Advice re Screen Calibration.

[BobR]

Can I ask for some advice and recommendations regarding calibration software. :help:

I currently run two TFT's side by side off the one PC which is great for speeding up my workflow. I can see a difference in shade/contrast between the two. I also and more importantly find that my shots are slightly different in terms of shade when they come back from Photobox.

I have seen several different products that can be used to calibrate both printer and screen but am stuck as to which way to jump.

Can I ask what you all use and recommend. I rarely print my own shots as commercial printing is so cheap and convenient. It seems a bit of a shame to go to all the expense of getting decent camera kit only to fall down at the last hurdle just prior to printing. I am looking at a budget of about £120 (but could stretch a little :nono: )

Thanks,

BobR

[Gandhi]

TFT's are a bugger to calibrate generally, although I use the Adobe gamma and it seems to do a grand job, what I get back from photobox is exactly what I see on the screen.

Are your 2 tft's the same make/model? Have you done any calibration with them before? Are you sending prints to photobox with an embedded profile? what sort of light do you normally view your screen under? what sort of light do you view your prints under?

All of these points make a difference to the final product......I've just had a mahoosive b&w back from the box and when I first got it out in the kitchen I thought '********, it's got a green cast to it' took it into the daylight and it was fine......

That aside, if you really want to calibrate your screens then the Colourvision spyder is very good for the money. Also, the different versions use the same hardware, it's only the software that changes ;)

As for printer calibration, if you reguarly use the same ink and paper it's cheaper & easier to get a profile done from one of the online services.

If you buy Fotospeed paper from here (http://www.thedarkroom.co.uk/content.php?section=4&page=36) then they will do the calibration for you for free. Haven't tried the paper so I dont know what it's like.

Finally, it's taken me a bout 6 months to get my colour workflow sorted, playing around with different bits and pieces. It can get a little crazy....

[GfK]

I use Adobe Gamma, too.

If you don't have it, I'm pretty sure that Microsoft have a free control panel component that does the same thing.

[BobR]

Thanks for that. I will try the Gamma first and see how I get on with it.

Cheers

[Matt]

Have a look here (http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1688) for some help calibrating tft.

HTH