Re: [gentoo-user] [OT] Purchase and setup of monitor calibration device

[<wabenbau@gmail.com>]

Frank Steinmetzger <Warp_7@gmx.de> wrote:

> I thought about getting a wide-gamut display, namely a Dell with
> rgb-LEDs, but in the end decided against it because its quality seems

About two years ago I tested two Dell U3011. The first one had such a
bad homogeneity of luminance that I sent it back instantly. The second
one was a lot better but nevertheless not as good as my Acer and after
some days of thinking I also sent it back.

Same thing with my new Samsung monitor. The first one I received had a
big problem with backlight bleeding so I contact the vendor. They
exchanged the monitor and the second one was ok. It also has a little
backlight bleeding on the upper left side, but it is only slightly
visible when watching dark pictures in a low light environment. At
normal conditions it is invisible. So I decided to stay with this one.

It seems that these days the quality of a lot of products fluctuates,
even in the professional domain. Of course that depends on the quality
control of the manufactures. But even very expensive products (like
professional camera lenses) from well-known manufactures are often
concerned by quality variability. But if you buy online, you always
have the option to send back a unsatisfactory product.

> to fluctuate a lot. And while I do some photography, I don’t do it
> professionally or deal with printing.

A wide gamut monitor is a great thing even if you don't need it for
softproofing. I shot a lot of colorful photos (e.g. from bugs, blossoms
and live concerts with colored limelights). They look great on an
AdobeRGB monitor but much more "boring" on a standard monitor. 

It's the same with UHD. The sharpness is amazing. I never saw my photos
in such a great quality. Everything looks so clear and realistic,
almost three-dimensional.

I never planned to spent so much money for a monitor, and the expense
still hurts. But since I have it I never wanna give it away. :-)

> > If your monitor don't have a wide gamut but have a LED backlight
> > then some of the cheaper colorimeters are also not suitable because
> > LEDs doesn't emit a continuous spectrum and thus can "confuse" older
> > colorimeters like the Spyder2 AFAIK.
> 
> That’s good to know. I decided for an Eizo with a standard IPS panel
> and probably white LEDs. It is reported to have a good colorspace

I also thought about buying an Eizo. But they are very pricy. An
Eizo without wide gamut, without factory calibration and without 16bit
LUT hardware calibration costs more as my Samsung with all these
features. Maybe the Eizo is more reliable over the years, but who knows.

> coverage, though. But as I mentioned, ideally I also want to use it
> on my laptop which has a very bad TN panel with LEDs. Perhaps I could
> even use it on my very old CCFL monitor which is still in very good
> shape.

Try out an Spider4. You can buy it as a new device for about 75€. Test
the results on your monitors and when you are not satisfied, just send
it back. No risk at all.

You can also buy a Spyder2 at ebay. A friend of mine bought one for
20€. Of course you can't send it back when it doesn't work for you (I
don't know if it works well with LED backlights). 

--
Regards
wabe