Apple's quality costed me 3 retina screens! A photographers nightmare

[salvator]

I have had 3 display replacements on my 13inch Retina Pro. First time because of a damaged screen I did have beautiful crisp display which was perfectly even, the one that shipped with my computer.

After the replacement twice I got a yellow tinted screen which was uneven and now I'm on my third screen again which is a bit yellow. All the three screens were manufactured in Week 4 of 2013 and are of the A020 model.

Apple refused to help me further and has said it's within specifications.
The funny part is while comparing it to the displays in the store which are of the same make and model, mine seemed a bit dull and washed out.

I am an occasional photographer.
Yesterday after editing a few pictures in photoshop and uploading them when I saw them from my phone's screen and another computer's screen, the difference was drastic. In my mac where i edited them they seemed fine but viewing the same pictures from different screens they were overly saturated.

Does this mean that my screen is faulty cause of the tint and can't recognize the true colors of the picture?
I hope there is a fix for this as it drives me crazzyyy, since Apple has refused to help me further my only other option would be selling this machine if the screen cannot be normal.

Apple has some serious quality issues, all the screens are uneven and tinted, it's like winning a lottery or something. Which I had won but unfortunately I dropped it and the screen was damaged

 

[BoneDaddy]

Although I understand, it really depends on what you deem to be really bad.

I have a 2010 and a new late 2014. When I first got it, I had my older Mac open and realized mine looked yellowish to me. My poor wife had to put up with my bitching for about half an our until I finally shut up and researched what the heck was going on (not implying that you're bitching or anything but I really was).

So I put a good couple of hours into researching and found that it's really pretty much just the way it comes. As a musician, I cared a bit less about visuals than you or my wife, who is also a photographer, does. Never the less, I payed closest attention to what photographers had to say about this and most of them seemed to work it out. I know you state you had a perfect screen and I'm sure you did, but it seems to be more rare to get a "whiter" one than darker tinted.

After accepting it and checking for burn in, dead pixels and thoroughly examining to make sure there wasn't any blotchy spots, I decided to look into adjusting the screen to suit my standards. I spent about another hour or so on it and GOT IT.

Now, I actually like the retina better. I am typing this on my 2010 and although I'm fine, or used to it, I want to go back to my retina (but the baby has a habit of hitting it with her toys). This one seems a little too blue, and THAT'S the best I can do.

As a musician, I use multiple monitors. After using 7 in the last six months, they ALL needed adjusting on both the monitors and the OS settings. I now truly believe that most people are just so used to how the older screens came. I am convinced that once you spend some time editing it to your specifications, you will come to like it. I don't consider myself a photographer but I do do <-- HEHE a lot of photo editing and I am VERY pleased with the quality of the color. Give it a shot.

 

[widestload]

Does it 'just' need the colour calibrating? There are various default colour 'spaces' available in the colour section of the display preferences, or you can use something like a 'colour monkey' or 'Spyder' as an additional piece of hardware to help you set it up.

A pain that you need to but maybe its that the factory fitted ones get calibrated and the replacements dont?

 

[salvator]

Although I understand, it really depends on what you deem to be really bad.

I have a 2010 and a new late 2014. When I first got it, I had my older Mac open and realized mine looked yellowish to me. My poor wife had to put up with my bitching for about half an our until I finally shut up and researched what the heck was going on (not implying that you're bitching or anything but I really was).

So I put a good couple of hours into researching and found that it's really pretty much just the way it comes. As a musician, I cared a bit less about visuals than you or my wife, who is also a photographer, does. Never the less, I payed closest attention to what photographers had to say about this and most of them seemed to work it out. I know you state you had a perfect screen and I'm sure you did, but it seems to be more rare to get a "whiter" one than darker tinted.

After accepting it and checking for burn in, dead pixels and thoroughly examining to make sure there wasn't any blotchy spots, I decided to look into adjusting the screen to suit my standards. I spent about another hour or so on it and GOT IT.

Now, I actually like the retina better. I am typing this on my 2010 and although I'm fine, or used to it, I want to go back to my retina (but the baby has a habit of hitting it with her toys). This one seems a little too blue, and THAT'S the best I can do.

As a musician, I use multiple monitors. After using 7 in the last six months, they ALL needed adjusting on both the monitors and the OS settings. I now truly believe that most people are just so used to how the older screens came. I am convinced that once you spend some time editing it to your specifications, you will come to like it. I don't consider myself a photographer but I do do <-- HEHE a lot of photo editing and I am VERY pleased with the quality of the color. Give it a shot.

You said that "I decided to look into adjusting the screen to suit my standards. I spent about another hour or so on it and GOT IT."

what did you do to fix it?

I agree with you, I know i'll get used to this screen using it everyday but my main worry is that if i edit pictures they will look different on different screens more over they will look different on print altogether.

You said you have the late 2014 model could you provide me with the screen make and model number?

As you mentioned you're a musician and well if I was an average normal user I'm sure it wouldn't make a hell of a difference to me but the sole purpose of purchasing the retina macbook pro over the unibody was the screen and the fact that I wish to turn my hobby of photography into a profession.

As of now I just want to know what can I do to fix this?

----------

Does it 'just' need the colour calibrating? There are various default colour 'spaces' available in the colour section of the display preferences, or you can use something like a 'colour monkey' or 'Spyder' as an additional piece of hardware to help you set it up.

A pain that you need to but maybe its that the factory fitted ones get calibrated and the replacements dont?

I tried the calibrating options, which didn't make much of a difference.
The Spyder and color monkey cost above 150$ and I don't want to spend so much just to calibrate the screen.

Moreover I'm furious at Apple , why can't they give us what we paid for!

 

[redheeler]

I have had 3 display replacements on my 13inch Retina Pro. First time because of a damaged screen I did have beautiful crisp display which was perfectly even, the one that shipped with my computer.

After the replacement twice I got a yellow tinted screen which was uneven and now I'm on my third screen again which is a bit yellow. All the three screens were manufactured in Week 4 of 2013 and are of the A020 model.

Apple refused to help me further and has said it's within specifications.
The funny part is while comparing it to the displays in the store which are of the same make and model, mine seemed a bit dull and washed out.

I am an occasional photographer.
Yesterday after editing a few pictures in photoshop and uploading them when I saw them from my phone's screen and another computer's screen, the difference was drastic. In my mac where i edited them they seemed fine but viewing the same pictures from different screens they were overly saturated.

Does this mean that my screen is faulty cause of the tint and can't recognize the true colors of the picture?
I hope there is a fix for this as it drives me crazzyyy, since Apple has refused to help me further my only other option would be selling this machine if the screen cannot be normal.

Apple has some serious quality issues, all the screens are uneven and tinted, it's like winning a lottery or something. Which I had won but unfortunately I dropped it and the screen was damaged

My 13" rMBP is actually quite uniform, as for my Retina iMac it's another story altogether. It really is the luck of the draw.

If the display is uniform but still yellowed that can be easily fixed with some calibration. Also, are you sure the other displays you viewed that photo from aren't oversaturated themselves? Again, something that can be fixed with calibration.

 

[redheeler]

You said that "I decided to look into adjusting the screen to suit my standards. I spent about another hour or so on it and GOT IT."

what did you do to fix it?

I agree with you, I know i'll get used to this screen using it everyday but my main worry is that if i edit pictures they will look different on different screens more over they will look different on print altogether.

You said you have the late 2014 model could you provide me with the screen make and model number?

As you mentioned you're a musician and well if I was an average normal user I'm sure it wouldn't make a hell of a difference to me but the sole purpose of purchasing the retina macbook pro over the unibody was the screen and the fact that I wish to turn my hobby of photography into a profession.

As of now I just want to know what can I do to fix this?

----------



I tried the calibrating options, which didn't make much of a difference.
The Spyder and color monkey cost above 150$ and I don't want to spend so much just to calibrate the screen.

Moreover I'm furious at Apple , why can't they give us what we paid for!

Of course a photo will look different on every display depending on its unique characteristics and color profile.

If you don't want to get a calibrator you could always calibrate by eye using the Colorsync Utility, in System Preferences > Displays > Color > Calibrate. That's what I had to do on the iMac since I haven't bothered with a calibrator yet.

Also, how did you find the manufacture week of your display?

 

[salvator]

My 13" rMBP is actually quite uniform, as for my Retina iMac it's another story altogether. It really is the luck of the draw.

If the display is uniform but still yellowed that can be easily fixed with some calibration. Also, are you sure the other displays you viewed that photo from aren't oversaturated themselves? Again, something that can be fixed with calibration.

I know thats sad that its a lucky draw , I wish I didn't replace my first original display everything was fine in it except for the fact that the hinge would creak a lot and it was a bit chipped and the sad part is even this creaks little but not that much thank god.

What happened to your Retina iMac?

I don't know I feel the screen is uniform I'm attaching pictures for reference let me know what you think. it is only when searching through google the search bar which is supposed to be grey is slightly yellowish.

The other displays were my phone samsung galaxy s3 and a dell inspiron laptop

 

[salvator]

Of course a photo will look different on every display depending on its unique characteristics and color profile.

If you don't want to get a calibrator you could always calibrate by eye using the Colorsync Utility, in System Preferences > Displays > Color > Calibrate. That's what I had to do on the iMac since I haven't bothered with a calibrator yet.

Also, how did you find the manufacture week of your display?

If I need to calibrate it from the original doesn't that say that the display has a fault? Because other screens don't need calibrate it and coming to calibrate it, what is the right way to calibrate it?
By using this app called switchresx

 

[BoneDaddy]

You said that "I decided to look into adjusting the screen to suit my standards. I spent about another hour or so on it and GOT IT."

what did you do to fix it?

I agree with you, I know i'll get used to this screen using it everyday but my main worry is that if i edit pictures they will look different on different screens more over they will look different on print altogether.

You said you have the late 2014 model could you provide me with the screen make and model number?

As you mentioned you're a musician and well if I was an average normal user I'm sure it wouldn't make a hell of a difference to me but the sole purpose of purchasing the retina macbook pro over the unibody was the screen and the fact that I wish to turn my hobby of photography into a profession.

As of now I just want to know what can I do to fix this?

Well, when I say I spent an hour or so, I mean it really took some time to get it right.

What I did was calibrate it to the best that I could, compared to the 2010 Pro. My mission was that if I can get the retina screen calibrated to have more of a white appearance than the 2010, then I can lower the settings to the point where it'd be fine. So I did that. My biggest focal point was the grey menu bars of the finder window. I also brought up color wheels to get them as close as possible.

After I was happy with that, I went to my monitors. I adjusted and calibrated until I was satisfied that photos looked as close as possible when comparing ALL monitors plus the retina.

Last, I used Aperture, a little bit of Photoshot, and a tad of Preview to edit a photo, tried it on all monitors, and then printed it out a few days later. I AM VERY PLEASED and all of that tinkering was well worth it.

I believe I can save the calibration file and send it to you.

----------

If I need to calibrate it from the original doesn't that say that the display has a fault? Because other screens don't need calibrate it and coming to calibrate it, what is the right way to calibrate it?
By using this app called switchresx

No, go into System Preferences/Displays and then pick Color.

Like someone else said. It may just be that replacement screens don't get calibrated. You can do it your self and I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

 

[salvator]

Well, when I say I spent an hour or so, I mean it really took some time to get it right.

What I did was calibrate it to the best that I could, compared to the 2010 Pro. My mission was that if I can get the retina screen calibrated to have more of a white appearance than the 2010, then I can lower the settings to the point where it'd be fine. So I did that. My biggest focal point was the grey menu bars of the finder window. I also brought up color wheels to get them as close as possible.

After I was happy with that, I went to my monitors. I adjusted and calibrated until I was satisfied that photos looked as close as possible when comparing ALL monitors plus the retina.

Last, I used Aperture, a little bit of Photoshot, and a tad of Preview to edit a photo, tried it on all monitors, and then printed it out a few days later. I AM VERY PLEASED and all of that tinkering was well worth it.

I believe I can save the calibration file and send it to you.

----------






No, go into System Preferences/Displays and then pick Color.

Like someone else said. It may just be that replacement screens don't get calibrated. You can do it your self and I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

Could you please do that and help me out as to how to use the file?
It would be really helpful.
As I don't know how to calibrate it at all

I have attached some pictures previously, please have a look at them and let me know what you think of my screen

 

[BoneDaddy]

Could you please do that and help me out as to how to use the file?
It would be really helpful.
As I don't know how to calibrate it at all

I have attached some pictures previously, please have a look at them and let me know what you think of my screen

Your screen looks decent. Looks better than mine did before I calibrated.

Here. I took photos for you. The top left and second colorful are the 2010 Macbook Pro, and the top right and first colorful is the new 2014 that I spent forever calibrating.

 

[BoneDaddy]

Here is the file. Place it in Username/library/colorSync/Profiles.

Then go pick it and see if you like it.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/396x6u

 

[salvator]

Your screen looks decent. Looks better than mine did before I calibrated.

Here. I took photos for you. The top left and second colorful are the 2010 Macbook Pro, and the top right and first colorful is the new 2014 that I spent forever calibrating.

Here is the file. Place it in Username/library/colorSync/Profiles.

Then go pick it and see if you like it.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/396x6u

Wow if that is the calibration I must say I am impressed.
Infact your retina looks gorgeous and your previous macbook pro looks yellow.
I cannot believe when you say that your screen had a yellow tint previously, it looks amazing!

Thanks for the file, ill try doing that, is this for the 13inch or 15 inch as I have the 13 inch model.

 

[BoneDaddy]

Wow if that is the calibration I must say I am impressed.
Infact your retina looks gorgeous and your previous macbook pro looks yellow.
I cannot believe when you say that your screen had a yellow tint previously, it looks amazing!

Thanks for the file, ill try doing that, is this for the 13inch or 15 inch as I have the 13 inch model.

Thank you. I took my sweet sweet time and compared with so many pictures and websites. I analyze the hell out of everything so it better be good enough. They are both 13".

Let me know if you like it.

 

[BoneDaddy]

Here's the before (how it came), and after. It was gross.

My crap iPhone 4 really doesn't do it justice. The yellow looks yellower in person and the new calibrated ones look whiter. You'll see.

 

[salvator]

Here is the file. Place it in Username/library/colorSync/Profiles.

Then go pick it and see if you like it.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/396x6u

Thanks a ton

here are the pictures after using your profile
the first is before using it and second is after
it looks a lot more bluer which is better but is there any way i can reduce the blueness?if you could help with the target white point that you have used.

I wanted to ask this the fact that I need to calibrate it doesn't mean that my display is inferior compared to the others who use the original color lcd profile?

 

[salvator]

Here's the before (how it came), and after. It was gross.

My crap iPhone 4 really doesn't do it justice. The yellow looks yellower in person and the new calibrated ones look whiter. You'll see.

Thank you. I took my sweet sweet time and compared with so many pictures and websites. I analyze the hell out of everything so it better be good enough. They are both 13".

Let me know if you like it.

Yikes! that is some yellow! I was about to sell my computer off if you weren't there. My display is fairly better in its original state!
Yes I do like it intact I love it , it's only a little blue which kinda hurts the eye if i could crank it a little down it would be perfect.
I really appreciate you taking your time and providing me with such vital information

 

[BoneDaddy]

Thanks a ton

here are the pictures after using your profile
the first is before using it and second is after
it looks a lot more bluer which is better but is there any way i can reduce the blueness?if you could help with the target white point that you have used.

I wanted to ask this the fact that I need to calibrate it doesn't mean that my display is inferior compared to the others who use the original color lcd profile?

It's really tough to tell which one is the one I sent. You must have done a pretty good job on yours.

Yea I am going to do another calibration tomorrow and tune it up if I can. This one is great for me, but I'm going to see if I can do better. When I do, I'll post it.

Your monitor is no worse than anyone who's may have come calibrated. Keep in mind, there are monitors MADE for photography and people still use spiders and other devices to get them as perfect as possible. You'll be fine, the more you mess with it. I can try to make one we both really like, but I'm sure you'll learn and make a great one for you.

----------

Yikes! that is some yellow! I was about to sell my computer off if you weren't there. My display is fairly better in its original state!
Yes I do like it intact I love it , it's only a little blue which kinda hurts the eye if i could crank it a little down it would be perfect.
I really appreciate you taking your time and providing me with such vital information

No problem man, I know how it feels.

I'm gonna hit the hay but I'll mess more with it tomorrow and I'll see you in this chat. Have a good night salvator.

 

[salvator]

It's really tough to tell which one is the one I sent. You must have done a pretty good job on yours.

Yea I am going to do another calibration tomorrow and tune it up if I can. This one is great for me, but I'm going to see if I can do better. When I do, I'll post it.

Your monitor is no worse than anyone who's may have come calibrated. Keep in mind, there are monitors MADE for photography and people still use spiders and other devices to get them as perfect as possible. You'll be fine, the more you mess with it. I can try to make one we both really like, but I'm sure you'll learn and make a great one for you.

----------



No problem man, I know how it feels.

I'm gonna hit the hay but I'll mess more with it tomorrow and I'll see you in this chat. Have a good night salvator.

I don't know how to make one, I'll try screw around with some settings and in the meanwhile I'LL be waiting for an update color profile from your end good luck man, again i really appreciate your time and energy and good night to you too

 

[MattZani]

Honestly, buy a colour calibrator.

 

[arcite]

It should also be noted, no two people perceive colour exactly the same way. FOr example, if you aren't doing desktop publishing that will require cmyk colour calibration , getting worked up about minor colour shifts is a futile effort. Best to just calibrate your monitor to your preference and get on with it.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

if you care deeply about pictures, you'd probably be buying a professional monitor.

but it is understandably annoying and a side effect of mass production lcd panels.

 

[beavo451]

If you are serious about photography, then you have to buy a calibration device. There are lots of factors that affect the color rendition of a monitor (including environmental). For color accurate work, all monitors require regular calibration with a hardware calibration device.

No your display is not inferior unless calibration does not correct the "problem". Also, using somebody else's color profile is not helpful. Due to variances, color profiles will be different between monitors.

 

[salvator]

If you are serious about photography, then you have to buy a calibration device. There are lots of factors that affect the color rendition of a monitor (including environmental). For color accurate work, all monitors require regular calibration with a hardware calibration device.

No your display is not inferior unless calibration does not correct the "problem". Also, using somebody else's color profile is not helpful. Due to variances, color profiles will be different between monitors.

if you care deeply about pictures, you'd probably be buying a professional monitor.

but it is understandably annoying and a side effect of mass production lcd panels.

It should also be noted, no two people perceive colour exactly the same way. FOr example, if you aren't doing desktop publishing that will require cmyk colour calibration , getting worked up about minor colour shifts is a futile effort. Best to just calibrate your monitor to your preference and get on with it.

that's true but I'm trying to figure out if my display is defective or no
in the pictures you can see the grey color in google bar it appears to be darker at the bottom of the screen comparatively to the top of the screen, is this normal? but again all the last 3 screens I had looked like this only.

 

[BoneDaddy]

that's true but I'm trying to figure out if my display is defective or no
in the pictures you can see the grey color in google bar it appears to be darker at the bottom of the screen comparatively to the top of the screen, is this normal? but again all the last 3 screens I had looked like this only.

It's almost impossible to tell because a picture of a screen doesn't capture what you see with your eyes that well. It may appear darker in the photo than it is in reality.

Sorry, it was a long day. I dabbled a little bit more. Here's the link. I didn't like it as much as the other one, but it's got less blue.
https://www.sendspace.com/file/n0nypq

Hope this helps you get off to a better start. If you're really really not sure about your screen, it can't hurt to get it replaced again. They are all right about getting a really good monitor, or using a device. If you're just getting started, a good retina calibration will be fine. If you're doing this professionally, you should definitely look into something better than most laptop screens.

Also, using somebody else's color profile is not helpful. Due to variances, color profiles will be different between monitors.

Sure it is. He isn't familiar with calibrations, so I helped him with it. It may not be perfect for photography, but he stated he's much happier than he was with what it came with. He can use it till he get's it right, or replaced.