Tips/ideas for monitor calibration

[Robert Armstrong]

Hello forum

I have an old monitor attached to my Windows 7 PC and it has faithfully reproduced processed RAW images from my Canon gear over the last 18 years.

I have now acquired a 3-year PC (running Windows 10 with the latest updates) and a brand new ASUS monitor. My issue now is that my Canon CR2. raw files are being displayed as oversaturated, too blue and too dark/muddy. I still have the old PC/monitor as backup and the images are displayed correctly. I think I used a Spyder type of monitor calibration tool but this was 18 years ago.

I've tried the on-screen monitor calibration tools but not much improvement really. So two questions really:

Should I buy another 3rd-party calibration kit? And if so, what should I buy?

Although I don't depend on my photos for a living; I am a semi-pro using professional kit and send hi-res images in for publication

Thank you for your kind help

 

[BobKnDP]

I'm reluctant to make recommendations, but the Calibrite Display 123 may be the least expensive device that can be bought new. ($119US.)

(Calibrite acquired the low-end of X-Rite's market some time ago._

One possible drawback to it is that is unsupported by DisplayCal/Argyll CMS. (Much higher learning curve than any Calibrite software, but it's more fun.)

The Calibrite Display SL is more expensive, but may be a rebranded Colormunki Display colorimeter.

The Display Plus HL is a replacement for the old X-Rite i1Display Pro, or something like that. Calibrite has moved away from selling rebranded versions of the X-Rite colorimeters.

I'm not familiar with the Datacolor Spyder colorimeter line. I briefly owned a Spyder Print, but I found it to be almost unusable.

 

[Sagittarius]

Hello forum

I have an old monitor attached to my Windows 7 PC and it has faithfully reproduced processed RAW images from my Canon gear over the last 18 years.

I have now acquired a 3-year PC (running Windows 10 with the latest updates) and a brand new ASUS monitor. My issue now is that my Canon CR2. raw files are being displayed as oversaturated, too blue and too dark/muddy. I still have the old PC/monitor as backup and the images are displayed correctly. I think I used a Spyder type of monitor calibration tool but this was 18 years ago.

I've tried the on-screen monitor calibration tools but not much improvement really. So two questions really:

Should I buy another 3rd-party calibration kit? And if so, what should I buy?

Although I don't depend on my photos for a living; I am a semi-pro using professional kit and send hi-res images in for publication

Thank you for your kind help

Which one ASUS monitor?

 

[JerseySailor]

I long ago learned that using an uncalibrated monitor was a recipe for disappointment (and a loss of hard-earned dollars) in prints that turned out to be unusable.

BobKnDp gave you one view of the calibrator landscape. I can't say anything about his choice since I have no knowledge of his brand, but his prior posts show that he is quite knowledgeable.

I learned the hard (and expensive) lesson years ago of the need to use a calibrated monitor doing post on any photos destined for web posting or commercial printing, after sending uncalibrated photos to Adorama (now Printique), and getting back useless metal prints. It wasn't their fault, but rather mine for not using a calibrated monitor. They had simply printed what I sent to them, but since I was using an overly bright monitor (the setting most of us use for normal web browsing), when printed on their calibrated printers, the results were too dark to use. Propst processing of photos for web posting or commercial printing have to be done on monitors that are calibrated to match the industry standards used at the commercial printers.

Since then, I've used the DataColor Spyder series of calibrators to calibrate any monitor I use to do post processing on photos that are going to Adorama for printing - and have always been pleased with the results.

For more on monitor calibration, see: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/monitor-calibration.htm

 

[SC489]

The only way to do this properly is to use a device like Spyder, use a colour managed workflow and use a viewing light having the same illumination level and colour temperature as the monitor calibration.

 

[Robert Armstrong]

In reply to Sagittarius:

It's an ASUS ProArt PA279CV

 

[Robert Armstrong]

Thanks for help guys. In the end I ordered the Datacolour Spyder ProX which did the job!

 

[Chris Noble]

The only way to do this properly is to use a device like Spyder, use a colour managed workflow and use a viewing light having the same illumination level and colour temperature as the monitor calibration.

A helpful thread from Fred Miranda's site:

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1832449/0

(PS: I've never heard before that the ambient light should match the monitor color/level, just that it should be low and indirect to the monitor user).

 

[Sagittarius]

The only way to do this properly is to use a device like Spyder, use a colour managed workflow and use a viewing light having the same illumination level and colour temperature as the monitor calibration.

A helpful thread from Fred Miranda's site:

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1832449/0

(PS: I've never heard before that the ambient light should match the monitor color/level, just that it should be low and indirect to the monitor user).

When calibrating with Spyder, there always was an option to measure ambient light and it suggested different levels based on the ambient light.

 

[SC489]

The only way to do this properly is to use a device like Spyder, use a colour managed workflow and use a viewing light having the same illumination level and colour temperature as the monitor calibration.

A helpful thread from Fred Miranda's site:

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1832449/0

(PS: I've never heard before that the ambient light should match the monitor color/level, just that it should be low and indirect to the monitor user).

You will never get the print to match the screen if the illumination levels and colour temperatures of the screen and viewing light differ.

 

[Chris Noble]

The only way to do this properly is to use a device like Spyder, use a colour managed workflow and use a viewing light having the same illumination level and colour temperature as the monitor calibration.

A helpful thread from Fred Miranda's site:

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1832449/0

(PS: I've never heard before that the ambient light should match the monitor color/level, just that it should be low and indirect to the monitor user).

You will never get the print to match the screen if the illumination levels and colour temperatures of the screen and viewing light differ.

Understood, I was confusing the monitor ambient light and the print viewing light.