How Many Have True Color? - DPChallenge Forums

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

05/20/2006 09:05:59 AM · #1

Believe it or not, I only recently found out I don't have a "true color" monitor. I did an advanced editing entry once, and upon viewing it on another family members monitor about two months ago, I was mortified that things were showing I wasn't aware of that to me, shouldn't be.

I asked my husband about it, and asked him to calibrate my monitor. I thought it must be off the mark big time. He did calibrate my monitor, only to find out that it didn't possess true color. I guess that is why I see many things on my monitor a bit darker than they are supposed to be. The unfortunate problem though is that I like to play around a lot with HMS and I prefer images of a darker tonal quality when completed. To me that means that others may see it even more dark then I intended, and any areas that I have lightened are more pronounced. Sometimes to the point of seeing my PP verbatum in my entry, which I find quite disturbing. Makes me seem like I am not any good at PP'ing when on my monitor things look just great and then others see it at nearly a half completed stage, or even worse. LOL...

We do own a laptop that has true color, but I find PP'ing on it to be cumbersome, as it has a plasma screen and I find it hard to see what I am doing. LOL....

My husband said when he bought me my computer, had he known I would be into this craft of photography 2+ years ago when he bought it he would have made sure it had a true color monitor. Seems I can't change mine now without a bit of a cost and the software that comes with. :(

Well, I guess all in all I'm not doing too badly in challenges considering with a 5.4 average and a bunch of 6's as of late, but I guess I am just going to have to rely more heavily on that plasma screen, which I hate! :)

I assume the majority of those here at DPC do have a true color monitor? I wonder how many, though, do not. If you do not, then you may or may not be aware that this could possibly and very realistically be the reason for low scores. So it isn't that you should feel bad about your photography skills, as it just may be how others are viewing your entries verses how you view them.

Message edited by author 2006-05-20 09:08:10.

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

05/20/2006 09:19:14 AM · #2

You apparently have quite a few challenge entries scoring above a 6. Maybe you should keep your monitor as it is. I mean, don't mess with success... :-)

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

05/20/2006 09:20:27 AM · #3

How do you know if it's true color or not? What is "true color". Is it the color space you use?

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

05/20/2006 09:26:22 AM · #4

Originally posted by dwterry:

You apparently have quite a few challenge entries scoring above a 6. Maybe you should keep your monitor as it is. I mean, don't mess with success... :-)

I do wonder the same thing, but recently I received a comment on an entry that was all about how bad my pp was and how they could see all of it in the entry. On the other hand, on that same entry, I have many "great! a 10!" comments, as well as comments about how great the processing is. This on another entry as well in current session. So the diverse comments may mean that I should just keep things as they are? Not sure, because if you have true color, then you may see some of my pp'ing. If you don't then you are seeing it as I do. Therefore, I believe bad comments may be from people with true color monitors. If there are more true colors then not, that may explain why I am short of going above the 6's on my entries.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

05/20/2006 09:27:28 AM · #5

If you're on a PC, then "True Color" or 24-bit color capability is determined by the graphics/video card installed.

I'm pretty sure that every PC and monitor sold in the last 10 years is capable of 24-bit color, but maybe not at the resolution you want. That is, you may have to make a choice between seeing fewer pixels with more colors, or more pixels with fewer colors. Check the Display control panel and see what your choices are.

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

05/20/2006 09:27:34 AM · #6

Originally posted by pcody:

How do you know if it's true color or not? What is "true color". Is it the color space you use?

To be honest, I'm not sure. My husband does all that technical stuff. I know when he went to calibrate mine, it said only 32 bit or something like that in the little box. When he went to check my relatives, it said true color? But I didn't watch to see how he did it. Maybe someone else can answer that who is more technically literate then I am on that matter.

doctornick

Apple iPhone 13 Pro

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

05/20/2006 09:30:33 AM · #7

The solution is to use a Spyder Monitor Calibrator.

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

05/20/2006 09:35:02 AM · #8

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Mine was bought about 2 years ago. My resolution is at a decent place. I think the 3rd line in now that I just checked. Thanks for saying where to go or I wouldn't have known :) On the right, my choices are 16bit and 32bit. I am set for the 32bit. I have no 24bit. So....does this mean I would need a new graphic card???

Message edited by author 2006-05-20 09:38:14.

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

05/20/2006 09:36:47 AM · #9

Originally posted by doctornick:

The solution is to use a Spyder Monitor Calibrator.

Hmmm, $79. A bit out of my range. However, is this a product meant to be used in lieu, as in if you don't have a true color monitor? And is it less expensive then upgrading your monitor to be true color? I mean, what are the advantages of this product?

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

05/20/2006 09:41:38 AM · #10

32-bit should be able to display more colors than "true color" anyway. The calibrator is a device which measures the actual color output, and lets you adjust the individual colors to a calibrated standard. It doesn't change the monitor or its capabilities at all.

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

05/20/2006 09:46:17 AM · #11

32 is the best you can get at this point, I think. It must be how you have your monitor calibrated.
Just curious, but how does the gray bar on this site display on your monitor? Do some of the inside blocks sorta run together?

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

05/20/2006 09:47:43 AM · #12

Originally posted by GeneralE:

I thought it should be better, but then....why is it that others can see on my photos what I can't when I am done with my processing?? Is it maybe them, and not me ???

I mean, I got one comment yesterday that point blank asked me to calibrate my monitor. That my whites are too white and blacks to black, etc. That it looks choppy and all the PP'ing can be seen. Only one other comment said that the whites and blacks need work. Yet, I just don't see that, and neither do the other umpteen commenters who all think it is great. So is it possible that others have the monitor problems?

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

05/20/2006 09:49:01 AM · #13

Originally posted by espy:

... I just don't see that, and neither do the other umpteen commenters who all think it is great. So is it possible that others have the monitor problems?

Yes : )

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

05/20/2006 09:49:32 AM · #14

Originally posted by pcody:

Nope. I have studied that bar. I also had my husband study it so he could see what is asked of others here to be able to see right or not right using that bar as a graph. It looks perfectly normal to me from the first square to the last.

EDITED TO ADD: Hold it. When I look at the bar again, where it begins to get really black (I would say the last 7 bars to the right) that is just one long 7-bar black line to me. There are no separate squares. Is this right? If not, how can I change that? Could be cause I just played with my resolution, but then I put it back to where it was and didn't hit apply or the ok button to change it.

Message edited by author 2006-05-20 09:54:50.

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

05/20/2006 10:09:25 AM · #15

You should be able to see subtle differences in each box of the bar. If you can't, the problem is definitely your monitor.

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

05/20/2006 10:19:10 AM · #16

To add to A125's comment, it's more than likely the way your monitor is calibrated. If your monitor is only 2 yrs old, you prob don't need a new one.
There are some good sites you can google to get a pretty good calibration without buying a color management program. But if you want to print a lot of your pictures, I would suggest eventually buying a spyder.

TechnoShroom

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

05/20/2006 10:26:01 AM · #17

Background and/or near colors also play a very important role. Copy the image and bring it into your editing software. Put it on a white, middle gray, and black background. You'll probably find that it's easier to see the darker boxes against the black than it is against the white or gray.

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

05/20/2006 10:40:57 AM · #18

Thanks, and another thing I just did was in the "Too Light - Too Dark" thread, I used those sites listed there (both of them) to calibrate the contrast and brightness. I found mine was way off. It is all set now, BUT, only according to "those" sites. On both sites the bars are all evenly colored now and distinquishable from each other. However, here at DPC and the bars shown under the photos here, it is still the same. No difference. Last several bars all run together. So I don't know what to make of that.

Rebecca

Nikon D80

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5- 5.6G ED DX

05/20/2006 10:44:33 AM · #19

What is this gray bar of which you speak?

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

05/20/2006 10:45:26 AM · #20

Originally posted by espy:

EDITED TO ADD: Hold it. When I look at the bar again, where it begins to get really black (I would say the last 7 bars to the right) that is just one long 7-bar black line to me. There are no separate squares. Is this right? If not, how can I change that?

You need to play with the monitor's brightness and contrast controls until you can see separate squares from one end to the other.

If this is impossible, try resetting to where you started from, and then change the Gamma Control Panel (might be listed as Adobe Gamma) -- probably towards a brighter setting -- and then start over with the monitor controls. Some combination of settings between these two controls should let you see separate blocks along the whole scale.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

05/20/2006 10:46:12 AM · #21

Originally posted by karmabreeze:

What is this gray bar of which you speak?

It's at the bottom of every page when you are voting on images -- check in one of the current challenges.

Rebecca

Nikon D80

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5- 5.6G ED DX

05/20/2006 10:49:16 AM · #22

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by karmabreeze:
What is this gray bar of which you speak?

It's at the bottom of every page when you are voting on images -- check in one of the current challenges.

Oh that one! Okay... I'm pretty good at totally glossing over things I see too often and then not being able to find them or have a clue what you're talking about when I need to know. ;-)

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

05/20/2006 10:50:38 AM · #23

Ok, my brightness and contrast is properly set. The gamma, I did the test for gamma on a site listed in that other thread (which I keep forgetting to get the URL to to put here :O). The gamma is perfectly set. I did try to install the free gamma correction software, but it didn't seem to install properly; however, nonetheless, the gamma test panned out. So I think I should be all set now. I guess time will tell, but I think most of the problems lie with the contrast and brightness controls on many computers for sure.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

05/20/2006 10:55:48 AM · #24

Originally posted by espy:

... time will tell, but I think most of the problems lie with the contrast and brightness controls on many computers for sure.

Probably. You should consider uploading your own test image to your portfolio; a fullrange color image, maybe with a grayscale version next to it, and your own set of gray blocks of known density. Viewing that image will give you a quick check as to whether any conditions have changed.

If you have a CRT monitor, it's recommended that you allow it to warm up for an hour before doing color-critical work. For LCD monitors it shouldn't matter.