Viewing on a laptop

[dbutler]

I've found that I prefer to do my post processing on my laptop because it's so convenient. I keep ambient light under control but still, what I see on the laptop and what I wind up seeing on my desktop often look nothing alike! Besides calibration, what else can I do to make sure that I'm seeing what's really there? Is there a viewing angle I should be keeping in mind when I use the laptop? Any tips and/or tricks would be swell!

Thanks!!

[dmm96452]

Calibration is probably the best answer. Is your desktop monitor a crt or a lcd? If it's a crt even calibration may not make the appearence exactly the same.

[Photo-John]

I use my laptop for editing when I'm on the road. I'm using it right now. And even though I've calibrated it with the ColorVision Monitor Spyder, it's still not right. My desktop monitor is perfect. So when I need my images to be perfect, I set them up on the desktop.

The angle you're viewing your laptop at does matter. I assume you ask because you've noticed the color and contrast change when you move around. I try to look at mine as directly as possible. But that's only part of the problem. The main issue will still be calibration. I would recommend not using your laptop for anything really important. Maybe use it to do most of the work and then do the fine tuning on the desktop. And definitely get a color management package and calibrate your laptop and desktop. It makes a huge difference in the quality and consistency of your photos and it will make you feel more confident.

[OldSchool]

And thus, I must use a laptop. The laptop is problematic for those issues that PJ points out.

So what I do is "fly by instruments". I just hope that I've used my editing tools and have stared at enough histograms to trust that my "final" versions present Ok elsewhere.

For example, the attached image looks just Ok on my laptop. And,I have no idea how would look on my CRT (or in print). It is tricky image in that my subject is in shadow with a bright background. So, I just need to trust what the histogram tells me when I processed it.

Cheers,
Tim

p.s. Last weekend at the biosphere reserve, Tulum. :^)

[Sebastian]

The shot looks very good on my calibrated PowerBook. Which is pretty close to a Sony CRT I was using a few days ago, so it's not terrible.

[another view]

Taking a quick look on this non-calibrated CRT, the white sand beach looks blown out. Usually it's the shadows that look darker, when comparing the same image on this CRT and my calibrated CRT at home.

I agree about "flying by instruments" and saving important work for a CRT. Changing the viewing angle by just a few degrees changes the look of an image. Probably better on the Powerbooks, but even my wife's new Toshiba is that way. No way to calibrate for that.

[OldSchool]

AV,

I under-exposed a little to try and keep the sky and then brought out the shadows is PP. Unfortunately, I couldn't save the shawdows and highlights without the image starting to look a little too manipulated (on this LCD).

Some times I just can't have it all, eh?

Cheers,
Tim

[Sebastian]

Taking a quick look on this non-calibrated CRT, the white sand beach looks blown out.

The beach is close, but not blown. Tops of right around 250.

[racingpinarello]

Calibration is a must for a laptop monitor, and for critical viewing I would suggest a monitor shade to keep your viewing light consistent.

Mac powerbooks 17 and 19" monitors are extremely accurate when calibrated. What I do for my Fujitsu laptop is calibrate often, and then with my desktop profile I save it to my laptop.

When I edit on my laptop, I then do soft proofing using my desktop monitor.

Loren