RFranko Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Folks;
Those of you who are thinking about buying calibrations equipment that's great. One point to remember, is that both xrite ColorMunki Photo by xritephoto http://xritephoto.com/ and the Spyder by DataColor http://spyder.datacolor.com/products.php are both good products. ColorMunki has done a better propaganda job on selling their products. Essentially the both offer products that just calibrate your monitor or calibrate your monitor and printer. I found that just calibrating your monitor is really a waste unless you don't do any printing. If you do printing you definitely need to calibrate both.
Originally I purchased the Spyder 2 some years ago but still had to run test prints to get the printer to output what I was seeing. A REAL Pain, time consuming and expensive.
Also by the time you made all the adjustments on the screen to get a beautiful print coming out of the printer what you were viewing on the screen didn't look anything like what you wanted it to . Finally, last year I took the plunge and purchased the Spyder3 Studio SR and haven't looked back, because now as long as I recalibrate about once a month or so, what I see on the screen is almost exactly what comes out of the printer. Why "almost exactly?" It because your screen is going to be a CRT, LCD or an LED, all lit from behind, except for the LED. The print is ink or pigment layed down on a paper emulsion. Actually... if you hold the print a distance to the side of the screen the difference will disappear because you eye will adjust. ( a good reason to change ALL your light bulbs where you do your photo editing to daylight balanced flourscent). Which ever calibrator you chooses you won't regret it.
P.S. After doing extensive research on the two I found the Munki to be the simpler to use but lacks in what changes or othr adjustments you can make, While the DataColor was a more professional Tech Tool but still easy to use. You will hear professionals rave about both but you won't find one who doesn't use one.

liv2paddle Loc: Wall, NJ

I think the problems don't stem from monitor calibrations but go much deeper. Most critiques (with adjustments )are done by a small segment ..lets call them "the editors" or the experts. They are a small group within the group who have taken control of that aspect of the forum. THey compete again eachother in their editing skills...<who can spin there magic photoshop brushes and layers better then the next>. These skills give them a feeling of superiority and a tremendous feeling of selfworth..look at what I did to your crappy picture..I made lemonade. Unfortunately its still begs the question..how to take a quality photograph with you equipment. I don't see many discussion about that very basic problem with most of the images. Forget about artistry..that rarely comes up. I guess I was hoping to get beyond the basic snapshots..into more of a fine art approach. I like what some of the members have done with their post best of ..wildlife..landscape etc. I think that gives members a focus..and shows them what is possible by comparing their work against others..to see where they need improvement. Perhaps that is the direction to go. Have threads..as in Theme of the week etc. I think that direction is much more productive then this incessant photoshopping. I own it and I have done loads of post production work ..but at the end of the day..a beautifully composed image is much more satisfying then making 10 adjustment layers to correct a crappy picture.

RFranko Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Please submit an image in the picture catagory of the forum. We look forward to seeing your work.

mgemstone Loc: Chicago/Cocoa beach/La/NY

The problem with "judging" images is that there is a tendancy to find fault first rather than finding the pluses as it is easier to be negative about something. This is true here, PSA, PPA, etc.
I do NOT maintain a separate group of jpgs for display that differs from my tiffs for printing. Color, hue, saturation, etc. can differ depending on which camera and lens I use, what studio lighting at what F-stop is used, what paper I print on, and which printer I use. So how am I going to create an image that will somehow look the same across all the monitors on the internet? I'm not as I have enough difficulty among the different tools I use under my control.

So what can we judge viewing an image across various monitors? Color/hue, saturation, brightness, contrast, etc. can vary by monitor and personal tastes. Within a reasonable range, all is acceptable (at least to me). What can more easily judged is composition, is the a central focus or some white spot that draws the eye away fron the main subject in the image, focus, general merit of the image including skill, craft and artistry while realizing fresh approaches, creativity, and technical excellence. And, above all, be unbias and consistent.

For most of us, we shoot to please ourselves and not someone else. We need to learn how to critque and how to accept critiques of our own work. We are here to share the joy of photography and help each other see a different perspective rather than beat someone up. BUT you should not critic images unless you are willing to have your own images judged.

RFranko Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Well Said.

LittleRedFish Loc: Naw'lens (New Orleans)

Very, very, well said.

liv2paddle Loc: Wall, NJ

Not sure who this "post pics" is directed towards..but I have posted several.