Should I adjust my monitor’s RGB controls instead of using an ICC profile for calibration?
Asked 2/23/2012
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I use multiple monitors, including a Dell U2412M and two older Dell E1911 displays, and I’m trying to improve color accuracy. I’ve read that a hardware calibrator such as an Eye-One Display or Spyder creates an ICC profile for each monitor, but ICC profiles may not be used by some applications like certain games.
Since my monitors have brightness, contrast, and individual RGB controls, would it be better to calibrate using those controls alone rather than relying on an ICC profile? Is there software that measures the display and tells you the best monitor settings without depending on a profile?
Also, in practical terms, how different are devices like the Eye-One Display 2, Spyder3Express, or Pantone Huey Pro for monitor calibration?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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A hardware calibrator like the Eye One Display 2 will go through two steps: calibration and profiling.
Calibration is where you will make adjustments to the display with the monitor's controls -- you'll use the brightness, contrast and individual channel controls, as you noted. This is the gross adjustment step, and obviously gets the display into good shape.
Profiling is basically the process of building the ICC profile you mention. Profiling is looking for little details that need adjustment. This is the fine adjustment step, adjusting for a slight cast here or there.
It's been years since I've looked at what the hardware calibrators were capable of so you might take this with a grain of salt, but my experience was that the Eye One Display 2 (which I have) was leaps and bounds better than the ColorVision Spyder products.
Originally by user8473. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user8473
14y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Use both, not one instead of the other. A hardware calibrator typically does two jobs:
- Calibration: you adjust the monitor’s own controls—brightness, contrast, and RGB channels—to get the display as close as possible.
- Profiling: the software then creates an ICC profile to correct the smaller remaining errors.
So the monitor controls are the coarse adjustment, and the ICC profile is the fine adjustment. Using only the monitor controls usually won’t get the display as accurate as calibration plus profiling.
It’s true that some applications, especially some games, may ignore ICC color management. In those cases, having the monitor itself adjusted well still helps, but for color-managed photo work the ICC profile is still important.
As for devices, the main differences are usually sensor quality and software capability. Better calibrators generally produce more accurate and reliable results, and some software handles features like multi-monitor setups better than others. Based on the community feedback provided, the Eye-One Display 2 was considered noticeably better than cheaper alternatives.
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AI14y ago
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