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Dell 2408WFP color calibration?

M

MatchFrame

macrumors member
Original poster
May 2, 2008
85
0
Dallas, TX
I have a Dell 2408WFP on the way, as well as a Mac Pro 2.8 with the HD 2600XT, at long last!

The 2408 was recommended by several users of this site, so I wanted to see if you would be willing to share your calibration settings for the monitor?

I've read here about the important task of recalibrating this monitor and soaked up as much knowledge as a I could (as he does get into his settings a little bit).

Since it seems some of you would have a very similar system to me ;), I was hoping you could help take a little of the pain out of calibrating it (without an external device) and share all relevant settings with me (monitor settings, color profile, graphics card settings, etc.).

Thanks for the help!
 
I find the best results are with the sRGB preset on the monitor and the WideGamutRGB preset in OS X Display Settings.
 
Looking good so far but i have a DELL 2405FPW will that make any dif?
Also Would one use this for editing in HD in FCP if not please let me know.
But as i said it looks good to me but (I was told that i need a broadcast monitor)
to get good color corection)but hey Moneys kinda tight right now so any help is useful.
 
kabunaru said:
->Macintosh HD->Library->ColorSync->Profiles
then go to System Preferences-> Display
Click to expand...

I did and even tried moving to Displays but it doesn't show up in System Preferences. What am I doing wrong?

screenshot_12.jpg


screenshot_11.jpg
 
off topic sorry .

Congratz on ur new LCD .. well i have the 2208 and i was wondering if i can use it as the Main Display rather than Mirror or Extended Mode for my MBP ??
 
kabunaru said:
That's the name of the profile. Click on it.
Click to expand...

Ding dong, I got it.:eek: It is a terrible preset for a Dell. Way to warm and the gamma is off also. I went through the calibration and believe I've got one that is fairly close to 6500ºK for a Dell. Out the box a Dell is way to cool (as most are).
 
Every monitor calibrates differently. Even monitors that are the exact same model will look different with the same color profile.

Pick up a hardware calibrator (Spyder, etc.) and give that a try. I have had mixed results with mine, so YMMV.
 
BryanLyle said:
Every monitor calibrates differently. Even monitors that are the exact same model will look different with the same color profile.

Pick up a hardware calibrator (Spyder, etc.) and give that a try. I have had mixed results with mine, so YMMV.
Click to expand...

This post is right on the money. If you could simply download a profile to calibrate, why is it recommended to re-calibrate before every session of colour-critical work?

Monitors are all different, and all will begin to display colours differently over time. Don't go about thinking you can download some silver bullet with this sort of thing.

I'm still in the process of really getting my 2408 right. It came too bright, too red and too....' HD-TV ' ish.

Never, EVER under any circumstances use a) sRGB (just take a quick look at any gamut chart to see why, as compared to Adobe'98) b) increased contrast/brightness and c) pretty much any other preset dell offers you if your work is truly colour critical. Again, if calibration was a one step process then why does the hardware calibration industry exist?

As a photographer I can't stress enough the importance of a good hardware calibration. It can save you hundreds (possibly thousands, depending on your output) on printing costs over time.
 
MatchFrame said:
I've read here about the important task of recalibrating this monitor and soaked up as much knowledge as a I could (as he does get into his settings a little bit).
Click to expand...

I received the Mac Pro yesterday and the 2408WFP today, and I just got finished calibrating it.

I basically used the OSD settings stated by the review in the above quote, and then did calibration through ColorSync Utility. It looks fantastic!

Thanks for the help! Can't wait to add a second one...
 
Ha, I could never get mine just right and sprung for an Apple Cinema Display :(

Good luck
 
Just posting this in case someone gets here by searching for this. I know it's old, but it'll help someone.

Unfortunately, the way each display is calibrated at the factory is very different and Dell monitors are notorious for having over saturated colours and bumping up the brightness way too much.

I wrote an article on how to calibrate a Dell monitor, specifically the 2408WFP, on my site in which I explain the process and share the settings I used. I did use a hardware calibration tool, but even with it, it wasn't easy.

I had to start by lowering the brightness to about 50, and then lowering the RGB channels individually to 50 as well. That reduced both the saturation and the brightness to an acceptable level. Then it's a matter of tweaking the RGB to get the right colour hues.

Yes, every monitor is different and just putting in the numbers I got won't give every Dell perfectly calibrated colours, but at least it'll be more in the ballpark than the over saturated out of the box colours.

I hope that helps.

Gabriel
 
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