Calibrating TV monitor for live preview with Canon DSLR

[Warren Eig]

You really need to use a broadcast probe to calibrate a monitor. It also helps to have blue gun only on the monitor. Another option is to send Broadcast SMTPE bars to all devices which has a known profile that can be checked on a scope. You can then see how close they match.

Or if you have a known image that you can send to each device and adjust to that known image.

Warren Eig
O 310-470-0905

email: info@babyboompictures.com
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[Gary Huff]

[dallas kruse] “I’m not sure I trust the coloring of the LCD monitor. The cameras’ LCD screen’s coloring looks different than the TV’s monitor.”

If you white balance that T4i (which isn’t easy, but doable), then you’ll always have a neutral base to start from (where white looks white in the footage), and you won’t have to worry about whether the monitors are correct or not. In my opinion, unless you know for a fact that a monitor is calibrated, and calibrated correctly, you should only use monitors for focus (with the proper tools, a la peaking, mag assist, etc.) and composition.

[Dallas Kruse]

@GaryHuff

Thats a good point. I typically use just the “Neutral” settings on the T4i but white balancing is something I should learn.

Skin tones look yellow on my TV monitor when I’m shooting and I am using it just for focus and framing.

Its an older TV monitor as well so I’m not sure I’d even be able to get the coloring right.

Great points and thoughts, everyone. Thanks so much.

Music Producer dabbling in Video.
FCP 7. Adobe CS6.
Canon T3i.

[Gary Huff]

[dallas kruse] “Skin tones look yellow on my TV monitor when I’m shooting and I am using it just for focus and framing. “

That sounds like an incorrect white balance. Are the skin tones not yellow when you look at the footage later?