Setting the correct brightness of my monitor

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

05/28/2010 11:22:16 AM · #1

I would need some help with setting the correct brightness of my monitor.

I submitted a black & white picture for my first challenge.

On my home computer, the left part is dark, but we can clearly see the hand.
When I saw that same picture on my work computer, I found it much darker. I have 2 monitors at work, and both of them have different brightness.

Now, I'm full of doubt! What is the correct brightness? How can I set it so that it should display the same on (almost?) any computer?

For comparison (sorry, I can't upload the pictures on my profile):
- Normal brightness: smg.photobucket . com/albums/v519/thor22/DPChallenge/?action=view¤t=DPChallenge_DoorKnobs_Handles_Locks.jpg
- Brightness +5: smg.photobucket . com/albums/v519/thor22/DPChallenge/?action=view¤t=DPChallenge_DoorKnobs_Handles_Lo-1.jpg
- Brightness +10: smg.photobucket . com/albums/v519/thor22/DPChallenge/?action=view¤t=DPChallenge_DoorKnobs_Handles_Lo-2.jpg

The 1st is good on my home monitor.
The 3rd is good on one of my work monitor.
None of the 3 is ok on my other work monitor.

I tried to follow a tutorial for that, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

Thanks for your help :)

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

05/28/2010 11:24:58 AM · #2

To get the correct display you need to calibrate your monitor.

Short of that, when viewing an image in voting, there's a strip of boxes ranging from black to white. The correct brightness allows you to see all the boxes. If any at either end are blended together then your monitor is either too bright or too dark.

Techo

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

05/28/2010 11:26:02 AM · #3

I like the Photofriday site to calibrate the contrast/brightness/gamma...
//www.photofriday.com/calibrate.php
//www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/inversion.php
//www.imaging-resource.com/ARTS/MONCAL/CALIBRATE.HTM

Message edited by author 2010-05-28 11:26:46.

Olympus 7-14mm f/4.0 Zuiko Digital Zoom

05/28/2010 01:24:21 PM · #4

Thanks a lot for the info. I should have thought of using the bar in the vote page.

I have some difficulties balancing the brightness and the contrast. Which one should I change?

I tried to change the settings, but no matter what, I'm not able to see the distinction of the 2-3 last back squares on the vote page.
Could it be a limitation of the screens? At work, I have a Dell 1907FP and 1908FP. With the same settings, I have different results on both screens...

Something weird... On the vote page, I can see the 2 first white squares, but not the 2 last black squares.
On Photo Friday, I clearly see the difference in the dark bars, but not that clearly in the light bars.
On Imaging Resource, I can't see the difference of 251-254, but I can see all the squares in 5-30.

one2one

Olympus E-5

05/28/2010 01:51:34 PM · #5

Originally posted by tholmir:

You need to adjust contrast and brightness levels to attain correct settings. If you set the settings to be exactly the same on different monitors that doesn't mean they're going to give you the same output. Even if the screens are from the same maker (Dell). They could have been made in two different manufacturing plants, who knows. How old are your monitors?

In Techo's first link, do you see the last two white blocks as distinct tones? How about the two first black ones? Try adjusting the contrast levels more than the brightness with this calibration screen.

Message edited by author 2010-05-28 13:54:49.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

05/28/2010 09:05:52 PM · #6

I don't know how old my monitors are. I just got them, but they are not brand new.

From my home computer, on photofriday.com/calibrate.php, yes, I see the last two white blocks as distinct tones. Same thing for the black blocks. (same result from my work computer)
Regarding the 2 vertical bars, the differences in the dark bar are much more obvious than in the light bar.

Usually, is it more important to see the differences in the dark tones or in the light tones?

Techo

Canon EOS-7D

05/28/2010 10:47:03 PM · #7

If you can't seem to change the settings from the monitor's settings to get the results you want. You can go through Windows. Finding the icon for your video or graphics card settings via the control panel, you can tweak mostly anything. Not sure how this works on a Mac, but should also be possible. You can then also save the profile, so you don't have to tweak things again if the settings are lost.

Originally posted by tholmir:

...
Usually, is it more important to see the differences in the dark tones or in the light tones?

Depends if it's a high key or low key challenge that's running ;)
If the display is way too high on constrast, you think the black backdrop you used is perfectly black where as people who have properly adjusted monitors will see the fabric. Too dark, and it'll look way too bright on other screens.

Message edited by author 2010-05-28 22:55:11.

kenskid

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

05/29/2010 12:53:55 AM · #8

Get a spyder calibrator....it will change your life.

Originally posted by tholmir:

I would need some help with setting the correct brightness of my monitor.

I submitted a black & white picture for my first challenge.

On my home computer, the left part is dark, but we can clearly see the hand.
When I saw that same picture on my work computer, I found it much darker. I have 2 monitors at work, and both of them have different brightness.

Now, I'm full of doubt! What is the correct brightness? How can I set it so that it should display the same on (almost?) any computer?

For comparison (sorry, I can't upload the pictures on my profile):
- Normal brightness: smg.photobucket . com/albums/v519/thor22/DPChallenge/?action=view¤t=DPChallenge_DoorKnobs_Handles_Locks.jpg
- Brightness +5: smg.photobucket . com/albums/v519/thor22/DPChallenge/?action=view¤t=DPChallenge_DoorKnobs_Handles_Lo-1.jpg
- Brightness +10: smg.photobucket . com/albums/v519/thor22/DPChallenge/?action=view¤t=DPChallenge_DoorKnobs_Handles_Lo-2.jpg

The 1st is good on my home monitor.
The 3rd is good on one of my work monitor.
None of the 3 is ok on my other work monitor.

I tried to follow a tutorial for that, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

Thanks for your help :)