 |
  |
 |
Thanks useful information: 7
how to calibrate dell u2311h? for photo editing?
Hi
i have just got the dell ultrasharp u2311h.
I am a graphic designer, usually use indesign, illustrator and photoshop use.
However I am not sure if i have purchased the correct monitor, i really need help in calibrating it properly for photoshop colour correction, when i need to. I also had problems downloading the printer drivers? nothing happened>? Can i improve the monitor for colour accuracy?
Help and advice on this monitor would be great.
To calibrate you will need a colorimeter of sorts, an Eye1, Pantone Huey, or Spider etc.
Not sure whether that is a TN or IPS panel, but it seems to be the latest dell in that size from the model number. I have twin U2410's calibrated they are IPS panels and they show accurately what I see when I print.
Threadstarter
thanks
Dell U2311h . It's an IPS panel with display port and DVI.
does anyone recommend any free calibration software?
You cannot calibrate correctly using software, it must be done with a colourimeter.
Wayne is correct to the all but .01% of the detail. A monitor calibrator is a lump of hardware and as is the case with most things computer related you must have software behind it in order to function.
The various monitor calibration hardware manufacturers supply the shiny gizmo with a program that tells your graphics card what to display so it is a combination of the two and neither work without the other. There is no free lunch here I am afraid, time to break the credit card again.
AndrewNikon, Fuji, Nikkor, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina and too many other bits and pieces to list.
As has been said the best way is to buy a colorimeter, but if you don't want to or can't afford it your graphics card should come with some sort of control panel to help adjust it. I know that NVIDIA have one and its alright you can change a fair bit, but at the end of the day it wont be as good.
The harsher the CC the quicker i learn
Not exactly true what Wayne says there.
Alternatives exist in the form or a reference print... or other image.
if your end point is print, then get a print of one of your images, and calibrate by eye in the WYSIWYG manner.
I got a Spyder3 and calibrated my two screens. The good one(LG) calibrated well, but the bad one(old HP LCD) doesn't.. no matter what I try. it's just too contrasty.
I was always worried about the difference and Sypder says that the HP was calibrated, but the two screens are poles apart in looks.. where the HP has way to much contrast and I can't see good levels of mid tones in my images. Had operated in this manner for a few months now, and made a decision to go with the better looking LG screen, because it seems to calibrate better.. and I can make alteration to the screen's output that make a massive difference. The HP screen always displays too much contrast, even with wild screen settings.
So the other week I finally printed one of my images into a proper photo and the calibration on the LG was close to perfect according to the print. I had to lower brightness from 120cd/m down to about 100.. maybe less and it looks perfect compared to the print.
getting contrast up to a good level ... black point and white point settings, can be easy even with on screen advice and help(ie. without a reference hard copy or calibrating device) but trying to get colour tone looking good is tricky because as ambient light varies the colour of the light affects how the colour of the screen looks as well. That's generally where a calibrator helps more than anything else.
I also used the print to try to get a better looking HP screen, but I only got a better colour balance. The contrast is still way too high, and I've tried all OSD settings.
This is not an issue as the main screen is the bigger LG anyhow and only periphery programs and screens get sent to the smaller HP. The HP will eventually end up as the screen for another PC box.
I was also weary of spending good money on something as seemingly insignificant as a calibrator.. but after calibrating, I think it was money well spent.
if you do spend money on one, and if you ever have plans to add multiple screens, the Elite version of the Spyder 3(which is only software) allows the independent calibration of two screens. if you have two different(brand/model) screens, this makes a difference as you can only load one calibration profile to the graphics card. If you add another screen the same as the current one, then it makes no difference.
because you have an ips based screen, the chances are that it's already pretty well calibrated.
What version of the OS are you running?
if Win7, then it has a pseudo calibration option in the hardware section.
In the screen resolution area is an advanced tab. somewhere in there are the options to do a screen calibration too.
Note: I have an nvidia graphic card with the latest drivers, so I now can't access the built in Windows calibrator, as the nvidia driver takes control of the screen now. if you have this setup, the nvidia driver allows you to calibrate the screen as well
Nikon D800E, D300, D70s
{Nikon}; -> 50/1.2 : 500/8 : 105/2.8VR Micro : 180/2.8 ais : 105mm f/1.8 ais : 24mm/2 ais
{Sigma}; ->10-20/4-5.6 : 50/1.4 : 12-24/4.5-5.6II : 150-600mm|S
{Tamron}; -> 17-50/2.8 : 28-75/2.8 : 70-200/2.8 : 300/2.8 SP MF : 24-70/2.8VC
{Yongnuo}; -> YN35/2N : YN50/1.8N
Threadstarter
hi
I have an nvidia graphic card. How do i adjust this to calibrate correctly? or is it automatic?
depends on the driver you have installed.(and the card of course)
You need to be able to see the nvidia panel in the control panel and we are talking Windows here , yeah?!
if you don't see that then you need the nvidia driver.. downloaded the one that relates to your particular card, from the nvidia website... nforce driver or something like that.
the file may be as large as 200Meg.
alternatively the Windows Update site may have it as an extra(non essential) download too.
If you don't currently have the nvidia driver installed, then if you have Windows7(not sure about Win Vista.. but this is definitely not an option in WinXP!!) but there is the advanced link in the screen resolution settings tool. this will link you to the Windows screen calibrator. It basically works like the old Adobe Gamma program.. gives you a few images for you to adjust the screen to a semi decent setting to begin with.
Because of this thread, I subsequently remembered to look into the nvidia calibration/adjustment tool, and I now have the HP screen looking a lot more like the good LG screen, and hence the print
I have to disable the Spyder's control over the HP screen tho.
you need to download the driver http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us and then do it by hand. Also if you didn't have a driver it can greatly help in games and other graphically intensive programs But as arthurking83 said use a reference print you have done and try and do it by eye.Originally Posted by three123
Earlier this year I was teaching Graphic Designers specifically about colour management.
Its really important in your line of business to be able to trust your monitor.
What is a simple question is for designers fraught with issues. Well worth reading up about it.
A good hardware/software measuring device/calibration system is going to cost you around $200 plus. Its a one off cost, and I've been using my Eye One for many years without any need to upgrade the hardware.
Yes you can calbirate by your eye, but its no where near as accurate. You can be influenced by your surrounding walls, and you can be even influenced by what you were last looking at.
Its especially critical for you as a designer, as you're likely to be producing for CMYK printing, and then you really want to be able to trust and rely on your monitor - so calibrating with using a print comparison, which has probably been printed on a limited SRGB domestic market system.
The importance of Colour management is vastly underrated by many graphic designers, and I'm afraid to say its a really important and technically challenging area of necessary learning.
I'd highly recommend the book by the late Bruce Fraser (also coauthored by Chris Murphy and Fred Bunting) - Real World Colour Management - he was regarded as the number 1 guru on colour management. For graphic designers the challenge to achieve from screen to print is far more challenging as you will be viewing on an RGB screen, but generally producing print using a CMYK process.
Other helpful and explanatory links:
Digital Image Guidelines and Advice:
www.apdig.com
I'm coauthor of the Australian Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines
this is about as brief as we could get this.
www.updig.org
very in depth explanation
Helpful advice on Colour Management & Conversions:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tut...conversion.htm
You can often find Spyder2's for $100 or so second hand. They do a good job.
Darren
Gear : Nikon Goodness
Website : http://www.peakactionimages.com
Please support Precious Hearts
Constructive Critique of my images always appreciated
It isn't a huge cost for what will last a long time, I got my Spyder Studio SR for $350 and it profiles printer/paper as well.
I agree, the only true way to do it with anywhere near 100% accuracy is to use a hardware colourmeter.
"It is one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it is another thing to make a portrait of who they are" - Paul Caponigro
Constructive Critique of my photographs is always appreciated
Nikon, etc!
RICK
My Photography
+1 hardware
I have a Colormounki Photo. It's more expensive then some of the models mentioned earlier in this thread, but it does screens, projectors, printer profiling and also does colour sampling. For example, point it at a colour on a brochure and it samples it and sends it straight to your photo editing software. The other brands might do this.
Colormunki also has another model call Colormunki Design which is aimed at graphic designers. I'm not sure of the differences.
Threadstarter
thanks guys most helpful.
So it really doesnt matter what monitor you have, all monitors require a colourimeter... I was worried my u2311h monitor was not up to scratch? Pantone huey sounds good.
What is up to scratch?
I just bought a Dell u2711 ultrasharp, and it performs very well for the price ($1000) but I was also looking at better monitors like NEC's professional lineup ($2000+) and above that the EIZOs ($3000+). The top end monitors have the best colour coverage and accuracy you can get and also have features like direct hardware calibration (eg. plug your colorimeter directly into monitor - no need for software on computer etc)...
so basically, yes it does matter what monitor you have and most importantly whether or not it addresses your needs...
Last edited by campo; 13-09-2010 at 10:33am.
Also to add to campo's post above. Monitors change as they age, are used etc. The brightness levels slowly decrease. Regular calibration of your monitor, whether it is a $300.00 or $3000.00 one is beneficial. Cheap monitors can also experience flux in different parts of the screen so the left can be brighter than the right etc.
When doing a calibration it is recommened the computer is on and the screen 'warmed up' for about 30 minutes before running the callibration.
The only issue I have with trusting a hardware calibration tool only solution, is that they can be (and are) not 100% reliable, and it does depend on the screen being calibrated.
You have a good screen to start with, so your calibration experiences will not reflect what I've recently experienced.
I reckon, Rick's point of how monitors slowly deteriorate may be what the issue is with my HP screen.. it simply doesn't calibrate, and it is old(technology) and has been used frequently too.
Your Dell is supposedly accurately calibrated... and pretty good at the factory default settings.
quoted from TFT Central's review."... Calibration should help return even better results of course but if you don't have access to a colorimeter, the U2311H is still capable of offering you decent colour accuracy, colour temp and gamma out of the box.... "
In the OSD menu, there will be a restore to factory defaults option, and TFTC reckons that it may be set a touch bright. The only way to know this is via an accurate colorimeter check.
What you think is too bright is different to what I think is too bright, but at least the colorimeter is going to be consistent.
You have a good screen in the Dell!
My thoughts in a nutshell ---
When you edit your photos using that monitor you are aiming to reproduce what you saw through the viewfinder at the time the image was captured. A good calibrator will help to display that image as you saw it. ( if you are heavily into manipulating and exaggerating colours and hues that weren't there in the first place you can probably forget the calibrator to start with as you are falsifying the initial information)
After you have done that, the final output is the key ingredient, if you simply wish to display the image on the web, there are going to be many many monitors in front of the viewers of your image that won't see it correctly because their monitors are either uncalibrated or just deficient in quality to display correct colours in the first place.
If you have the images destined to be printed (where all good images should end up IMHO) then if the printing is done by a reputable firm and you have supplied them in the correct file format they should come back to you looking the same as they do on your screen and the everyone that sees those images will be seeing them as they truly are.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Add To Bookmarks
