calibrated monitors?

[skbachand]

I am just a hobbyist photographer and am starting to learn a little photoshop to improve my pics. Another board I frequent says that you shouldn't even bother trying to correct your photos unless you have a calibrated monitor. These pics are only for me and when I do correct I am usually happy with the printed results. So what are your thoughts and what do I need to get if I need a calibrated monitor. How important is it?

Thanks
Kelliann

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

You can calibrate you existing monitor with hardware/software. I use the Spyder 3 Express. Every month it reminds me to update. I hang the "spyder" on the monitor and a couple of keystrokes later done. There are other programs out there that someone will comment on. I do think it is important to get the color correct. The difference is quite dramatic when you see it.

 

[Mosca]

Spider 3 here, too. Believe me, it makes a difference.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Had never heard of the Spyder before. Will have to look into one of those. Thanks a bunch!

 

[mabas9395]

While I calibrate my monitor and believe it makes a difference, if you are happy with your results, why bother? Not everyone needs that level of color accuracy. And if your monitor isn't that far off to begin with, you may not notice any difference.

However, its also possible that you calibrate your monitor and say "Wow, I never knew my photos could appears so vivid and life-like."

So if you got $89 burning a hole in your pocket and you're serious about photography, then its worth it. If you're happy with your color quality and have better ways to spend your money, then don't worry about it.

 

[photo_chick]

I think calibration is important if you are doing any processing or post processing then printing those images. If you're just sharing on the web, it isn't as important because everyone else's monitor will be calibrated differently and you can't control that.

I use a huey.

 

[Mosca]

While I calibrate my monitor and believe it makes a difference, if you are happy with your results, why bother? Not everyone needs that level of color accuracy. And if your monitor isn't that far off to begin with, you may not notice any difference.

However, its also possible that you calibrate your monitor and say "Wow, I never knew my photos could appears so vivid and life-like."

So if you got $89 burning a hole in your pocket and you're serious about photography, then its worth it. If you're happy with your color quality and have better ways to spend your money, then don't worry about it.

For me, it helps when I take finished images to a shop to have them printed; they come out looking like I think they will. It also helps when you're sharing images, even over the internet; while the other person's monitor is probably not calibrated, the fidelity will nevertheless be better with one calibrated than it would be with both uncalibrated.

But yeah, if you don't care, it doesn't make a difference, and I don't mean that offhandedly; if you're happy, don't spent the money.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Not to divert this off topic, but if you're going to calibrate your monitor don't you need to profile / calibrate your printer (or get the profile from wherever you are going to be printing your pictures)?

 

[VVFF]

Not to divert this off topic, but if you're going to calibrate your monitor don't you need to profile / calibrate your printer (or get the profile from wherever you are going to be printing your pictures)?

All depends what accuracy you want. Simply using the manufacturer supplied monitor profile will fix the MAJOR issues with color reproduction in color aware applications on wide gamut monitors that are fairly common nowadays. If you want more accuracy the first step is calibrating the monitor as this will at least allow you to accurately see what you are doing to your image when editing. You can then again either use manufacturer profiles for your printer/print house or you can profile your printer/ink/paper combination. Most people don't take it this far as that level of accuracy is generally beyond what most people care about. It's nice to have but having to profile the exact ink/printer/paper combination can be a pain for an average consumer.

 

[AlbertZeroK]

Not to divert this off topic, but if you're going to calibrate your monitor don't you need to profile / calibrate your printer (or get the profile from wherever you are going to be printing your pictures)?

Yes and no. I use an Epson 1400 which has better paper profiles than I could ever make with my ColorMonki, so I use those. But you have to use epson paper and ink to be able to do that. In fact, it was the people that make the color monki to use the factory profiles because their company actually made those professionally for epson.

For less expensive printers, It can help, but I've never seen enought of a difference to justify the $400 cost of the color monki.

I have a spider though and am thinking of changing back to it from the color monki, the monki is a bit odd to use, but is a better piece of gear.

I do think calibrating a monitor is important, but alot of factors also play into it like the amount of available light in the room which can change from morning to night.