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Author Topic: Ambient light around monitor  (Read 8026 times)

Schwenny

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Ambient light around monitor
« on: March 04, 2009, 09:57:14 am »

When I was using  my old Barco CRT I worked in a dark environment. Now when I'm using my NEC Spectraview 2690 I'm supposed to work in a lighter environment. I heard that there is a ICC standard for this. Does anybody know what that standard is and how will I measure my ambient light in my room?

Does anybody have any tips for lights that I can find here in Europe?

Regards,
Håkan
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ThePhotoDude

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Ambient light around monitor
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2009, 11:03:46 am »

Quote from: Schwenny
When I was using  my old Barco CRT I worked in a dark environment. Now when I'm using my NEC Spectraview 2690 I'm supposed to work in a lighter environment. I heard that there is a ICC standard for this. Does anybody know what that standard is and how will I measure my ambient light in my room?

Does anybody have any tips for lights that I can find here in Europe?

Regards,
Håkan

You can use an Gretag MacBeth EyeOne colorimeter to measure ambiant light, and Solux lighting can give you exact colour temp lighting.
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digitaldog

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« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2009, 11:47:55 am »

The overall ambient light can't be too low. Any ambient light will eventually strike the display, affecting the perception of its blackest black. That said, too low could cause you to bump into objects! Ambient light can be TOO HIGH.

With the older CRTs, those that might be able to hit 95cd/m2, the recommended ambient light was 16-25 lux which is dim. Since you can drive LCD's higher, you can also work with higher ambient lighting but again, it should be lower than the display.

There's a very old ISO standard if we can call it that for viewing conditions but its kind of out dated.
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Schwenny

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Ambient light around monitor
« Reply #3 on: March 04, 2009, 01:16:05 pm »

Quote from: ThePhotoDude
You can use an Gretag MacBeth EyeOne colorimeter to measure ambiant light, and Solux lighting can give you exact colour temp lighting.

I know about the Solux lights but I can't get those here in Europe as far as I know. About a year ago I tried to contact Solux but they never responded. If I buy the lights in the US they are 110 and here in Europe we have 220. I once brought back a lightbox and used a transfomer for the power but the lightbox broke. A friend of mine who knows more about this than I do explained that it's not only to use a transformer for lights. I don't know...

So does anybody have any good tips for what I can use for ambient lights?

Håkan
« Last Edit: March 04, 2009, 01:18:19 pm by Schwenny »
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Schwenny

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Ambient light around monitor
« Reply #4 on: March 04, 2009, 01:17:22 pm »

Quote from: digitaldog
The overall ambient light can't be too low. Any ambient light will eventually strike the display, affecting the perception of its blackest black. That said, too low could cause you to bump into objects! Ambient light can be TOO HIGH.

With the older CRTs, those that might be able to hit 95cd/m2, the recommended ambient light was 16-25 lux which is dim. Since you can drive LCD's higher, you can also work with higher ambient lighting but again, it should be lower than the display.

There's a very old ISO standard if we can call it that for viewing conditions but its kind of out dated.

So more or less how bright can my ambient light be? How do I measure lux?

Håkan
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digitaldog

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Ambient light around monitor
« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2009, 01:23:13 pm »

Quote from: Schwenny
So more or less how bright can my ambient light be? How do I measure lux?

Many light meters will do this, but it might be overkill. Just keep the ambient light low, low enough to navigate around and low enough so that the display is the brightest object in view.
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ThePhotoDude

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« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2009, 01:38:27 pm »

Quote from: Schwenny
I know about the Solux lights but I can't get those here in Europe as far as I know. About a year ago I tried to contact Solux but they never responded. If I buy the lights in the US they are 110 and here in Europe we have 220. I once brought back a lightbox and used a transfomer for the power but the lightbox broke. A friend of mine who knows more about this than I do explained that it's not only to use a transformer for lights. I don't know...

So does anybody have any good tips for what I can use for ambient lights?

Håkan

I'm making a wild assumption here based on your name that you are Swedish or possibly Danish?? There are distrubutors of Solux in Europe but they seem to be mainly selling complete desk lamps and stuff which help overcome depression!  

I bought my bulbs from THIS crowd, which, despite the aweful website, delivered quickly. The lightbulbs are MR16 fitting, so are a 12v DC - this would apply to the USA suppliers as well I would imagine. So you buy the MR16 tracks and transformer etc in your own country.

Hope this helps
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Pete_G

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Ambient light around monitor
« Reply #7 on: March 04, 2009, 01:41:49 pm »

Quote from: Schwenny
I know about the Solux lights but I can't get those here in Europe as far as I know. About a year ago I tried to contact Solux but they never responded. If I buy the lights in the US they are 110 and here in Europe we have 220. I once brought back a lightbox and used a transfomer for the power but the lightbox broke. A friend of mine who knows more about this than I do explained that it's not only to use a transformer for lights. I don't know...

So does anybody have any good tips for what I can use for ambient lights?

Håkan


After months of failing to find a source of Solux bulbs in Europe a source finally turned up:

www.eiko.ie

is a company in Ireland. I bought six bulbs from them just recently. Brian McClory, who you can email, is very helpful. The bulbs are very good. I got 4700K, 50W bulbs with
a 24 degree beam angle. Thoroughly recommended for decent light at a decent price. I'm from London, the bulbs are fine for Europe.
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Czornyj

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Ambient light around monitor
« Reply #8 on: March 04, 2009, 02:46:58 pm »

Quote from: Schwenny
When I was using  my old Barco CRT I worked in a dark environment. Now when I'm using my NEC Spectraview 2690 I'm supposed to work in a lighter environment. I heard that there is a ICC standard for this. Does anybody know what that standard is and how will I measure my ambient light in my room?

Does anybody have any tips for lights that I can find here in Europe?

Regards,
Håkan

I suggest to use your Spectraview Profiler and colorimeter or spectrophotometer with diffuser to check the ambient light. Choose Review> Ambient light option. The ambient light level is measured in accordance to ISO 3664 and 12646, with recommended value of <32 lx for critical applications (like comparing proof with monitor), nad maximum value of 64 lx.

As for the Solux bulbs, they are produced by Eiko (www.eiko-europe.de), and you can buy them in some specialized shops (I even bought mine in Poland, so it shouldn't rather be a problem in some more civilized european countries) . Another option are good fluorescent tubes like Philips Graphica Pro TD-L 950 (CRI 98) or Osram biolux, and more expansive GTI and Just Normlicht.
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gvaughn

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Ambient light around monitor
« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2009, 03:59:32 pm »

I have long wondered about the advice to work in a dim room and have the ambient light be at or near 5000K.  If I'm preparing images for web use doesn't it make more sense to work on them in the same type and level of light that my intended viewer will have, i.e., flourescent or mixed light offices and homes? Similarly, when making inkjet display prints, doesn't it make more sense judge them by typical end user lighting than by the 5000K standard?
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digitaldog

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Ambient light around monitor
« Reply #10 on: March 04, 2009, 06:12:30 pm »

Quote from: gvaughn
I have long wondered about the advice to work in a dim room and have the ambient light be at or near 5000K.  If I'm preparing images for web use doesn't it make more sense to work on them in the same type and level of light that my intended viewer will have, i.e., flourescent or mixed light offices and homes? Similarly, when making inkjet display prints, doesn't it make more sense judge them by typical end user lighting than by the 5000K standard?

By and large, the web is so uncolor managed that it doesn't really matter. You're not trying to match the display to a print. You want the web images to look good. But the vast majority of web users are not calibrating and profiling their displays and using web browsers that wouldn't understand a display profile anyway. And who knows what kind of conditions those zillions of users have.
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Thomas Krüger

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« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2009, 02:33:30 am »

For Europe: I found these 5000K light tubes from Philips to illuminate my print desk: Colour Control 5000 D50 Graphica Pro
Bought at: http://www.lichtlieferant.de/index.php?mai...ex&cPath=78
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jmwscot

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Ambient light around monitor
« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2009, 05:03:04 am »

Quote from: ThomasK
For Europe: I found these 5000K light tubes from Philips to illuminate my print desk: Colour Control 5000 D50 Graphica Pro
Bought at: http://www.lichtlieferant.de/index.php?mai...ex&cPath=78

I use both Solux and D50 Philips Tubes. I find prints viewed with the Solux lighting a bit drab and lacking in colour compared to the Philips. I have made all the lighting in my workspace D50 Philips including the print viewing light. I have also fitted the Solux in the print viewing light so I can have either or both for viewing (you will need at least 2 Solux bulbs to compare with just a small 18W D50 tube). The next thing I would like to fit is a dimmer for fluorescents.

The Philips D50 is called TL-D 90 DeLuxe/950 and the 18W order code is 888433xx. It comes in bigger lengths also. I ordered them from Bradstone Lighting, Denmark Street, Glasgow, Scotland. They took a while to arrive because I was not ordering a pack of 50.

My general impressions are that the D50 tubes are a better match for comparing print and LCD screen, and daylight.

John
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Czornyj

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« Reply #13 on: March 05, 2009, 08:33:38 am »

Quote from: jmwscot
The Philips D50 is called TL-D 90 DeLuxe/950 and the 18W order code is 888433xx. It comes in bigger lengths also. I ordered them from Bradstone Lighting, Denmark Street, Glasgow, Scotland. They took a while to arrive because I was not ordering a pack of 50.

Philips TD-L 950 is avilable in two versions - DeLuxe and Graphica Pro. I would rather recommend Graphica Pro - it has CRI ~98%, while DeLuxe is only ~92%
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