Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

Try this on the X-Rite site
http://www.xritephoto.com/ph_toolframe.aspx?action=coloriq

No prizes for the highest score. I'll reveal mine when someone else does it  ;)

Terry.

I did my test...
No prize?
Fred

Afraid not  :'(
Reveal all please and I'll tell you mine.
Terry.

Ok I'll be the brave one!
I got a 34....
I should get something.   
Maybe a hot chocolate from Eileen?
Fred

Mine was 32, so I just beat you, must be the age difference  ::)
So no choc for you  :o

Seriously though, it's an interesting exercise for those of us who critically look at images and prints, makes you realise your limitations - or otherwise!

Terry.

I just redid my test, taking more time and patience.
I got a 15.
NOW do I get a chocolate from Eileen?

Fred

I have no patience so I'm sure I rushed it. I will try again later but my first score was 47. That was right in the middle for my age group.

Mike

Doesn't mean much but I scored a 12, first time.  :-* I consider myself a novice even at a senior/senior age.  ;D

Don

I got 11 and a headache - I'm now going to have a glass of wine, one with a deep shaded red color!

Here's mine.  No, I didn't cheat!  :D

Mike

We do expect you to be the expert you know - well done  ;D
Terry.

Well the first time I tried it, I just rushed through it as fast as I could to see what it does and I got a 3.  Then I thought, hmm, might not be so hard to get a zero if I pay close attention so I ran it again and paid more attention to what I was doing and got the zero.  I think the key is to sit back and move your eyes around to different gradients, not staring at the same row for a long time.  If you stare at the same row too long, it kinds gets burnt into your cones.  ;)

Mike

Cones? It burnt into my Popsicle and melted it.
Fred ;D ;D ;D

Better get that checked out.  A burning in the popsicle is never a good thing!   :P

Mike

A little disappointed in my score of 12. Supposedly good for my age group (over 50), but now I have doubts about how I see things when I go to print!  :-\

That's what worried me. I must try the exercise again soon as my first score was much worse than yours.
I think the little game does make you more colour aware even if you are an experienced photographer.
Terry.

I didn't worry about the result.  I don't use those hues anyway.  ::) ;)

Do you propose that anyone with a score above 100 be relegated to B&W prints.?
:-)
 ;D ;D
fred

Did my test and got a score of 4 in the 60-69 age group.

You mean those grey chips are supposed to be in order too??  Darn.  I thought all snow scenes just printed dark.

Well, this is interesting, I scored a perfect 0. Fred, I still have not purchased a new monitor. I'm stewing over LED or LCD. Recently the HP dream colour LP2480zx looks like it might be the best. Trouble is I have not seen one in person yet. Any opinions out there? If I can score a perfect score on an inexpensive monitor, calibrated and profiled with Syder3Pro, tested on an Xright test of colour hue, wouldn't you say this takes some of the pressure off spending money on a new monitor?

Regards,

Keith

If I were in need of a new monitor, *and* I was running Windows 7, I would look into the the new Touch Screen monitors that are arriving on scene as we speak.
W7, I heard, is Touch Screen ready/compliant, and that is the future!
You know what that means, don't you.
No more picking your nose when using the computer!!!    ;D :D ;) ::) ???

Fred

Well, I feel a lot better now that I took this a second time. I took my time and was able to score 10. My first score was a 47. I feel better about my eyes and my equipment.

Hi Fred,

Touch screen - I'd have to sit closer, and probably wear out my arm, and have to wear gloves. Also, of course, when you touch the screen, you can not be precise - your finger is bigger than any cursor and your hand will probably obscure any message box that may appear as a result. Useful for machine control menus and the like, but not much else, I reckon. Of course, every one will buy one  ???

Best wishes,

Ray

Hi Guys,

I tried this today and got a 3 first time.
And living in France I am further away from the screen than you so my eyes must be pretty good.
And there I was thinking I was colour blind as I am having trouble printing my pics.

John A

Seriously for a moment, congrats on the 0 score, but you must realize that the profiled or not profiled monitor was not a factor as you were using your eyes to see the differences between the color blocks and which went where. Whether the blue or green was accurate WRT the original test image is irrelevant.
Now, just decide if your monitor is holding its profile, drifting, getting duller, or you are finding a large difference in brightness between top and bottom of the screen or left and right side of the screen .
You can do this easily in Qimage in the comparator screen with two identical images. The right click and SWAP sides. Then you rotate one side to upside down, and see if the face is the same brightness whether the face is up or down.

If your monitor is still in good shape, then get a new TV for the bedroom instead.

Fred ;D :P

Hi Fred, Your comments are well taken. It is just a case of me realizing over the last several months that my existing 22" Asus monitors, calibrated with Spyder3Pro are lacking in some of the areas you touch on. These guys are a few years old, never had the best gamut, are starting to drift etc....... It was just interesting that I was able to score 0 quickly the first time. My thinking is that the time I spend recalibrating is worth it to some degree. Bye they way, your comments are always looked for, you have a great sense of humor as well as some very good and welcomed technical input! Regards, Keith

Yeh, Fred.  Touchscreen on a 24" monitor.  I can see the new surgeons lining up to fix "monitor elbow."   ;D

Seth