Screen calibration

[Skipper Billy]

On the (excellent) Zoom meeting last night hosted by FLO the presenter talked about calibrating screens so that an image looks the same on any calibrated monitor.

It makes good sense and I am surprised that it hadn't occurred to me before now.

The bit of kit suggested was the Spyder5 Pro and it looks like it has been superceded by newer models.

I run two monitors from a single graphics card - does anyone know if I can calibrate these two screen independently??

I have emailed the manufacturers helpline but thought I would ask the collective wisdom.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Yes, but you must use Colour Management from the old control panel, it will even allow you to calibrate printers etc....

[Skipper Billy]

1 hour ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

Yes, but you must use Colour Management from the old control panel, it will even allow you to calibrate printers etc....

Thanks Julian - found it!!

Subtle but noticeable difference and looking at the same image on my different screens it now looks very similar.

Probably not as good as the Spyder kit but better than it was.

Many thanks.

[Alien 13]

I have the Spyder 5 and it does a great job even on my laptop monitor, it does not however "calibrate" the display itself but instead creates an ICC profile for it that is used by your graphics card.  The Spyder can create multiple profiles for different displays but not sure how this would work with two displays from one graphics card unless you can see two distinct profiles listed.

The downside of all this is that these created profiles are local to the PC which is fine to a point but means that you cant for example use it to calibrate your TV as a stand alone item.

Alan 

P.S. I cant comment on the newer Spyder versions but will have a look.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Alien 13

[Skipper Billy]

Thanks Alan

Its my two monitors hooked up to my main PC that i use for image editing that really need doing - I will have a look to see if they have seperate profiles. They are identical monitors but an image viewed on one then the other are considerably different.  I couldn't find any info on whether or not the Spyder system can handle two monitors on one graphics card.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

There will be differences between two, supposedly identical monitors, so before changing the driver configuration, you need to first ensure that the monitors are configured correctly i.e. brightness\contrast\colours etc.

I used to have to go through this procedure, when buying\installing grade one monitors for the BBC, especially for graphics suites, when there would be 20-30 monitors, which all had to look exactly the same....

[Alien 13]

40 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

Thanks Alan

Its my two monitors hooked up to my main PC that i use for image editing that really need doing - I will have a look to see if they have seperate profiles. They are identical monitors but an image viewed on one then the other are considerably different.  I couldn't find any info on whether or not the Spyder system can handle two monitors on one graphics card.

If you look in control panel-colour management it should show the associated profile for each monitor, if you then click "add" you can change the profile in use. If your PC lets you change these profiles individually then the Spyder should work, you can check this by running through the normal manual calibration for one monitor and giving the profile an odd name to see if it appears for just one or both display profiles. 

Alan

[Skipper Billy]

Thanks Alan and Julian

I will have a play!

[Alien 13]

4 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

Thanks Alan and Julian

I will have a play!

No problem Billy, make a note of the profiles you have at the moment as they can easily be got back via the "add" drop down listing if things go weird..

Alan

[Skipper Billy]

Cheers

 

[MartinB]

Apparently monitor characteristics change over time  and the Spyder default recommendation is to  refresh the calibration every month.  It pops up a reminder.  Fortunately the refresh routine is much quicker than initial full one.  Of course, it's one thing to have an immaculate calibration,  and very worthwhile, but quite another to expect people viewing your images to be seeing them as you intended!!

[Alien 13]

8 minutes ago, MartinB said:

Apparently monitor characteristics change over time  and the Spyder default recommendation is to  refresh the calibration every month.  It pops up a reminder.  Fortunately the refresh routine is much quicker than initial full one.  Of course, it's one thing to have an immaculate calibration,  and very worthwhile, but quite another to expect people viewing your images to be seeing them as you intended!!

I can spot those posts that dont have calibrated displays easily, it works both ways with what you both post and view especially with the black point setting.

Alan

[Skipper Billy]

16 minutes ago, MartinB said:

Of course, it's one thing to have an immaculate calibration,  and very worthwhile, but quite another to expect people viewing your images to be seeing them as you intended!!

I am used to that - no-one has ever thought my images are as good as I think they are!! 😉 

I am keeping my eyes open for a Spyder5 Pro then at least I cant blame screen calibration.

[MartinB]

6 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

I am used to that - no-one has ever thought my images are as good as I think they are!! 😉 

I am keeping my eyes open for a Spyder5 Pro then at least I cant blame screen calibration.

Haha, yes, that's the other form of bias that needs needs calibrating out!

[TerryMcK]

I've just bought the SpyderX Pro and calibrated the two monitors I use for processing. They both have the same colour profile and are (apparently) accurate. Dead easy to do and it took 2 minutes per monitor. 

The software recommends you check once a month. Hopefully now the pictures I produce should be consistent for others.