dyes. The result is that a flat panel display's
characteristics can just as easily be chosen for low manufacturing cost,
high brightness, long life, lower battery drain, and/or better stability
against fading, than, say, best color reproduction. Assuming that the
manufacturer's engineers were even aware of the desirability of accurate
color reproduction in the first place, much less were told to make that
a design goal, of course.

While it is possible to find LCD panels that have decent colorimetry,
they tend to be somewhat more expensive. I'd bet that a "standard"
display in a "standard" laptop wouldn't be in that category.

I run a two-monitor setup, with a Dell 2407 (which I got because
reviewers said it had better-than-average color quality) as the main
screen, and my MacBook along side to provide an "auxiliary" screen.
Although Apple displays have always been known for their better color
performance (one reason Apple monitors have historically cost more),
despite my best efforts I have not been able to get the laptop's screen
to calibrate properly, nor even to have color performance that's
remotely similar to the 2407's. A color image which straddles the two
screens can be a painful thing to see ...

Isaac
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Color profiles and correct usage
    ... ways the Apple "eyeball" calibration method is flawed. ... for many screens even *IF* the eye was a perfect instrument. ... the native monitor setting. ... it's easily true that Apple's eyeball method is not enough ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • Re: What does your monitor show you?
    ... calibrated with Apple's Display Calibrator Assistant. ... Imac 23 screens seem great - my wife want me to dump my PC, ... Calibration won't deal with inconsistency in the ... 24" LCD on my system running at 1920x1200, and after calibration, it ...
    (rec.photo.digital.slr-systems)
  • Re: Color profiles and correct usage
    ... Although Apple displays have always been known for their better color ... screens can be a painful thing to see ... ... I used the Apple-provided calibration procedure on both monitors. ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • Re: What does your monitor show you?
    ... following: Dark image sample: ... calibrated with Apple's Display Calibrator Assistant. ... They are definitely nice looking screens, but they really aren't considered the best in terms of consistency of color/brightness across the screen... ... Calibration won't deal with inconsistency in the corners, etc., but it will make the best of whatever screen you have. ...
    (rec.photo.digital.slr-systems)
  • Re: Color profiles and correct usage
    ... screens can be a painful thing to see ... ... I used the Apple-provided calibration procedure on both monitors. ... The MacBook came with an Apple-supplied profile for that display; ...
    (rec.photo.digital)