Is this too dark? "calibrating" new monitor

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

09/24/2005 06:18:47 PM · #1

I got a new monitor (finally) and I am trying to find a setting that will work best for dpc. This picture printed very dark and undersaturated on my printer so I have to adjust it for that, but I have several modes I can use and want to make a profile for dpc.
How does it look?
Any general comments about the image are also welcome.
thx.
[thumb]//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=235685[/thumb]

faidoi

Pentax K10D

09/24/2005 06:20:55 PM · #2

Dark

Message edited by author 2005-09-24 18:21:50.

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/24/2005 06:25:51 PM · #3

I suppose that all depends... on my monitor, nothing is so dark that it's been lost in the shadows. And if you made the overall image brighter, I'm afraid you'd blow the reflection of the sky. So I don't really think you want it to be lighter.

So no, I wouldn't call it too dark if you consider the entire image.

On the other hand, I do wish the building were a little lighter. So from a photoshop point of view... I'd probably run it thru PS's shadow/highlights adjustment.

Riponlady

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

09/24/2005 06:26:25 PM · #4

Not dark on my monitor ( ibook G4)
P

mesmeraj

09/24/2005 06:44:49 PM · #5

looks fine on mine also.

but youre better off calibrating properly (and regularly) that taking a couple of folks word for it.

FrostyPaws

Olympus E-500 EVOLT

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX Macro AF for Olympus

09/24/2005 06:59:50 PM · #6

It seems dark.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

09/24/2005 07:36:27 PM · #7

Looks ok here. The highlights in the right-middle leaves is plenty bright enough, as is the sky reflection in the water. The cabin is fine for what it is, it's the darker area of the image, but is alright considering the light source.

Dell 19" FP LCD - calibrated.

For what it's worth (you may already know this), the image is very pixelated/blocky.

emorgan49

Olympus E-5

Olympus 50mm f/1.8 MF Normal Zuiko

09/24/2005 08:13:34 PM · #8

Not dark at all, but tilted. See, even if you are calibrated nicely the voters may not be.

colyla

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM II

09/24/2005 08:26:05 PM · #9

Doesn't look too dark for my laptop monitor here at home...but it does look extremely pixelated...especially in the tree reflection on the water and the roof.

drz01

Pentax K50

Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR

09/24/2005 08:28:52 PM · #10

Not dark but blury and pixilated.

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/24/2005 08:57:26 PM · #11

If I look at the picture on my LCD it does look pixelated. But on my 19" CRT it looks fine.

I've been wondering this for a long time... are LCDs prone to showing pixelation where there is none? Or are CRTs better at smoothing the image??? (and if all you have is one or the other, how can you possibly know which is right?!?)

Message edited by author 2005-09-24 20:58:03.

roadrunner

Canon EOS-20D

Tamron SP AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

09/24/2005 08:59:48 PM · #12

Looks great on my laptop.. great shot too btw..

wavelength

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

09/24/2005 09:03:17 PM · #13

FWIW, it looks a little blurry and pixelated on my monitor also. And justa tad dark.

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

09/25/2005 03:43:58 AM · #14

Thanks for the replies. I think I can now figure out at least two different profiles to use for printing and dpc.
I can see the pixelation now (didn't notice it at first), they appear to be jpeg artifacts since they are not there on the TIFF file.
Any suggestions as to how to improve it more?

Originally posted by mesmeraj:

looks fine on mine also.

but youre better off calibrating properly (and regularly) that taking a couple of folks word for it.

I would have liked to, but I realy can't afford a spyder or the likes at the moment. I'll have to trust my eyes and yours....

Thanks,
Michael

faidoi

Pentax K10D

09/25/2005 03:51:18 AM · #15

Originally posted by Refwhett:

I would have liked to, but I realy can't afford a spyder or the likes at the moment. I'll have to trust my eyes and yours....

Thanks,
Michael

What did you use to calibrate? Adobe gamma?

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

09/25/2005 03:54:41 AM · #16

Straight form the factory... Eizo screen.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

09/25/2005 04:00:15 AM · #17

Go to the voting page and select a picture. Look at the white to black bar. How does it look on your monitor. Each bar should be a 50% lighter then the next. The ends are usually the problem areas.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

09/25/2005 04:29:49 AM · #18

Thanks. I can see the different blocks all the way to the last three. I can still see that they are different but I have to really look closely. I tried adjusting the monitor but I can't get it any better.
There doesn't seem to be a contrast adjustment for this screen, so I suppose it is on max which should be 1000:1. Any ideas how to fix this?
I have Eizo S1910.

David.C

09/25/2005 05:10:19 AM · #19

One of the easiest ways to get about as close as possible without hardware -- monitor calibration.

Originally posted by dwterry:

I've wondered similarly -- wondered if LCDs are set to more contrast than is good. Here is a test -- the top row of each of the following charts is in 1-step increments. The row should appear as a smooth gradient -- if the difference between the steps are noticable banding may occur in some of the smoother areas.

However, the blocking in this image is likely due to the overly aggressive compression -- it's only 23881 bytes.

David