Monitor Calibration?

[alfie Wright]

Is there a way of calibrating a desktop monitor & a Laptop screen to both be accurate & show the same colour rendition, without buying a gizmo?

If not, as I suspect, which gizmo's work well at the lower end of the market?

My desktop PC, which is a very old gameing set up & due to be replaced, doesn't seem to like Lightroom. So I downloaded LR on to my laptop & PP'd a few RAW files & was pretty happy with them. Until I viewed them on the desktops biggger monitor. The laptop seems to have a blue hue while the monitor has a strong red hue in comparison. I've played around with one or two online calibration guides & I just cannot get them to look even broadly similar! Now I'm in the position of not knowing which is more accurate & don't know how my images really look! I'm going around in circles here... any suggestions.

 

[adrian jordin]

I have much the same problem with two monitors running off the same PC.
One is much newer than the other and I'm damned if I can get them to match colour reproduction.

A calibration unit is about the only thing I haven't tried, so I shall be interested to see peoples comments.
For now I stick to using one monitor for editing and the other for any other windows I have open, so at least that gives me some consistency.

 

[Pete Askew]

My only experience is with an i1Photo spectrometer I'm afraid. This allows me to create profiles for all of my monitors and I have good consistency even between laptops and desktops (including a Mac Pro running 3 monitors and some iMacs). This unit and its accessories also allows for the creation of custom profiles for printer / paper combinations and to calibrate my scanners (and LCD projector / beamer - although I have never bothered).

I have no experience of software solution but this might be of help though - Hex2Bit - Software by Mike Walters.

 

[alfie Wright]

Thanks for the advice, Pete, I tried the Hex2Bit software & it's pretty bad to be honest. The Lagom.nl LCD Test page seems best so far,but it's still a guess at best! The i1Photo looks a bit pricey for me Has anyone any experience of the £50ish Pantone huey PRO? or is worth finding a bit extra cash for a Spyder oor a Munki?

 

[Pete Askew]

I know several people who use the Spyder but not the others. I recall them receiving good reviews though.

 

[Laurie Parker]

I use spyder pro on my dual screens, they get calibrated monthly,I find when getting prints back from the lab what I see on my monitor is what I get back on paper, I find that images that have been edited on calibrated screens look good on other non calibrated monitors too, I have viewed some of my images on various un calibrated pc's and i am happy with what I see colourwise.

Laptops though are a different story I find because unless they are constantly in one place without the screen being moved about, such as in a fixed position the calibration IMO I find is not fully accurate due to the spyder calibrating on the rooms ambient light, so if it was calibrated in living room and then you decide to move to bedroom the ambient light would be different resulting in inaccurate calibration. Desktop screens are definately the best for calibrating and any editing work, thats my ten pence worth lol

 

[Fidel Marcus]

if you're on windows 7 there is a way to calibrate through software, keep in mind this is by no means a reason to disregard calibrators like spyder pro but in the meanwhile to improve the screen colors and gamma with what you have you can follow the following steps;


-right click anywhere in desktop & click screen resolution
-click on advanced settings
-click on color management tab
-click on color management... button
-click on advanced
-click calibrate display and follow steps

from my experience with the screen I own I have found this method to be inaccurate in color temperature and saturation, but a fraction better contrast than stock settings.

Now if you want to see very accurate colors you first need a display with an IPS panel ie; dell ultrasharp and the factory calibration on most of those models is far beyond the average display sold at local electronics chain stores, then you will need a spyder pro ($30-80 used from ebay) and you will end up with an extremely accurate screen.

 

[Andy Boardman]

Datacolor Spyder 4 PRO

I would go with a Spyder PRO 4 which will do the job, callibration of monitors is something that can not be done with software alone as it still relies on your eye to get right which is imposible in the real world & to top it men & women will see see different colours due to the eye !!
The Spyder will only see colours it knows to be right or wrong & will get it spot on everytime, as it is something that has to be done on a regular time schedule it is worth getting one as it will last for years & save a fortune in inks if you print your own out, I would get the paper companies you use to do a paper profile as they do it for free these days to keep you on their paper plus they will have a far better & more accurate densitometer than most folks would have at home..
If it helps you are more than welcome to talk to me about them here at the shop.
Cheers
Andy

 

[Pete Askew]

Hi Andy, good recommendation. Just a minor correction and I don't mean to be picky. But it's a spectrometer not a densitometer. Different beastie entirely. I just wanted to make sure no one buys a S/H densitometer off of eBay or similar thinking it will work with their monitors.

 

[Andy Boardman]

Datacolor Spyder 4 PRO

Hi Pete, quite right & you are not picky at all, I must have dyslexic fingers LOL
Any callibrator for the screen is a good buy as it is something that you really need & you will use it.
It is impossible to get it right by eye.