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Author Topic: A few questions on Eizo ColorNavigator 7  (Read 1801 times)

russellcbanks

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A few questions on Eizo ColorNavigator 7
« on: May 03, 2022, 07:55:47 am »

I make fine art photographic prints, and recently went from my old iMac display to a new Eizo CS2740. I now have a grasp of what "hardware calibration" offers, but have a few remaining questions about the ColorNavigator calibration app, please.

1. I normally work in the Adobe RGB color space, but Eizo's support videos suggest setting the gamut to Native, instead of Adobe RGB, one saying this is o make the most of all the display has to offer, and that you'll then restrict it in Photoshop.

Does that make sense to you? I was thinking you might set the gamut to Adobe RGB if that’s your Photoshop space, and use Native if you’re working in the larger Pro Photo RGB space.

2. ColorNavigator has a "Priority" setting, offering "Standard" (Color tones are adjusted for the middle tone only and no adjustment is made for the low tone) and "Gray Balance" (Color tones including the low tones are adjusted). Eizo recommends Standard, but why wouldn’t you want the "low tones" adjusted, too? (presumably that means "dark values")

3. There's also a Quick Color Match app. Is that a quicker, but less sophisticated alternative to calibrating with ColorNavigator and a measuring device?

Thanks,
Russell
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digitaldog

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Re: A few questions on Eizo ColorNavigator 7
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2022, 08:54:58 am »

Yes, native color gamut is my recommendation.
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TechTalk

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Re: A few questions on Eizo ColorNavigator 7
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2022, 10:12:20 pm »

To answer your questions without getting too deep in the weeds:

1) Native refers to the maximum color range the monitor can produce. Set to native, the monitors color gamut is not being restricted by the boundaries of a standardized color space like Adobe RGB. It's what I would normally choose for viewing an image or for initial editing. It's the monitor gamut setting that is most capable of showing you what your image contains. Your monitor covers nearly all of the Adobe RGB color space, but there are also portions of your monitor's color gamut that exceed the color boundaries of Adobe RGB.

Standardized color spaces with somewhat limited color gamuts, like Adobe RGB, are useful as a common working space for collaborative work with multiple people working in a production environment. If one person is editing the image and someone else is handling the printing, I would use whatever the printer recommends as the standardized working space for their output.

In a closed environment, when you edit and print your own images for example; a very large color space, like ProPhoto RGB, can be used in Photoshop as the working space to insure that you're not unnecessarily limiting your color gamut. When you work with color managed applications, like Photoshop and Lightroom, they will manage the color using your native monitor gamut to give you a reasonably accurate soft proof image on screen for a specific output, like your printer and paper.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2022, 11:17:03 pm by TechTalk »
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TechTalk

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Re: A few questions on Eizo ColorNavigator 7
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2022, 10:12:38 pm »

2) There are multiple moving targets in producing accurate color with a wide gamut and contrast range. To gain something in one area may require a sacrifice in another. ColorNavigator has offered options to the user in how gamma is handled for some time. In older versions (ColorNavigator 5) there were two options: "Gray balance" for best color neutrality, at the expense of reduced contrast and gamut or "Contrast" (now called "Fixed gamma") which produces maximum contrast range and gamut, at the expense of some color accuracy in the deepest shadows. ColorNavigator 6 & 7 added a compromise called "Standard" to offer a balance between the two previous options.

PRAD.de wrote a a review of an early version of ColorNavigator 7. Their description gives more detail... The choices under "Priority" control the calibration process in relation to the gray axis. It remains unchanged with the "Contrast" setting. Accordingly, the LUT is only adjusted with regard to the desired white point. "Standard" optimizes the gray balance and tone curve, but does not increase the black level. By opting for gray balance, the maximum possible neutrality is achieved. This requires the black level to be raised in order to avoid color casts even in the absolute depths.

Which setting works best depends on the user and their preference. As a starting point or default, "Standard" is the general Eizo recommendation. Editing for pre-press or soft proofing, you may prefer "Gray balance" for maximum accuracy in deep shadows. For video editing, you may prefer the "Fixed gamma" setting for your intended use. I would try them to see the differences or just stick with the default standard. I suspect that you'll find they are all pretty similar with differences fairly subtle.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2022, 11:26:44 pm by TechTalk »
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TechTalk

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Re: A few questions on Eizo ColorNavigator 7
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2022, 11:14:28 pm »

3) I've never used Eizo Quick Color Match, but I'm aware of its intended purpose. You have color management settings for your monitor, Photoshop, and printer. If those are all correctly set up, you're good to go. If everything isn't set correctly, you have a problem. Quick Color Match is designed to simplify the process by setting the Eizo recommended defaults throughout the chain for you. Quick Color Match is compatible with specific Eizo monitors, Epson and Canon printers, and papers. It is not used for calibrating or profiling your monitor. ColorNavigator is available for that task.

Calibration is measuring a device for comparison to a standard. For calibration, a measuring instrument is required. If you have an X-Rite i1Display Pro or other supported instrument, you're able to calibrate whenever you like. There are numerous guides to help you. The link below covers basic calibration with ColorNavigator 7 (CN 7).

https://imagescience.com.au/knowledge/how-to-calibrate-an-eizo-coloredge-monitor-using-colornavigator

Eizo APAC (Eizo's independent distributor for the Asia-Pacific Region) have some worthwhile guides to get you started.

https://www.eizo-apac.com/support-service/tech-library/tech-guides
« Last Edit: May 04, 2022, 02:37:08 am by TechTalk »
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GWGill

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Re: A few questions on Eizo ColorNavigator 7
« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2022, 05:48:40 am »

1. I normally work in the Adobe RGB color space, but Eizo's support videos suggest setting the gamut to Native, instead of Adobe RGB, one saying this is o make the most of all the display has to offer, and that you'll then restrict it in Photoshop.

Does that make sense to you? I was thinking you might set the gamut to Adobe RGB if that’s your Photoshop space, and use Native if you’re working in the larger Pro Photo RGB space.
If you are using color management, then the application converts the image from the images colorspace to the displays colospace. So it's best if the color management can access the largest possible display gamut, so that it can display as much as it can, irrespective of what image colorspace you happen to have.

[ That's the beauty of color management - it's flexible, and can accommodate displaying images with different colorspace encodings on the same display. ]
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russellcbanks

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Re: A few questions on Eizo ColorNavigator 7
« Reply #6 on: May 04, 2022, 11:01:57 am »

Thank you all, and especially "TechTalk," for your generous and helpful responses!

Yesterday, I positioned my display so I could see both it and my controlled-lighting print-viewing area in the same view. Then did manual adjustments to the profile for brightness and white balance, as described in Rocco Ancora's videos, and achieved screen-to-print matching far better than I ever could with my old iMac display.

The next few days will be the test, as I work on some new images.

Thanks again,
Russell
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TechTalk

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Re: A few questions on Eizo ColorNavigator 7
« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2022, 09:19:14 pm »

You have an excellent monitor which I expect you'll enjoy for sometime. Thanks for letting us know that you found the replies helpful. I'm sure that we're all happy to help you out.

You can also call or email Eizo with any questions. I've only contacted their customer support a few times over several years, but always found them very helpful when I did.

When you have time, I hope you'll give us your feedback on how the new monitor and screen-to-print matching is coming along.
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