In this article I will give you some details on the procedure I follow in order to calibrate my Dell U2515H monitor for optimal photo editing results.
DisplayCAL 3.8.4 broke video levels (16.235) output encoding/decoding for video card gamma table tags (profiles using calibration with video output levels created by 3.8.4 can be fixed by re-creating via menu “File”, “Create profile from measurement data.” and selecting the existing profile). 2019-08-10 21:17 (UTC) 3.8.4. Pircture perfect How to calibrate a monitor using Spyder5Pro and DisplayCAL Datacolor's software isn't the best, but luckily it's easy to use your Spyder5 calibrator with the open-source.
Please note that I am very far from being an expert in this field and that the following information is based on what I have understood after a whole year of trials and errors.
Hardware and software configuration
My setup is very complicated comparing to the average photographer’s one. My main OS is Archlinux. For my photo editing needs I use Windows 10 on a KVM virtual machine with GPU Passthrough. This means that although Windows 10 OS runs on a virtual machine, I am able to use a real isolated GPU with that.
So, every time I need to calibrate, I do the procedure twice: one time for Archlinux/Intel onboard HD 530 and one time for Windows 10 VM/Nvidia 1050TI.
Hardware and software used for calibration
Both of them perform fine under Windows and Linux.
Calibration targets
Displaycalibration.com
Although the following values may vary depending on one’s needs, they are a safe choice for everyday use:
- Temperature: 6500K
- White level (brightness): 90cd/m2
- Gamma: 2.2
Note that many photographers who focus in printing, prefer lower temperatures, ex. 5000K or 5500K. I print my photos too, however I find these settings to be too “yellowish” for everyday use, so I prefer 6500K, which is a safe and widely used value in the digital world.
Regarding the brightness, most of the articles online suggest a value of 120cd/m2. However I find it extremely bright, and after a lot of trials and errors I found 90cd/m2 to be more than enough for my needs.
Using DisplayCAL
DisplayCAL is probably the best software for monitor calibration. It offers a really extended and useful documentation that covers almost everything you need to know.
However, a good idea for the average user is to begin with reading the quick start guide
Below I will show you my current settings, divided per tab:
Display & Instrument
In Correction, I chose the suitable correction for my monitor based on its specs. You should do a research about yours and apply the appropriate profile.
Calibration
Displaycal Calibration For Monitor
I chose 6500K, 90cd/m2 and Gamma 2.2. (See the section below regarding the calibration targets), while I set the calibration speed to Low.
Profiling
I set the profile quality to High and chose the Auto-Optimized (175 patches) testchart.
Note: I’ve done tests with up to 3400+ patches and I did not observe any noticeable difference comparing to Auto-optimized, so I stuck with the latter as calibration takes much less time with it(1 and 1/2 comparing to 4 hours).
Verification
Here, I choose the extended verification testchart and sRGB IEC61966-2.1 as this is the standard I want to verify my monitor profile against.
Procedure
Calibration
After making sure that all the above settings are correct, I press the button Calibrate & Profile.
The procedure begins and after some initial calculations it’s time for the hardware part of calibration.
I press Start Measurement and when it finishes, I navigate to custom color settings and brightness menu of my DELL U2515H monitor, and I change various values for brightness and R/G/B values until everything becomes green like below:
This means that the monitor has come as close as possible to the target settings.
Now, I press Stop measurement and Continue on to calibration.
After approx 1.5 hour, the profile is ready:
Profile installation
On windows I just press Install profile and the profile is ready to be used with all the applications that support color management.
On Archlinux, I navigate to ~/.local/share/DisplayCAL/storage/nameofprofile/ and I copy the .icc file. Then I rename it to profile.icc, I put it on ~/ICC and load it with:
xcalib /home/user/ICC/profile.icc
I use i3wm and I just have to place this command on i3 configuration file so that it is executed every time I log in.
Verification
For the verification of the newly created profile, I navigate to Verification tab (please see the settings above), and I press Measurement report.
I choose the location of the html file and after it finishes, the report opens on the default web browser. Below you can see my latest reports for both Archlinux/Intel HD530 and Windows 10/Nvidia 1050ti:
Summary
The above steps show most of the settings needed for your monitor calibration. If you find any mistake or have any suggestion for improvement, please send me an email.
Do not get obsessed with monitor calibration. If you take your self seriously as a photographer, it would be a good idea to spend some money for a 99% sRGB (at least) monitor and a colorimeter to calibrate it. The difference will be big, comparing to your old monitor. You will see your images as never before and you will be able to do a much more accurate photo editing. However, always remember that your nicely edited image will be seen by users with non-calibrated monitors, so only you (along with a very small minority of users worldwide) will be able to see the accurate result you worked hard for!