Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Calibrating an iMac screen ?  (Read 8523 times)

Jasamkarlo

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 75
Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« on: January 12, 2011, 01:35:17 pm »

Hi,

I am currently looking into purchasing a new system, seeing how much desk real estate. my scaner, tablet and other accesories take up I am leaning towards an iMac...( i am looking into a Mac Pro also but have read somewhere that PS does not utilize multiple cores)
Now, knowing that its a glossy screen how would one go about calibrating it and how good results would I get ?
Before you do, please do not suggest to buy a PC, Im done with them for a while...

Thanks in advance !
Logged

guyburns

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 101
Re: Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2011, 10:05:17 pm »

When calibrating a screen you have to ask what end result are you trying to match. No use having a screen in perfect calibration if you are trying to match offset printing, 6x8 colour prints, web and so on, each with their own characteristics, and expect what you see on screen to reflect the output. I doubt it's possible to calibrate a screen and have it automatically match various end uses, even with soft proofing.

A year or so ago for a large project (see https://sites.google.com/site/tanksinker/Home/max-burns-tanksinker) which involved printing on a Xerox iGen3, I went through this process:

1. Calibrate the screen using the System Preferences > Displays option. Took about 10-15 minutes.

2. Hold up a sample print from the iGen next to the screen and run through the various softproof options in PS until one matches very closely.

3. Repeat for several other sample prints to ensure they all match.

By spending several hours on the above I was able to match the iGen print -- colour and contrast -- with my screen so that what I saw on screen I knew I would get on the print.

It was actually a little more involved than described above because the first proofs came back with the black densities under about 5% swept totally to black. i.e. shadow detail was lost. So I selected a certain softproof option that mimicked that "too much black" look, then lightened the images so the black detail appeared, then sent off the second proof. They came back exactly as on screen. I thought the match was remarkable. I didn't think consumer monitors and high-end printers could be matched so well.

I'm now repeating the process but for scanned slides. I'm scanning my collection of slides and am trying to match the scan with the projected slide. I have built a small 20" screen out of plywood which I project onto, and that sits next to my monitor for a side-by-side comparison. I'm not sure I want to try and match the monitor to the projected slides because of one basic problem: the projector lamp, being incandescent, has a colour temperature of around 5400ยบ (according to Kodak), throwing a yellow cast on all projected images. It gives them a warm look compared to the original slide when viewed on a light box under a loupe. An on-screen match with the projected images, given that I will be projecting the scanned images on a digital projector, may well be a false match.

So, do I match the slide as is (when viewed on a light box) with the monitor, or the slide as it would be projected by a slide projector (to give the look of a projected slide)? I will probably elect to match the slide "as is" with the monitor, and if I then want to show the images on a digital projector and mimic the look of a projected slide, I will batch process them to mimic what the projector bulb does to the colours.

In summary, my thoughts on calibration are to start with a good monitor (and iMacs have good monitors), and then calibrate to the end product with your eyes and the simple tools that come with OSX.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2011, 11:01:13 pm by guyburns »
Logged

scholt64

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2
Re: Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2011, 10:06:56 pm »

Take this with a grain of salt - I have an older iMac 24in (late 2009), and the newer 27in models may be different.

I had difficulty calibrating and profiling my iMac using Eye-One Match. One of the big drawbacks of the iMac display is the inability to turn down brightness - they are incredibly bright. I could never get my display brightness turned down far enough. This resulted in a lot "my prints are far too dark" disappointments as shadow details I could clearly see on the oh-so-bright display completely disappeared on the print. I tried ColorEyes Display Pro and that worked much better. With that, I'm able to get the brightness down to 110-120 cd/m2.

My prints and monitor now match a lot more closely - and I am sure they would match even better if I invested in better lighting in my office. However, I still see some issues - in particular, banding on the display. For example, I was working with a landscape scene that had a very rich, vivid blue sky. On the display, faint waves of magenta would appear. They are not there in the image, just on the screen. Calibrating to "native" color temperature helps some, but it's still there. The screen brightness is also somewhat less than uniform - with noticeable excess brightness in the edges and corners.

All that said, it meets my limited needs (I am not a pro and I don't do real color critical work) and I like it. It's a good consumer grade monitor, but it is still a consumer grade monitor. Assess your needs, if you're going to do true, color critical, color critical work then I don't think the iMac display is the best answer.

With a Mac Pro you're not locked with what Apple provides... you have your choice of monitors. Of course, you can add a 2nd monitor to the iMac as well, but if your desktop space is really that limited, I would actually go for the Pro, get the ONE monitor that best meets your needs and put the Pro under the desk.  ;)

Logged

Mac Mahon

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 140
Re: Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2011, 04:44:14 am »

"Now, knowing that its a glossy screen how would one go about calibrating it and how good results would I get ?"

I have a relatively recent 21" iMac (model 10,1) with glossy screen.

Have no trouble calibrating and profiling with i1 Display 2  and i1 Match.  The brightness on the new machines can be turned down OK.

Glossy is a bit of a pain:  actually I think that's why they're usually run brighter:  to swamp reflections!  If you can get your environment right you won't be disappointed.  A Mac Pro and a really top-notch monitor would be ideal, but big  $$$$$

Tim
Logged

Clearair

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 152
Re: Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2011, 01:56:03 pm »

I have been using a MacPro  quad core duel with CG241W EIZO monitor for 2 years now.
My wife has a year old iMac top spec 21.4.

THERE is no comparison when it come to both screen and machine.

Thing is the Ezio calibrates so well due to it's in build firmware just for this purpose. I use an Xrite puck. It has a Matt screen and hood.
Now there are hoods available for the iMacs which must be the way to go if using one of these.
I could be wrong, why do Apple give the Mac book pro's laptops with a matt screen option? All the photographers using them in the field ranting probably.

The iMac running Snow Leopard needs some calibration pucks drivers to run in Rosetta, a backwards step that not all calibration hardware manufacturers seem to be sorting out.

Who cares about what PS can utilise, I would not base my purchase on a bit of software which can change overnight. Other software can use multi/core machines and with the likes of Aperture/Lightroom and the plugins that are now stand alone, as a photographer I use PS less and less, (CS3 to be precise). RAM can be fully used in the latest Mac OS, a PS crucial requirement.

Desk space can fill up with external drives as your library expands, the Pro is so easy to add internal drives.

I think the advent of SSD drives/custom builds, sadly not yet available in the UK, may open up the iMac to more serious users, but only because of the cost of the Pro machines.

There are plenty of people out there using the iMacs, but I have not seen a calibrated one yet. 

Best of luck with more advise from those that have been successful in calibrating an iMac.

Regards
































Regards
Logged

ChasP505

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 114
Re: Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« Reply #5 on: January 13, 2011, 04:42:07 pm »

For the newer iMacs, in lieu of something like the ColorMunki, I'd consider either the Spyder3 Elite v.4, or a Spyder3 puck with ColorEyes Display Pro software.  Both of these options are able to automatically set the monitor Brightness of the iMac based on your specified luminance target.  And, DataColor specifically states that their Spyder3 pucks are designed to calibrate LED backlit monitors and wide gamut monitors.

If you want, you can buy a Spyder3 Express for less than $80 and download a 30 day free trial of CEDP (fully functional).
Logged
Chas P.

Mac Mahon

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 140
Re: Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« Reply #6 on: January 13, 2011, 06:08:17 pm »

I agree about the monitor hood as a first step in controlling the environment.  I made one for ~$7 using black foam board and a glue gun!

i1Match doesn't need to run in Rosetta.

Tim
Logged

Jasamkarlo

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 75
Re: Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2011, 01:32:22 pm »

Thank you all, some really useful and really insightful replies. I saw the new iMac yesterday and i am absolutely certain that even with my "controlled" enviroment i would not be able to fully control glare, reflections and color.
So I guess i will go the Mac Pro route or a high powered i7 pc and an Eizo  :D ...

Once again thank you for your time and replies !
Logged

Scott Martin

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1315
    • Onsight
Re: Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2011, 02:33:46 pm »

I've calibrated thousands of iMacs including a bunch of the latest LED models. The 27" models (iMac and Cinema Display) are better then the smaller iMac model. The latest 27" iMacs and Cinema Displays are fantastic in terms of quality, consistency, viewing angle and gamut. They are glossy though which is really controversial. The glass is simply held on by magnets, and I love showing people how easy it comes off. Stick a fingernail in a corner, or use strong tape to pull it off and you've got a nice matte surface LCD waiting for you underneath. If you take the glass off you'll have a less than sexy bezel to deal with but at least no glass. I think it's best in most situations to leave the glass on and tweak the room lighting and computer positioning to avoid reflections. I recommend throwing a cloth over the display while it's being calibrated because ambient light can get into that glass and reflect into the sensor, screwing up the measurements.

Comparing the Spyder3 and DTP94(ColorEye) in ColorEyesDisplayPro, I have a preference for the DTP94 by a slight margin. The Spyder3 with the Elite software is also very good - can't go wrong with either system. I stopped recommending the EyeOneDisplay2 system years ago and encourage everyone with one to migrate to either ColorEyesDisplayPro, Spyder3Elite or a proprietary system (like that from NEC, Eizo, Quato, etc).

So anyway, to answer your question, yes, the iMacs calibrate fantastically well *when the right system is used*. Spyder3Elitev4 and ColorEyesDisplayPro both have an iterative calibration process that smoothes out gradients surprisingly well. When properly calibrated, I think you'd be surprised how well they hold up side-by-side with high end displays that have high bit depth internal calibration hardware.
Logged
Scott Martin
www.on-sight.com

Scott Martin

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1315
    • Onsight
Re: Calibrating an iMac screen ?
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2011, 02:35:23 pm »

Someone should sell a bezel for iMacs and Cinema Displays so owners can remove the glass but still have a good looking frame around the nice matte surface LCD that lies underneath. Business idea anyone?
Logged
Scott Martin
www.on-sight.com
Pages: [1]   Go Up