Calibration

I have been working with a non-calibrated monitor for a few years now and finally decided that it was time that I get a calibration device and get my monitor calibrated. When I'd send prints off, they would never come back off by a lot, but they usually had a SLIGHT difference.

During the calibration process, I found that the room I edit in is "bright enough" (ambient light) for photo editing. That being the case, the recommended brightness setting on my monitor was supposed to measure around 180cd/m^2. While many people say that default monitor settings are usually too bright, I'm finding quite the opposite. In an effort to reach 180cd/m I cranked the brightness ALL the way up and was only able to reach somewhere around 120-140 (I don't remember the exact numbers). Not sure what else to do, I began raising the Contrast as well, which I saw also increased the brightness. I cranked it ALL the way up as well (both settings now at 100) and was still only able to get about 160-165cd/m from my 22" (non IPS) Dell LCD monitor. So, currently both my brightness and contrast settings are at 100.

At the end of the calibration it showed that I'm reproducing ~98% of the sRGB scale, which I assume to be pretty good. However, my concern goes back to the brightness that my monitor is now set at... it's considerably brighter than I've ever used it before (I think with default settings it was around 60cd/m).

Finally, a question... Would it be better if I attempted to remove as much ambient light as possible, used pre-press settings, and allowed the monitor to operate at a much lower brightness setting?

Sounds like the room lighting is much brighter than "bright enough. The usual monitor brightness for print matching is in the range 80 - 120 cd/m^. Will your prints only be viewed in a room that bright? Also, since prints don't have the same contrast range as an LCD monitor (around 900:1) dialing your contrast down to the 400:1 - 500:1 range will give a better print match.

tzalman wrote in post #15848335
Sounds like the room lighting is much brighter than "bright enough. The usual monitor brightness for print matching is in the range 80 - 120 cd/m^. Will your prints only be viewed in a room that bright? Also, since prints don't have the same contrast range as an LCD monitor (around 900:1) dialing your contrast down to the 400:1 - 500:1 range will give a better print match.

First, thanks for the response.

I've begun installing dimmers throughout my house (wireless ones - pretty cool, yet another hobby). Anyhow, I don't have one of these in my office at the moment. I did the calibration LATE last night when the only light on in the house was the ceiling fan light in the room I was in.

When I turned this light off, I got a message stating that the lighting conditions were only suitable for pre-press work... obviously, it would be difficult to see any prints in the dark

The prints, as most, will be viewed in all sorts of lighting conditions... I have no idea what conditions would be present in clients homes. Nonetheless, I have no plans to print here... I send all my prints off. So, would it be best to just assume to edit in the dark, and adjust settings (and ambient conditions) accordingly?

Re: Contrast, there was no indication (Spyder4Pro) of what the contrast setting was measured to be... At least not in my 5-10 min. initial setup. Maybe it's there if I dig a bit deeper.

I also use a Spyder 4 Pro, but I skip the ambient part because I know I am going to want a brightness of about 90 cd/m^.

I'm not at home now and I don't remember exactly what it's called, but after you have done the calibrating and profiling, on the last window there is a button to do advanced tests. It then gives you a list of (I think) four different tests. One of them is for tonal range. It displays a black and white target and asks you to measure it at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the Brightness setting. I don't bother changing the Brightness setting and just measure four times at whatever Brightness setting I arrived at in the earlier calibration stage, 'cause that's what I'm interested in testing. The results give you measured levels for the black and white squares and the ratio between them. I want to have a ratio of around 450:1 which is a blackpoint of 0.2 cd/m^ and white at 90 cd/m^, so I adjust the OSD Contrast setting and test again until I get there.

drvnbysound wrote in post #15848286
I have been working with a non-calibrated monitor for a few years now...

The default new monitor settings are usually too bright, but an old monitor might be fading? I remember reading that some hypercritical measurebaters calibrate daily for that reason.

tzalman wrote in post #15848633
I also use a Spyder 4 Pro, but I skip the ambient part because I know I am going to want a brightness of about 90 cd/m^.


I'm not at home now and I don't remember exactly what it's called, but after you have done the calibrating and profiling, on the last window there is a button to do advanced tests. It then gives you a list of (I think) four different tests. One of them is for tonal range. It displays a black and white target and asks you to measure it at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the Brightness setting. I don't bother changing the Brightness setting and just measure four times at whatever Brightness setting I arrived at in the earlier calibration stage, 'cause that's what I'm interested in testing. The results give you measured levels for the black and white squares and the ratio between them. I want to have a ratio of around 450:1 which is a blackpoint of 0.2 cd/m^ and white at 90 cd/m^, so I adjust the OSD Contrast setting and test again until I get there.

Thanks for the info... I'll probably check into this more

PhotosGuy wrote in post #15848643
The default new monitor settings are usually too bright, but an old monitor might be fading? I remember reading that some hypercritical measurebaters calibrate daily for that reason.

Yeah, I assume that's the case. I don't recall when it was that I actually purchased the monitor, but I spend a lot of time on the computer and could certainly say that the backlight bulbs are probably fading. The OEM specs say that it's rated at 250cd/m.. but as mentioned earlier, I can only get about 160cd/m right now.

That leads me to question... do you guys use IPS monitors ONLY for editing, and another monitor for standard use (e.g. web browsing). The reason I ask is that I have plans to get a IPS monitor in the future, but I don't want to end up having to buy again every couple of years because of fading backlight(s)...

Yeh, I use the laptop screen for almost everything general and the external IPS gets turned on only for photo work.

sRGB has a luminance level at 80cd/m2.

Cranking both options to maximum has achieved a number of results.

1. Your monitor will have a reduced life span.
2. Your whites will be crushed. I'm guessing anything from around 220-255 will be the same level of white.
3. You're damaging your eyes.

Audionut11 wrote in post #15850194
sRGB has a luminance level at 80cd/m2.

Cranking both options to maximum has achieved a number of results.

1. Your monitor will have a reduced life span.
2. Your whites will be crushed. I'm guessing anything from around 220-255 will be the same level of white.
3. You're damaging your eyes.

So, can you provide general steps that I should do instead? The reason I bought the Spyder4Pro was to calibrate my monitor for me... It said based on the ambient light the monitor needed to be set at 160-180cd/m...

Dial in the brightness and contrast settings on your monitor (under normal viewing conditions) so that the highlights and shadows on this page are as good as your going to get.
This might mean that the end reading is higher then 80cd/m2, but it's more important to have details in the shadows and highlights then to get the overall maximum luminance level correct.

Run the spyder4 software ignoring anything it says about what it reckons you should be doing.

If you're feeling game, want to get better results, and have the time, try these,
http://www.argyllcms.c​om/

And a GUI for the above,
http://dispcalgui.hoec​h.net/

drvnbysound wrote in post #15850245
So, can you provide general steps that I should do instead? The reason I bought the Spyder4Pro was to calibrate my monitor for me... It said based on the ambient light the monitor needed to be set at 160-180cd/m...

Certainly sounds as though your ambient is waaay too high, despite what it reports. Try drawing the curtains halfway.

My own editing space is a west facing bedroom, with a 60 watt overhead lamp (was 100w but I soon changed that!), its reasonably dark all the time and the PC is in the darkest corner but my Eye1 Display tells me its fine. Much like the others here have told you, I aim for 80 CD/m2.

When its first calibrated, its normal to think its too dark and flat. But that's only because that's what ones used to seeing. I've certainly got used to mine and use the same monitor for all my general computer stuff as well as the post processing.

Thanks guys.

My office has a window that faces South, so it has light coming in the majority of the day. I do have wooden blinds over the window which block a lot of the light - no curtains or drapes. Additionally, the room has a ceiling fan which has a light as well - actually I believe it has (3) bulbs of unknown wattage. Usually, during the day I leave the light off.

I just used the Spyder to take an ambient light measurement (8:00AM sun AND the room light is on) and Spyder reported that the room light is "Medium". When I make the room any darker (such as at night with the light off), the Spyder reports that the room is only good for pre-press work... which I suppose is fine since I don't plan to print here anyway. Should I try and keep the room that dark all the time?

Enough ambient light to read comfortably is about the most that you want.

The only thing an increase in ambient light is doing is killing black detail.
To much glare on the screen reduces contrast.

Life is a compromise.

So, basically I should ignore this page and just set the monitor brightness to ~80cd/m2?