Why is the display "color cast" and how to adjust it?

For photographers, post-retouching has become an inevitable experience for photographers to grow up. In the process of retouching and color correction, there will always be such problems. When the carefully adjusted photos are presented on the monitor, they are completely different from the scenery seen in the lens. Who will prevail? In fact, for ordinary consumer monitors, there is a certain color difference problem. So can we correct the color of the display by some simple methods?

Why is the color cast?

There are many reasons for the color deviation of the display, including computer software and hardware. In terms of software, for example, Photoshop is most commonly used by photographers, and the color management settings in Photoshop are different, and the display effects seen on the monitor are very different.

There are many reasons for the color cast of hardware, such as poor panel quality, aging panel, driver circuit failure, video cable not connected properly or even graphics card driver not installed. Aside from the color cast caused by hardware failure, we usually talk about calibrating the color of the display, which is aimed at the display with normal function. Because users don't know much about how to set the parameters such as color, brightness and contrast of the display, the system and the display are not calibrated correctly. Through color correction operation, the display screen is optimized.

Scheme 1: Use with color correction.

Advantages: simple operation and convenient use of the system's own functions.

Disadvantages: it is not convenient to compare the sample drawings, and the color correction depends on subjective judgment, with a large error.

Applicable people: beginner Xiaobai

Little lion probably many friends who just used it don't know. In fact, since Windows7, the system has a simple wizard tool for color correction and auxiliary adjustment of brightness and contrast, which can help users to realize simple adjustment of display color. This is not a new feature, but many players don't understand it.

Color correction operation: Enter the "Display" setting interface in the system control panel, and you will see the text chain of "Color correction" in the list on the left. The whole function is in the form of a wizard, with Chinese prompts throughout (Windows7 Chinese version is required). Even a novice just needs to follow the prompts, which is easy to understand.

Before color calibration, you need to set the monitor to the factory default settings. The first item is the adjustment of gamma value. Before the adjustment, the program provided a sample diagram. Users need to adjust the gamma value to make the image in the preview picture on the right side of the page close to the normal gamma value image in the example picture. Through this setting, the display gamma value, system gamma value and file gamma value are unified, so that the displayed image is the same as the original file and the distortion is reduced.

Next, adjust the brightness and contrast, which is similar to the gamma value adjustment method, except that the OSD button of the display is used for adjustment.

Schematic diagram of gamma value adjustment

Gamma value adjustment interface, no sample, all by memory adjustment.

Color adjustment interface, full-screen subjective feeling adjustment

Finally, color adjustment. At first, it is a sample diagram, which tells the user how to adjust the color correctly in the face of six color shifts on the display. After clicking the "Next" button, you will see three color bars. You can adjust and correct the color bars according to the methods in the instructions.

However, the little lion personally thinks that the use of Windows7 is very limited. There are not many color correction items in one aspect, and the sample and preview are not in the same interface, which is somewhat troublesome to compare. The most important thing is that the subjective component of color correction operation is heavy, which plays a certain role for ordinary users in the face of displays with obvious color cast. After all, the color difference of office equipment is not serious, and there is almost no difference after color correction.

Scheme 2: color correction software

Advantages: simple operation

Disadvantages: color correction depends on subjective judgment, and the error is large.

Applicable people: entry-level users

There are many color correction softwares on the market, but few are effective. Samsung's natural color PRO is one of them.

Color correction method: The color correction scheme of this software is very similar to the usage of the color correction tool that comes with Windows7. The software provides a fast and accurate mode to correct the color of the display. After that, the display type, contrast adjustment, red/green/blue gray scale and lighting conditions will all appear once, and the user only needs to adjust the options according to the software prompts, and finally the operation can be completed.

Considering that the player also has requirements for the color preference of the display, the software also provides the setting of color preference. There are initial and preview contrast pictures on the interface. Players can drag the red, green and blue buttons below to adjust their favorite colors.

Color correction experience: The performance of Natural ColorPRO software is similar to that of previous Windows7 color correction tools, but the subjective factors of color correction are too heavy to grasp and the error is too big. After the color correction is completed, the author can hardly see the difference with the naked eye.

Option 3: professional players look here.

Advantages: accurate color correction and simple use.

Disadvantages: the price is more expensive.

Applicable people: professional players

Color correction through the system's own functions and the color correction software introduced earlier is adjusted according to the player's subjective feelings, and accuracy is a problem. When it comes to accurate color calibration of the display, you must use a color calibrator.

Spyder4Elite( 1749 yuan) is the latest display color calibrator of Datacolor. It can be used to calibrate the color of CRT, LCD, notebook, iPad, projector, TV and other display devices through CIE full spectrum measurement, and has a wide range of applications.

Color correction method: When color correction, please remember that the ambient light should not be too strong, and the darker the better, otherwise it will affect the work of the color correction instrument and cause inaccurate color correction. Install the driver and Spyder4Elite software, and then preheat the display 1 hour, and you can start the color correction operation.

Spyder4Elite software interface is very simple, and each item has a detailed Chinese description. Players only need to follow the prompts step by step, and then they can do other things. The color calibrator will automatically measure and correct the color.

After the program color correction is completed, a profile overview will be generated, which shows the contrast of image color before and after color correction, and the information panel can see the correction of brightness, white point and other parameters. The program also provides charts to see the actual effect of color correction. If you are using dual-screen operation, you can use the Spyder Tune function to fine-tune the monitor to ensure that the two screens are the same color.

In addition, users can choose advanced analysis, which can detect the performance of the display, such as color accuracy and brightness uniformity, so that users can have a comprehensive understanding of the display.

Spyder4Elite under test

After the color correction is completed, there will be a comparison between the pictures before and after the color correction.

Color correction information

Color correction experience: Among several color correction schemes in this experience, Spyder4Elite is the most reliable one. Operation is not affected by user subjectivity. As long as we pay attention to the test environment, we can display the monitor more accurately. The author uses Spyder4Elite to correct the color of the display of the office machine. Comparing the pictures before and after color correction, we can see that the color has been improved to a certain extent, and the effect is still the most satisfactory. In addition, Spyder4Elite can be used frequently, so that the color reproduction of the display will not be attenuated due to aging. If you are a senior photographer, then Spyder4Elite is your good partner.

So are you scared by the price? In fact, there is already a business of renting colorimeter on a treasure. If you just consider calibrating the monitor, rent one and come back for debugging.