Monitor and calibrator help

[SteveC]

Hi all,

I am a serious amateur photographer. I occasionally print images for family on an Epson SC-P600 and sometimes enter digital images in international photo comps. Sometimes they request images in AdobeRGB or sRGB. I may in the future submit print images to said competitions.  I used to use a Samsung 226BW and calibrated it with an i1 display 2. Eventually I could no longer calibrate it to 120cdm2, so swapped it for a Phillips 24V37 (srgb only) which was used on my wife’s computer. It is an IPS panel and listed in the specs as W-LED backlight. Graphics card is a GeForce 1650 Super.

I have borrowed a SpyderX Pro and calibrated it with both Datacolor s/w and DisplayCal, although I am not sure if I used DisplayCal correctly. With both systems it seemed to calibrate OK.

Considering I don’t do any serious gaming, my questions are, should I upgrade the monitor, (bearing in mind I am retired and on a pension) to a BenQ SW240 which is full AdobeRGB? I don’t  have room on my desk for anything larger that 24″. Nor can I spend thousands on the likes of an Eizo.

Second question is what calibrator? I have read the thread on calibrators and there is mention of X-Rite id3 but I do not know what that refers to as there is no such model on either X-Rite or Calibrite site.

Third question, should I calibrate for D65 or D50?

Fourth question, what brightness should I calibrate to?

TIA for any thoughts,

Steve

• This topic was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by SteveC.

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[Vincent]

Benq SW240 HW calibration software does not support its own backlight. Actually Benq software does not support any of the monitors in SW line.
Also Spyder X is a wrong choince, not distributed corrections. You’ll need an i1Displaypro and try to correct yourself the faulty Benq software by placing the proper EDR correction (HP bundled in DIsplayCAL and other software) in Benq EDR forlder, then nmodify the ini file to pint the proper one. If it gets ignored you’ll have to do a lot of work: see CS2731 thread in this foruk, although it’s easier for Eizo guys since their “wrong” EDR and teh good one matches in spectral series length… and yours not so “forging” the proper EDR may be a more difficult task.

The safest option is CS2420 which on lastest units should be the same WLED PFS like SW240 but “a good one”. Then forge EDR like in Midas’ CS2731 thread in this forum (or LiftGammaGain)… alwais with an i1DIsplayPro of course.

DisplayCAL is a good sftware but since thos displays hacve HW calibration it would be a waste to do not use it, specially if you are going to suffer banding after calibration because you do not have an AMD GPU.

D65 o D50 is up to what you want to do. D50 is used with “simulate white paper color” in direct monitor to printer copy comparisons… but in order to do that you’ll need normalized light or soemthing close to that: CCFL from normlicht/osram,  Yuji v+RGB LEDs (or korean equivalent) or some halogen lamp. That is a rabbt hole on its own and can be as expensive as monitor.

[SteveC]

Thanks,

However, as I said, I am on a fixed pension income and cannot afford an Eizo.

So you suggest to use the H/W calibration as supplied with the monitor?

ATM with my setup I have no banding.

[Vincent]

Put WLED PFS from HP (look for  CS2731 thread) on Benq Pellete Master Element. Modify INI file to point to that EDR, not the wrong RGBLED one. If that works and monitor does not suffer uniformity issues (common in low cost widegamuts) and out of the box it does not suffer from grey color issues… you are done. Since SW240 is small (24″) there is a much higher chance to get a goo one (uniformity) tahn in 27″ SW line (which is a no go zone IMHO)… so it may not be a bad choice, just not the safest one.

If using GPU calibration (DisplayCAL) with your current GPU and your current  monitor, then it should not be an issue with SW240 if you do not use HW cal. However, it is good to have it.. so try to use it.

Error in measurements due to use wrong EDR is not predictable easily because it depends on colorimeter firmware data, it depends on how much colorimeter observer is off from std observer where (wavelengths) the wrong EDR (RGBLED) drifts from the proper one (WLED). It could be small or it can be huge enough in a* to have a pink or green cast even if calibration software wrorks flawlessly in other parts.
Best to try to fix software and place EDR. If pasting the file and modifying INI solves it… easy. If you have to actually modify EDR… not an easy task. Look for CS2731 thread.

[SteveC]

Hi,

Would you please clarify abbreviations?

EDR?

HP,?

This is beginning to sound way too complicated for what I need, although I am certainly capable of doing it, having spent several years of my career as a computer service engineer for one of the world’s biggest IT companies in the 1980’s.

[Vincent]

Download and install Benq Palette Master Elements. Look into its folder.
EDR is a binary file format for colorimeter corrections (spectral, for Xrite i1d3 family of devices). It’s the same as CCSS files but in binary.

HP is HP, there is an EDR/CCSS which is a good spectral sample of WLED PFS displays (AdobrRGB green flavor), it’s model HP Z24x G2. You can find it in DisplayCAL (text CCSS) or in HP HW cal software ( EDR) or maybe Calman or Lightspace.

[SteveC]

Download and install Benq Palette Master Elements. Look into its folder.

I assume that is if I buy a BenQ?

One of the companies I worked for was Digital Equipment Corp, they were bought out by Compaq who were then bought out by HP. I thought HP was HP, but could not be sure. Thanks for the clarification.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by SteveC.

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