Monitor Angst!!

[Ptax]

Perhaps this not the best forum for this conundrum, but I trust the eyes and opinions of those of you on this forum.

I am having monitor difficulties. When I use the monitor on my laptop, which is where I do most of my editing, many times my pics appear washed out compared to the monitor on my desktop. Right now I have hooked my p.c. flat screen to my laptop and am looking at the same pic at the same time. The image on my laptop appears overexposed compared to the image on my p.c. flat screen

I'd be interested in your opinion of which of the copy of each pair of photos have the best level of exposure. (I know neither one may be great, but at least I will know which is the least terrible. )

Thanks for the help.

[Frog]

First ones in both sets look better.
My wife is frequently working on her laptop when I'm on the desktop and I used to send her pictures which she usually liked but when I saw one on her laptop, I quit sending them as they looked horrible. I guess you can calibrate a lap top..don't know for sure.
I'm still using a crt for the desk top as I haven't seen a lcd screen I like yet.

[Ptax]

Very helpful feedback. I have an old crt monitor in the study. I may hook it up and give it a look.

Gracias.

[gahspidy]

Ptax, this is always a bit of an issue when looking at images on our screens. there will be many variations in the level of brightness, clarity, color accuracy, and just overall appearance from one screen to the next especially when you throw your laptop in the mix.
Personally I would not reccommend doing any serious editing on your laptop.
I'm using a brand new CRT as I like the fact that I can view from any angle and still see the same thing. Also, I trust the color and brightness levels more so than with a similiarly priced LCD.
Anyway,asking which of the images do we prefer will be very subjective and you may get a 50-50 mix of responses. I can tell you that in the photo of the girl, I see the second image as being better exposed. I can see all detail everywhere and nothing looks blown out. The first is a bit too dark for my liking.
The second image of the fisherman has me wanting something in between the two. the second version has the water exposed very nicely but there are areas on the man such as top of hat and shirt that have the highlights blown out.

[Medley]

You can do editing from a laptop. it's a royal pain in the asterisk, but it can be done. Yes, laptops can be calibrated (and should be- frequently), but (and here's the catch: ) you MUST make sure that the angle you view the screen at is consistent. Every time. One or two degrees off can make a significant difference.

I've built an easel of sorts for my laptop. nothing fancy, just a piece of hardwood with a bubble level and a wooden dowel. The hardwood platform has dimples that fit the feet of the laptop. Level the platform, insert the dowel into the pre-drilled hole, fit the feet into the dimples, and open the laptop until the back touches the dowel. Presto!

The beauty of the design is it's simplicity. Remove the dowel, and the whole thing fits snugly into my laptop case. Overkill? yeah, probably. But a field notebook is just too handy to give up, and on long vacations I need the thing for storage. You know what they say about necessity being the mother of invention, right?

- Joe U.

[Canuck935]

Yep, I have both my regular PC and my laptop calibrated with a Pantone Huey. Monitor calibration is definitely a must for any photo editing.

[Ptax]

Joe- Aren't you the inventive one! Great idea, and seems simple enough to replicate.

Canuck935- How often to you have to recalibrate your monitors? Is it a once done, always done type of adjustment?

Gary- I appreciate your responses. I could never get the fisherman pic exactly like I wanted. It was taken prepolarizing filter. I am anxious to try again with a filter.

Finally, thanks to whoever moved this to this forum. I wasn't sure where to post.

[Canuck935]

Canuck935- How often to you have to recalibrate your monitors? Is it a once done, always done type of adjustment?

I do mine about once a month. The Huey software reminds me when I'm due for a calibration.