[ronald_durst]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but here goes. Can i calibrate my monitor according to my k110d display screen or do i need to go and buy calibration software? Anyone with any experience with this would be great to hear from you.

Im using a vaio notebook by the way.

[SpecialK]

You can google "online monitor calibration" for some test pages. Basically there is a string of about 20 squares ranging from pure white to pure black, a gamma adjustment square-within-a-square, and maybe a few other tests.

Then look at the gallery images posted here. If the vast majority look right, color-wise, you are probably set.

I haven't had particularly fancy monitors but I've always been able to "adjust" them without spending money.

[jfdavis58]

in a cardboard moving box provided you eat your breakfast and wear a blue cape.

You could match your monitor to the LCD on the camera--given enough time and some luck. Why would still be a mystery--basing the 'look' of a 6 or 10 mega-pixel image on an LCD with a hundred thousand pixels and 1/3 the dynamic range doesn't seem particularly smart--but it's 'doable'.

And you can 'hack' something together from one (or more) of many 'self-help' web-sites and get passable results.

But if you want the (or every) print to have a "snowball's chance in hell" of matching the monitor and appearing anything at all like the actual scene, then you need the package and the thingamabob that reads the screen and its driver and accompanying analysis software. No if's, and's or but's.

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but here goes. Can i calibrate my monitor according to my k110d display screen or do i need to go and buy calibration software? Anyone with any experience with this would be great to hear from you.

Im using a vaio notebook by the way.

[chrisman]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but here goes. Can i calibrate my monitor according to my k110d display screen or do i need to go and buy calibration software? Anyone with any experience with this would be great to hear from you.

Im using a vaio notebook by the way.

As John has pointed out (in his own way) there is absolutely no sense in matching your PC monitor with your camera display unless, of course, you want your photos to be way of the mark as far as colour, brightness and contrast are concerned.

The image in the camera monitor is basically to check that it contains the elements you thought you were photographing, not as a true representation of what the image will look like when printed.

Buy yourself a monitor calibration device such as the Colorvision Spyder to properly calibrate your monitor if you are serious about getting the image to look its best. You'll be surprised at the difference it makes.

All the best

[rayallen]

Buy yourself a monitor calibration device such as the Colorvision Spyder to properly calibrate your monitor if you are serious about getting the image to look its best. You'll be surprised at the difference it makes.

All the best

I will second what Chris has said. I bought a Colorvision ColorPlus calibration device (I think that one has now been superseded) from B&H in New York. I have never regretted that purchase. I was never confident that I had the settings right doing it by eye with the Adobe Gamma tool. It is much more accurate having the calibration performed by the combination of hardware and software.

[ronald_durst]

I pretty much thought that. I was jus trying to avoid spending more money. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

[jfdavis58]

This is a 'penny-wise, pound foolish' sorta thing. You can fork-over a couple hundred now and get the proper equipment, or you can struggle with bad results until an equivalent amount of cash is blown. It might be good as an exercise to take your frustrations out and stroll them about, but frankly it will be boring as hell for everybody else who sees your poor output or hears your lament. There is no free lunch when it comes to color management.

As to 'my way': I'm a cranky ol' coot who gives freely from his small store of experiences and knowledge---if you benefit from my foibles, great; if not, then I have something to laugh about.

I pretty much thought that. I was jus trying to avoid spending more money. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

[c.r.brown]

It is also worth mentioning that monitor callibration is also best when the monitor is used in a controlled environment. Lighting both natural and electric, wall colors and decorations all play a part in the viewing of whats on the screen.

There is a good article here...
creativepro.com - The Darkroom Makes a Comeback
creativepro.com - The Darkroom Makes a Comeback (Part 2)

[Nick1946]

I'm using the Panatone Huey with good results and it adjusts itself for the room lighting.

[rayallen]

and it adjusts itself for the room lighting.

Now that's cool. I wish mine did that. But I am not about to buy another one.

[button]

How many of you have made adjustments to your editing room lighting? Although calibrating a monitor to 6500K seems to be the standard these days, calibrating to 5000K makes more sense to me, given that the "coolest" bulb I can find with a CRI of 90 or better is 5000K. Unless I can find a really good 6500K bulb, why should I calibrate to 6500K?

John

[button]

Here's a link to an article that I think is worth a look:

http://www.solux.net/ies_files/Digital%20Darkroom%20Lighting.pdf#search=%22d...%20lighting%22

[PDL]

I'm using the Panatone Huey with good results and it adjusts itself for the room lighting.

I have the Huey Pro also - it is a very nice machine. I am not sure but as the light changes during the day - with the room light changing - it does shift in brightness when I turn on the light as it gets dark. Also while in calibration, if you follow the suggestions as directed, the color sensors are pointed at your monitor. I just might be "taking the temperature" of the ambiant light. - But I am probably full of it too.

I was pretty low in price (< 200 USD) when I purchases mine. Plust you keep it turned on all the time so it can adjust for changes in the room light.

PDL

[LeoTaylor]

My ColorVision COS2E Spyder2express Color Calibration System was only $69 from B&H. It is the low end of the Syder line, but my needs and skills are modest. My ability to judge color by eye is awful so I needed a tool.

[whitelotus9]

Today I received the Pantone ColorVision ColorPlus calibrator I won on an eBay auction. My system is running Windows 7 and the supplied software/drivers will NOT work on the Windows 7. This is a ColorVision Spyder calibrator according to the imprint on the back side of the module itself. The driver/application to obtain and run is: Spyder2express_2.3.6_Setup.exe and it can be downloaded from the following link:
Spyder2express 2.3.6 - Win - Powered By Kayako SupportSuite

That version of the application WILL work on the Windows 7 system and properly update the registry. I mention this unit because they can be found for very good prices! I paid $10.50US for my unit. My Adobe Photoshop Express 8 works very happily with the resulting profile.