re: confirmation of proper monitor calibration

[m021478]

I am trying to calibrate my iMac G5 LCD monitor using Profile Maker 5.0.4 using an Eye-One Pro colorimeter, and I just wanted to double check to make sure that I was going about doing so properly, as its highly important that I am working from a correctly calibrated monitor at the moment (and in general, but now more than ever due to my current situation and the assignment that I am traveling abroad working on at the moment)...I am basically trying to create a general purpose profile for editing my digital images in Photoshop, and also for use in making inkjet prints using my Epson printer...

Basically, I go to the 'Monitor' module of the profile maker 5 software, then I choose "LCD Monitor Reference 2" for the reference data, and then I choose "Eye-One Pro" from the Measurement Data section, and subsequently make sure the colorimeter is on the white reference, and take a white point measurement from it...I then specify 'yes' when asked if I want to preform a monitor calibration before profiling.

On the following screen, I currently have a white point of 6500K, a Gamma of 1.8, and I have the brightness setting set to 100%, and LCD chosen as the monitor type...I do not at this point click on the 'set paper white' nor do I load any reference file. Upon clicking 'next' and beginning the profiling stages, since I am using a Macintosh iMac with a built in monitor at the moment, and seeing as how there are not any reliable or worthwhile contrast adjustment buttons, nor is there an accurate way to individually tweak the R, G, nor B settings for the gamma, I basically skip ahead to step three of the profiling stage, and then lower the brightness setting of the monitor to a minimum, and click start and slowly begin moving it upwards until the arrows align, then I click next...it informs me that its about to preform the monitor calibration, at which point I click start, and sit back and wait for it to complete reading the various color patches that appear on the screen...

Once its complete, I then choose to save the measurement data, and finally, I simply click the create profile button, give it a name, and I am then good to go with a new monitor profile...

I would sincerely appreciate it if someone could email me back and confirm that I have accurately summed everything up according to the proper way to calibrate my current monitor using this software...if I have mentioned any steps that are incorrect, please let me know (such as is using 6500K advisable, or should I be using 5000K? What about the step in the calibration process when it asks if I want to use the automatic luminance adjustment, or if I should use a predetermined luminance setting that it should attempt to match?)

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!

[orangekay]

You'll probably want to use a gamma closer to 2.2.

[jackbingham]

To elaborate on that point..... 1.8 gamma was established for the mac because that's what an Apple laser printer used. There is no reason anymore to calibrate to 1.8, and 2.2 has become more of a standard particularly on the web. If you are going to prep files on a 1.8 system they will always appear dark on the web. In the end there is no reason to use 1.8.

[Serge Cashman]

What's a good reason to use 2.2 on an LCD?

As opposed to Native, sRGB or L*?

[orangekay]

What's a good reason to use 2.2 on an LCD?

As opposed to Native, sRGB or L*?
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The only one of those terms that describes a gamma setting is L*, and if it's an option in your profiling software then by all means give it a try. 2.2 is just a generally agreed upon convention arbitrarily chosen by someone a very long time ago.

[Serge Cashman]

sRGB is also an option (in Basiccolor, for instance).  I understand that "Native" means no adjustments, but it's still a valid target if you want to minimise  LUT adjustments.

Personally I think sRGB gamma is a perfect compromise  - close to native monitor gammas and it does not supress shadow details in non-colormanaged apps, unlike 2.2.

L* would require excessive videocard adjustments in most cases.

[orangekay]

sRGB is also an option (in Basiccolor, for instance).  I understand that "Native" means no adjustments, but it's still a valid target if you want to minimise  LUT adjustments.

Personally I think sRGB gamma is a perfect compromise  - close to native monitor gammas and it does not supress shadow details in non-colormanaged apps, unlike 2.2.

L* would require excessive videocard adjustments in most cases.
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Interesting nomenclature choices, especially considering how closely sRGB's standard gamma follows the 2.2 curve--I'd be surprised to see any noticeable difference between the two. Haven't tried BasICColor in quite a while thanks to their Draconian licensing system.

I don't agree that L* requires any more excessive LUT adjustments than any other setting. I don't claim to fully understand the formula behind it, but I've found it helps reduce banding more often than not where the simpler functions fail.

[jackbingham]

I think we can easily over-play excessive video lut adjustments. I prefere to take accuracy first and a little banding second, and furthermore the amount of adjustment required between 1.8, 2.2 and L* is pretty subtle. If we were talking about color or luminance adjustments and the target were d50 and less than 50% of raw brightness I would begin to be concerned about video lut adjustments. It seems to me if tyou bare dependant on this monitor to reproduce images with some level of accuracy the viewing conditions are more important than the native characteristics of the display. If you go with the display you will never get a match.
 1.8 and 2.2 are indeed gamma curves. L* is not because a gamma curve is the result of a single formula which takes into account all points from black to white. L* is not based on a single formula and therefore technically is not a gamma curve.

[orangekay]

L* is not based on a single formula and therefore technically is not a gamma curve.
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Definitely not, but it can be labeled as a gamma setting in the UI.