Another calibrating monitor question

[Kelly Griffin]

Hey Ron–

I used to fret about this as well, but here’s what I’ve discovered over the last two or three years (in no particular order of importance):

(1) I barely even USE my nice, purty 32″ LED/LCD monitor; maybe just for real detail stuff, but that’s about it.

(2) I’d say don’t waste your money on “studio” monitors; since there’s no real apples-to-apples comparisons that I can even think of anymore, it’s just not gonna really matter if you get something “pretty decent”. I think I spent $800 for my LG monitor; it’s gorgeous, but I probably could have just as effectively gotten something for half the price.

(3) To more directly answer your question about calibration, here’s what occurred to me that works just fine: I did a shoot, and got my camera LCD display looking perfect compared to what just my raw eyeballs saw. When I got back to my studio, I just tweaked my work monitor and LG monitor until they looked like my camera display.

Apples to apples to apples. Bodda bing.

Call me simplistic and crazy, but that’s what seems just dandy here.

–Kelly

[John Rofrano]

[Ron Whitaker] “From what I’ve learned here and on the web, the best way to calibrate your monitor is via an external device like that provided by X-Rite or Spyder. Is that correct?”

Correct.

[Ron Whitaker] “Are both X-Rite and Spyder good products to use to calibrate?”

I’ve never used X-Rite but I love my Spyder 3 Elite.

[Ron Whitaker] “Is is possible to use a quality consumer-grade LCD monitor, calibrated, and still end up with a quality video that will have the proper color calibration for broadcast? Or is it simply not possible?”

Yes it’s possible. The key is to buy a really good IPS panel.

[Ron Whitaker] “If so, what are some good quality LCD monitors that you have used and could recommend that won’t break the bank?!”

I have two ASUS ProArt PA246Q (1920×1200 Widescreen) monitors and they came calibrated from the factory with the calibration report included in the box. These were about $500 each when I bought them but there is a new model now. I;m very happy with these and use them for finish editing programs that go to TV broadcast.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Ron Whitaker]

Thank you for your responses.

[John Rofrano]

You’re welcome.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Ron Whitaker]

John:

Is this the new, updated Asus monitor like yours?

[John Rofrano]

[Ron Whitaker] “Is this the new, updated Asus monitor like yours?”

No, that’s an IPS panel instead of a P-IPS panel which means it’s 8-bit (16.7M colors) while mine is 10-bit (1073.7M colors). It’s brightness is also 300 cd/㎡ while mine is 400 cd/㎡ so it’s not as bright. It’s probably a very nice display, but it’s got lower specs which is why it has a lower price.

The PA249Q looks closer to mine and is probably the newer model.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Stephen Crye]

There is something to what Kelly said.

I’m pretty happy with the two Dell Ultrasharp monitors (24″ and 23″) I just bought at discount. They look identical, and aside from not having auto-brightness with that High End Spyder, what I see on them looks like what my eye remembered when I shot the footage.

Every time I go through those manual calibration steps (such as the one that comes with Photoshop) where they have you squint at the colored circles and patterns and adjust until everything merges, when I am done it looks like crap …

Now, as far as how the BluRay’s look on various TVs – I go to several friend’s houses and play them. Where it looks crappy, they usually have the TV horribly mis-adjusted, and I help them fix it …

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T7500, MultiTB SATA, 12GB RAM, nVidia Quadro 2000, Vegas 12, 11, 10, 9 DVDA 6.0 & 5.2(build 135) Sony HDR-CX550V, Panasonic GH3 with LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm / F2.8 ASPH, LUMIX G X VARIO 35-100mm / F2.8

[John Rofrano]

[Stephen Crye] “Every time I go through those manual calibration steps (such as the one that comes with Photoshop) where they have you squint at the colored circles and patterns and adjust until everything merges, when I am done it looks like crap …”

This is an important point. People think that they can calibrate a monitor with their eyes and they really can’t. Your brain will trick your eyes into seeing what it “thinks” the color should be. This is why it’s so important to get a digital calibration device like a Spyder.

For example, boxes A and B are the exact same color grey in this image:

Use a color picker to check it out if you don’t believe me. You can’t trust your eyes to calibrate a monitor.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Stephen Crye]

LOL I love that image! It has been years since I checked it out. I used to have it hanging on the wall of my office.

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T7500, MultiTB SATA, 12GB RAM, nVidia Quadro 2000, Vegas 12, 11, 10, 9 DVDA 6.0 & 5.2(build 135) Sony HDR-CX550V, Panasonic GH3 with LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm / F2.8 ASPH, LUMIX G X VARIO 35-100mm / F2.8

[John Rofrano]

Then you understand how our eyes trick us into seeing things that really aren’t there. It’s an extreme example but shows you how to can’t really trust your eyes to calibrate your monitor.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com