In answer to your probs & questions:

There is a difference between calibration and profiling.

Calibration will get the colours looking good (e.g. an orange from Photoshop will show as orange on the monitor).
Profiling will establish exactly what the colours are so that Photoshop can know the mapping between a colour space and the monitor.

Now, with WiziWYG it'll get you calibrated, but unless you can achieve the first part where you setup the white and black squares you won't get a good white and black point. This typically happens on LCDs, and more so on aging LCDs - because the backlight dims over time.

Your ambient light plays a part too. With the Spyder 2 I found my ambient light was way too high for the LCDs I have, and was surprised at how low it should be. The Spyder 2 also suggested D50, rather than D65, as D50 was more achievable on the laptop I have.

However, as I've said before there isn't much you can do if, for instance, you have a 2 year old LCD that cost a couple of hundred pounds - even a Spyder might not be able to bring it "in line". For example, I have what was an expensive Dell 17" TFT, which has trouble achieving a decent setting - the backlight has dimmed quite a lot. My current reference is a half-decent ultrasharp Dell - which performs not badly, but could be better I reckon the Lacie 120 is going to be next.

But, in answer to the question of D50 vs D65, that shouldn't produce "dull" results. The best thing is to get the companies reference print and compare on screen (rather than printing your own reference). For example, Photobox do their own test print - which they will post before an order if you ask nicely That gives a reasonable reference... but then there are other issues involved (for example they accept sRGB colour space images, but their equipment isn't quite sRGB, so the prints come out slightly darker. Most people on the web apply a curves to lighten it up a bit, but I rootled around the net and found a close profile which works much better )

You see, not all print companies profile their printers either

(ProAMimaging have a very good profile that gives dead-on results for me)

No matter how much you know about colour management and profiling, there'll always be something lurking there to get you banging your head against the wall!

Matt

That's not a bad idea Don

I did see an article about a gigapixel landscape. 196 copier-cam images stitched together to produce a seriously big image. Wish I could've seen it for real

Article here: http://www.tawbaware.com/maxlyons/gigapixel.htm

Matt

Some Googling turned these up:

http://www.pcbypaul.com/software/monica.html
http://www.pcbypaul.com/software/gammapage_lprof.html

http://www.dl-c.com/discus/messages/2384/5314.html?1141688777
http://applications.linux.com/comments.pl?sid=34926&op=&threshold=0&...

It might get you started at least
Matt

Liam,
You should be fine with either. My laptop has a GeForce FX Go5200 in it. There have been a few driver issues, but that's mostly because it requires Tablet PC functionality (things like screen orientation are built in), so I've had to stick the original Tosh drivers

The GeForce includes "digital vibrancy" - complete nonsense and a pain the rear for photography. But you can leave it all disabled.

Personally I'd be inclined to check out the ATI Radeon - the lack of fan is a good thing in my book. Check Google and Google Groups for any driver issues people might be having

As long as you can Spyder the monitor, that will resolve any issues with the card as well.

Matt

No sound. They are a semiconductor, and very efficient (no real heat either).

One big trouble is getting decent white LEDs. They're not accurately calibrated, so LEDs (even from the same batch) can vary in colour temperature. Slightly niggling is their forward voltage of 4.2V is higher than regular LEDs (which are often around 1.2V). A normal red LED you could drive straight off a NiMH cell for ages.

I have a little collection of white LEDs in my drawer, waiting the time when I can sit down and sort out a supply option and mount them onto a lens for macro lighting...

Matt

George,
Dan meant this: http://photonotes.org/cgi-bin/entry.pl?id=Frontsilveredmirror


My wife has an MZ-10, which is a penta-mirror, and there's not a great difference. As John rightly says, the Pentax viewfinders are lovely (especially compared to the competition!).

Matt

Thought this might raise the Digital vs Film discussion

http://www.ephotozine.com/news/fullnews.cfm?NewsID=3024
http://www.odyssey-sales.com/news/browse.asp?article=347

Sounds very interesting!!
Matt

Can't comment on the MX, but I can tell you what's wrong with the ME-F though...

The ASA/ISO dial is a key part of the exposure circuitry. It is a simple rotary potentiometer, and it gets dirty and worn. Reselecting the ISO or adjusting the exposure compensation a couple of times is usually enough to get it right. There are no seals on the dial, so any dust and muck works its way through the dial onto the pot. When it goes wrong like this it underexposes really badly!

However, in the end the pot needs changing. I got it down to an art (when I had an ME-F), and Pentax UK supplied me replacement units for it. I did it to my ME-F, and to two ME-Supers too. However, I'm not sure if the components are so readily available. I suspect that a decent repair centre will do the job for you (There are a couple recommended on this forum).

Hope that helps!
Matt

Don,
There's a great set of tutorials for all manner of retouching on RetouchPro.
Try this one for starters:
http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=213
and this:
http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=6

Have fun
Matt

Pro AM Imaging for me
www.proamimaging.com

Very competitive prices, superb quality - but you have to prepare your files carefully (and have a calibrated monitor).

Super quick turn around too. Very professional.

Matt