Screen calibration

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FB101

Well-known member
As i am progressively trying to get color management under control (with the slight twist of being colorblind), one of the consistently critical starting point seems to be to correctly calibrate your screen. I have used a ColorMunki sensor and the X-rite software for years and it does a decent job but I found this article on how to use DisplayCal for not just greater accuracy (how would I tell?) but more consistency especially with multiple screens.

DisplayCal is a free software too and it's definitely up to the task. The way I can tell, is by how much nuance I get in b&W shadows - the new calibration is absolutely a step up. It takes time to run through the process (give it a solid 30mn) but worth it.

 
I agree that screen calibration is one of the most helpful things that one can do.
I have tried DisplayCal but it does not recognize the Eizo EX4 calibration sensor that I tried using on a Mac Book Pro, the Eizo EX4 works fine with Colour Navigator 7 on Windows.
This link https://colorimetercorrections.displaycal.net/ allows searching for calibration sensors that are compatible.
 
I just gave it a try with my spyderx. There were a lot of directions to follow and extra things to download related to the instrument, but one done it went smoothly. Switching back and forth between the profile generated by the spyder software and the displaycal, they are slightly different, but when I hold a color card in my hand under good light and display a profiled/calibrated image of the card in lightroom, I'm not sure which one looks more like the real thing.

Question: can the displaycal automatically adjust for room lighting?
 
I have used the Datacolor software that was supplied with my SpyderX as well as the DisplayCal software. The DisplayCal software takes more user configuration and seems to follow a more extensive color calibration process. In the end I did not see much difference in the results from either software.

I will add that I believe it is necessary to remove one piece of calibration software before installing the other at least on a Windows PC. The software is configured to handling the loading of the selected monitor profile so if both are installed there could be a conflict.
 
I just gave it a try with my spyderx. There were a lot of directions to follow and extra things to download related to the instrument, but one done it went smoothly. Switching back and forth between the profile generated by the spyder software and the displaycal, they are slightly different, but when I hold a color card in my hand under good light and display a profiled/calibrated image of the card in lightroom, I'm not sure which one looks more like the real thing.

Question: can the displaycal automatically adjust for room lighting?

I agree that it is more complex than any software that comes with the sensors but the article I pointed to at least takes the guesswork out for a Mac with Retina screen - that's not for everybody but I will say that shadow details and gradations have significantly improved with it on my iMac 5k - I can't say if it's any good at anything else :)
 
I will add that I believe it is necessary to remove one piece of calibration software before installing the other at least on a Windows PC. The software is configured to handling the loading of the selected monitor profile so if both are installed there could be a conflict.

Doesn't seem to be an issue on a Mac, the software establishes the new profile as default and it gets loaded every time the computer starts - Display Cal doesn't run unless I want to create a new profile.
 
I just gave it a try with my spyderx. There were a lot of directions to follow and extra things to download related to the instrument, but one done it went smoothly. Switching back and forth between the profile generated by the spyder software and the displaycal, they are slightly different, but when I hold a color card in my hand under good light and display a profiled/calibrated image of the card in lightroom, I'm not sure which one looks more like the real thing.

Question: can the displaycal automatically adjust for room lighting?

After experimenting a bit more I am liking displaycal over what came with my spyderx. I finally figured out the second tab where you set your desired screen brightness and adjust for room light. It has so many options that makes it daunting compared to the simplicity of the provided software, but I think a worthwhile change.
 
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