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I had a CRT monitor that was aging. So, I searched this forum because I do a lot of Pshop work and found people recommending the Dell Ultrasharp LCD monitor.
I bought one and ran Gretag’s Eye1 calibration software. When I get to adjusting the brightness, even when the setting is 0 (being the dimmest) I am still 15 to 20 units brighter than Gretag’s standard.
I called Dell and they sent me a replacement and I have just finished running the calibration software on this one. Same results. The Dell measures too bright.
Have you browsed your video card’s site to see if either any adjustment / utility software or newer drivers are avilable?
Although the generic Windows drivers don’t allow it, I’ve found that the video card vendor’s own drivers often have some adjustments that in the end, affect the display.
I’ve read the same as you, particularly with regard to the 2407WFP which I bought and returned to Dell, as it as faulty in other regards. I wound up buying a BenQ FP241 which was similarly quite bright (true or not, I’ve read BenQ is the system integrator for Dell, so possibly the panel was the same as the 2407WFP), and which initially was difficult to calibrate using my Monaco OptixXR and EasyColor software. As I recall, the measured brightness would just jump back to where it was previously indicated, after I’d make an adjustment. Later I read at Monaco’s site that they recommended leaving the brightness/contrast settings alone when using EasyColor and instead just initially setting the values to what was comfortable for the user. I took a slightly different approach, having read that somewhere around a luminance level of 100-110 was recommended for color editing of photos. So, I specified the target white point and reduced my brightness and contrast values until a pre-calibration screen was reporting a luminance in that range. If the measured white point shifted, I then tweaked the b/c setting a bit more. Then I restarted the profiling as if for an LCD without b/c adjustments…that is, basically just performing a color profile. Once created, I saved all settings for future reference in addition to the profile itself. I’ve been happy ever since but do thing this was still a bit of an awkward approach.
Fortunately, my BenQ would reduce in brightness enough to achieve the calibration as I performed it. The final value of Brightness was down around 15 on a 1-100 scale as I recall. Another thing I vaguely remember was reading that once you get below a certain brightness (and maybe contrast) setting, lower settings were only produced through software and not an actual hardware change, so as much as I reduced my settings, I also remained mindful of trying to stay above a certain level so that my settings were pretty much just "anchored" in hardware settings.
If worst comes to worst, I suggest you try something similar…adjusting your b/c values first to what you find comfortable, then building a color profile.
My problem is that the brightness setting on the Dell is as low as it goes. And forgetting about measured values, the screen "feels" too bright for me.
So I can’t do your suggestion of setting the b/c controls to what I like and then building a profile from there.
I will look into a different monitor like a BenQ, but your remark about BenQ being the system integrator for Dell suggests that I’ll run into a similar situation with a BenQ.
Yes, I realize you said the Dell was already as low as you could adjust it; I guess I was just relaying my situation for sake of comparison and, if it happened that by factoring in a lower contrast you could achieve a dimmer screen without it appearing too flat, then maybe a color profiling alone would work. I don’t know for a fact that BenQ is the system integrator for all Dell monitors, and I can’t find anything definitive about the 2407WFP that I returned, but here is Dell info on the 2405FPW which clearly states BenQ as the manufacturer (bottom of page): < http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/monitors/2405fpw/en/ap pendx.htm#Regulatory%20Information>
I tried substituting 2407wfp in that link, to no avail, but it may be worth trying for any Dell LCD monitor you are curious about. 🙁
Art asked earlier in the thread if you had checked you graphics card’s control panel.
I too felt the Dell was a bit too bright, so I first lowered the brightness in my graphics card control panel so that the brightness was within the range of the Dell backlight control, and that enabled me to get a successful profile using a Spyder Pro.
The problem with reducing brightness via any method other than backlight control is that it can introduce undesirable artifacts into the display (gradient banding, for example). Given that many LCDs are prone to such artifacts in the first place, doing anything to make the condition worse is not advised.
Having said all that, I was able to get my Dell FPW2005 to acceptable levels by reducing the brightness to zero and then applying very moderate reductions to the monitor’s own individual RGB controls. I still have some banding to contend with, but I can live with it especially since I still have a good CRT to check critical output on.
Shouldn’t the question be more one of "well-controllable brightness" that supports a good hardware calibration, rather than simply "too bright"? That is, too bright is fine, provided the brightness can be suitably reduced. I’m not sure if a less bright monitor might suffer other flaws.
In any case, I’d have to say that my BenQ FP241W does meet that requirement, or I would’ve returned it. However, the brightness is adjusted to the low end of the scale and as I said before, any lower setting may well be software controlled rather than hardware. While monitor settings can’t be compared, mine is set on a 1-100/min-max scale with Brightness 17, Contrast 20, R/G/B = 49/50/50. The white point is measuring at 6525°K and a white luminance of 103 c/m². That’s as close as I could get to my 6500°K target and is small enough a difference to be of no concern.
What happens if you ignore the fact that you can’t turn the brightness down enough during the calibration/profiling process? Does it perhaps then use the video LUT to accomplish what wasn’t possible with the hardware controls?
Also remember, on most monitors the Contrast sets the white point, and the Brightness sets the lowest displayable value.
Someone I know used a worn out CRT for years with contrast turned up all the way in a complete dark room (pardon the pun).
When he bought an LCD he wasn’t able to turn the thing down below photon torpedo levels…
BTW I use the NIDF-norm (Dutch Institute for Digital Phtography) that, among other things advices 6500K at 100cd/m². Like Daryl also has.
Another thing I was going to suggest was perhaps to see what further controls might be availble through the factory service menu for your monitor. Not recalling how to access it, I did a search and found a forum where this very problem was discussed…someone saying their Dell 2405 was too bright even at a value of 0. But, the factory service menu offered nothing to help and fiddling with it only made things worse until they did a reset to factory values. So, I’d suggest staying away from that and instead consider going with a monitor that you can calibrate to your desired levels.
As for the superscript 2 and other such characters, you can use the Character Map in the System Tools menu, but that’s too tedious to be useful on a frequent basis, so here’s just a tip for a few characters that you might wish to use periodically: While holding down the ALT key, pressing the following sequence of numbers ON THE KEYPAD and then releasing ALT will provide the indicated character:
Those keystrokes can be found also on the Character Map by clicking on a symbol and looking at the ALT+ value given at the bottom of the Character Map window. These few are the ones I use the most and I can usually find them quick enough just by trying values out, if all I remember is the range they’re in. Just remembering the degree symbol is handy.
interestingly regarding standards, the EyeOne has 120Cd/m2 listed as a recommended setting. I tend to use this as it is easier to calibrate some of the crappier monitors in the office to this.
This low brightness quoted on most monitors is because light reflecting of paper will always be lower than your screen (which emits light). The viewing conditions under which you look at your paper are also fairly important. Getting a good monitor cal is great, but useless if you only view your proofs under standard office fluros or some equally colour biased source.
Refusing the ransom that some of the light boxes ask, go get an Ott-Lite. They have both floor stands and table varieties and provides near perfect illumination. Also, I do a final inspection under north light, which is always repeatable anywhere.
Larry, my wife (a crafty type) bought about a half-dozen Ott lights to sort material swatches and paper stock with. Viewed individually they appeared normal enough, but when all were powered on together, about half looked green and the rest looked purple. I exaggerate only a little; the fact remains that there was a LOT of variation among the bulbs. I’m not sure I would trust them too far.
Solux is supposed to be the Cadillac of color-correct bulbs, but I have no experience with them.
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