I figured the Dell UP2715K 5K monitor with OSX is mostly used with Mac Pros so that's why I'm asking this here....
I'm confused with the settings I should use on my software and photography equipment to get the correct colors. I've read quite a few articles but still I'm not sure what settings to use as the end result is the combination of all. Any help is appreciated!
I have a MP 5.1 with the UP2715K. I take pictures mostly with a Canon 5D Mark III and edit them with Lightroom and Photoshop. For video I us the 5D, my iPhone and a GoPro 4 black. The pictures end up mostly used online although I need some prints as well.
Here are some of the questions:
- The camera: sRGB or AdobeRGB?
- Monitor settings: which pre-set or custom settings to use? (I don't have an external calibrator at the moment)
- OSX: what color profile to use?
- Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere any settings I need to make?
- Any other things I need to do or setup to get the combination optimized?
And another question....... why does Chrome display such saturated colors compared to Safari?
Congrats on the monitor. Just be weary that most consumer brand monitors which claim to be 10bit, or being able to display from a 10 billion color palette, or that they over high amount of Adobe RGB coverage, are doing so by using dithering tricks. So even if they can be used professionally, just don't compare them to an Eizo or NEC.
The GPU must also be able to display 10bit color to make full use of such a monitor. In most cases 8bit is fine though.
So your questions:
1. You should shoot AdobeRGB if you intend to print. You can always convert to sRGB for web usage. Most browsers can only display sRGB but maybe in a few years they will all display wide gamut profiles too.
When you do intend to print it would be helpful to make a copy of your image, set it to CMYK mode and then soft proof before you test hard proofs. There are many good articles online about soft proofing. Ask a good fine art printmaker if you have any questions. They know more about it than almost all photographers or editors.
2. Again, if you intend to print your monitor should be set to AdobeRGB or a calibrated profile. I don't know if your monitor stores profiles created by a calibrator, but in any case when you do calibrate you should end up with an ICC file that you can use in your OSX display preferences.
As ever, when you intend to save a version for the web, you will have to convert the JPEG to an sRGB profile and check the results of different devices.
For web use, don't worry about DPI. Web browsers ignore this. Most people still think digital formats have to be 72DPI. This is a widespread myth. Even the file size isn't reduced by dropping from 300 to 72DPI, yet people blindly believe it does.
If you don't have a calibrator yet don't worry, just set the monitor to AdobeRGB mode. OS X generally applies a profile for the monitor automatically. In most cases you will be OK unless you have some colours which are very hard to reproduce digitally.
3. Just stick to these basics for now otherwise you will confuse yourself. There are many so called pros out there who think they know about these things but they can't get it right after many years. It's better to keep it simple and just keep refining, not adding more complication. Learn, refine, master, then learn more.
When you feel more comfortable and understand soft proofing, hard proofing and web output, then you can get into the more complicated side of things such as the enormous variety of paper profiles, the vast number of printers, how ambient light and color temperatures influence our perception of colours, the limits and deficiencies of human eyesight, how the visual cortex interprets images, etc
It's a neverending story because the technology keeps evolving. Enjoy the trip!
