More patches = softer images?

[Steve Smith]

Hi there.

I’ve noticed over the years with DisplayCAL that the more patches I use for calibration\profiling, the softer my images get. (Most notably while zooming in.)

Is this a normal occurrence? Does DisplayCAL\Argyll apply some sort of dithering to the color\grayscale correction process? … It seems that I have to trade sharpness\detail and sometimes contrast for color accuracy and gray balance.

Am I imagining this or is there something really happening here? … Really dying to know the answer to this.

Thanks. 🙂

• This topic was modified 7 years ago by Steve Smith.

[Florian Höch]

Hi,

I’ve noticed over the years with DisplayCAL that the more patches I use for calibration\profiling, the softer my images get. (Most notably while zooming in.)

Color management doesn’t affect local contrast (sharpness).

Am I imagining this […]

Possibly 🙂

[Steve Smith]

I think this happens when too many adjustments are made with too much variance via software. It breaks down the continuous effect of the gradient… Steps then become apparent and the image begins to break down. (Losing apparent sharpness and detail) … Get it as close as possible in hardware first as it has a finer granulation than software is capable of… If you move it too far using software then it’s no good.

…Or not, but it sounded good on paper anyway  🙂

• This reply was modified 6 years, 12 months ago by Steve Smith.

[Florian Höch]

All the photo software I know does not apply high quality dithering to the final output, which is a shame because it would get rid of any quantization artifacts (provided the internal processing happens at high enough bit depth). You can try adding some noise to the image (very low amount) as a work-around.

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