RAW vs. JPEG

I noticed something very strange last night.
While as was playing around with a install of Kubuntu Dapper I noticed that when I open these images there that the colours were quite good, allmost no hint of the colour cast.
I don't understand it, but I will have to dig further into that.

I think that my windows setup needs some better settings for the colour renditions. But I must say that most TFT's do not do a good job for this kind of work...

Thanks Matt. I'll start playing some more tonight.

/Remco

You need WiziWYG (it's free) from www.praxisoft.com
With it you can calibrate an LCD fairly accurately by eye.

I have Spyder 2 calibrated LCDs at work, and your images definitely need work

Matt

wiziwyg doesn't seem to do a very good job on my TFT.
The images do need work, but not as much as I thought in the beginning. I did profile the TFT with wiziwyg and it turned the images into something with a huge red colorcast.
Maybe it is time to see if I can invest in a spyder2...

Erm...

Your image does have a huge red colourcast - on my Spyder 2 calibrated LCDs (and on the WiziWYG calibrated ones).

I've not seen WiziWYG get it that wrong, unless you don't do the gamma setup correctly, or pick the wrong curve type (you should be using "Generic LCD", and pick D65, and 2.2gamma).

I suggest you get hold of a test print (from somewhere like Photobox.co.uk) and compare the print with an onscreen/online version.

From where I'm sitting your images are out of balance... a long way. Your image: http://i.pbase.com/o4/82/642882/1/57259495.IMGP0631.JPG is red, red, red. And my correction: http://www.pbase.com/image/57265288 is not far off - the skin tones have some hints of green, but some of that is down to the sensor noise and a good clean up will take a little more time. But the stripy shirt is balanced.

If you don't believe me, check the colour picker tool in PS. What looks like a white or grey stripe on the shirt is R:178, G:137, B:91. That's red in anyone's book (my version is 232,220,20

Matt

hmmz ok. back to fiddling with the monitor settings and wiziwyg.
I have noticed that setting the right contrast and brightness is better done with the graphics driver controls then with the monitor settings.

Ordering a couple of test prints is something I was planning on doing. Just holding them next to the screen would be a nice thig to do whilst checking the colour rendition.

I'll try to make a screenshot of some sort to check if it is just the colour calibration in my linux install, because the colours looked quite natural there whilst very red in Windows with a wiziwyg profile.

I'll print a couple of versions of the same picture and see which looks the best.

Personally I would disagree. Often the drivers' controls are designed for gamers, not photographers The best thing is to reset ALL the driver settings and leave them at defaults (otherwise you can introduce all kinds of other errors) - you're better off with a clean path between PS & the display.

Then, get the actual monitor brightness and contrast as close as you can. On some displays (like my tablet PC) there's no setting for contrast. So, I have to leave that stage in WiziWYG. The most important settings are the gamma settings and the choice of curve type.

Later I'll post a thread about how to setup WiziWYG
Matt

there's a new and much lees expensive device than the spider...called a huey, usb contsant adjustment..I have not tried but based on what i read, I may give it a whirl for my mac thet sits in my den. the ambient light is always changing there.

Don - WiziWYG's available for the Mac too Might be worth trying first.

just another question, which colour profile do you use in Photoshop, the profile which is embedded in the pictures or the monitor profile (the profile created by WiziWyg)?

Mattmattic the usb device I mentioned isn't just for initial calibration, u set it up and leave it on and it dynamically alters it's settings as the light levels and quality of light in the area changes...Ie it adapts!

My one mac in my den gets artificial light in the am and indirect sun from north facing windows, most of the day, and later on, alot of direct sunlight from patio doors reflecting off green walls in the evening. I don't work at that computer for critical work even though it was initially clibrated in my studio before being moved to the den.

I use it when web surfing, for bussiness paperwork, quick perusal of my photo library, but usually go into my studio to touch up and print any customer work. remember my main job is Dad for little Mikey and little Mikey is about as helpful around my studio as an untamed monkey.

I'll bet wyswig is great, but what I got works, and that huey is more of a wish for, item, as I personally have no pressing need for it.
but it looks like I'll one day be too lazy to run down stairs to print...he...he..he...

You always use the embedded profile. So, that should be either sRGB or AdobeRGB (in general at least).

One very quick test is to have the browser open, copy an image from the web, and paste as sRGB into Photoshop (Ctrl-N, ensure sRGB is chosen, OK, then Ctrl-V to paste). The browser and Photoshop should look identical

Hope that helps!

Don: the following mini review might be useful, I'm not sure:
http://www.thedigitalstory.com/blog/2006/03/huey_screen_calibrat.html

I still think you need a fairly controlled ambient lighting to do proper colour workflow... but I'm open to being convinced otherwise

Matt

Cool. thanx. I think the idea holds promise, time will tell. I'll hold off on the impulse spending until generation 2 arrives and all the reviews are in.