(Do note here though, that room lighting can have a very pronounced effect on how far you can see into the shadows. If you can't visually separate at least the '20' and preferably the '15' block from the background, your monitor needs adjustment and calibration. Many monitors may only show separation in the 30 block, and quite a few may show no blocks at all. A good monitor may not go that far, but should let you see the difference between the '15' block and pure black. In a dimly-lit room, an excellent monitor would let you see the boundary between the central row and the '5' block. (The whole issue of proper viewing environment really begs for a whole separate article, one we haven't written yet.) A Deeper Look at: ShadowsĪbout black and white: It affects colors too. You'll have a hard time seeing shadow detail if the light's too bright in your working area, so make sure that the room is somewhat dim before performing the check. The center of the image is pure black (pixel values of zero), with the numbers on each of the 8 blocks surrounding it corresponding to the pixel values of the dark grey tints they contain.

The chart above is similar to the earlier white-point checker, only this time for deep shadows. That's an awfully loose standard, your monitor could be pretty messed up and you'd still be able to see the difference between 245 and pure white.) How many blocks can you see? (Many photo-oriented web sites start their 'Is your monitor OK?' greyscale wedges at 245 or so. More typically, a 'good' monitor would let you see the boundary between the center row and the 250 or 251 block. On a perfectly calibrated monitor, you'd be able to distinguish (if only just barely) the difference between the white central row and the block labeled 254. (That is, the block labeled 251 has red, green, and blue pixel values of 251, 251, 251.) The numbers on each block show the pixel value that block contains. The image above shows eight blocks of grey tints, with a pure white stripe running across the middle. (Note that we said 'how badly,' not 'if:' Unless you're using a very high end display, it's a pretty safe assumption that an uncalibrated monitor is significantly out of kilter.) The test images below will quickly tell you how badly out of adjustment your monitor is. So how do you know whether your monitor is showing all it should be? To really tell, you need to calibrate it, but there are a couple of simple things to check that'll tell you just how badly a calibration is needed. With an uncalibrated monitor, you can't tell what exposure is right, and your prints won't come close to matching your screen. Which shot is right? Is it the camera or your monitor? If you'd like to read about the monitor calibrator we use here at IR, you can check out our original Datacolor Spyder3 Elite review. The good news is, monitor calibration is fairly easy, and even a modest investment can pay off big in image quality. It goes without saying that an organization like Imaging Resource needs to keep its monitors carefully calibrated, but what about our readers? Bottom line, it doesn't matter who you are, if you care about your images, you need to care about the condition of your monitor(s). Here at Imaging Resource, a lot rides on our judgement of image quality in the cameras we review, so we pay particular attention to monitor calibration and our viewing environments, to avoid introducing even the slightest bias into our evaluations. Monitor Calibration: Who needs it? ( You, if you care about your photos) Monitor Calibration: Is Your Monitor Calibrated?

Monitor no gamma control