The reason for this post is the discovery that I managed to break my $500 Dell U2410 monitor on the way back from the Philly show.
An overlooked part of what we're doing here is the monitor on which you're viewing your - or other peoples' - work. There are multiple monitor technologies - TN, VA, IPS, and varieties of each. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. TN panels are the fastest and cheapest (good for gamers) while offering execrable viewing angles and poor color reproduction. They are by far the most common. VA panels are a nice compromise of all the possibilities. IPS panels are slow and relatively expensive, but offer outstanding color accuracy and viewing angles a step above anything else.
So, consider: the color accuracy of what you see on the monitor when you're shooting may be very imperfect. As will the accuracy of what we see when you post it. This is not limited to those among us who are bringing significant technology to bear and creating truly high-res images; color is a very basic aspect of coin photography which affects
all of us.
And consider: given the above, it's quite possible that the fantastic image you just shot is "wrong," because you're looking at it on a monitor which can't display the true color of what you're shooting. And it's possible that even if it's "right," your viewers won't know because their monitors aren't up to the task.
More: Color calibration for any of these monitors is a topic so complex I just ain't going into it here. You may (probably) have the ability to radically change the quality of what you're looking at right now by simply changing the color temperature setting of your monitor.
So what I want is for you guys to carefully consider this when evaluating the images other people have shot. The thing you object to about that coin might just be the fault of your monitor or his, and probably both.
The reason I paid $200 more for my 24" Dell than my 26" Asus TN main panel is color. The same single image from my camera is noticeably different on both, and the Asus lacks the adjustability (like most TN panels) to better calibrate the color. Not to mention, calibration is a very expensive proposition, involving a few hundred dollars' worth of equipment and software.
Having a monitor you can trust goes a long way towards improving your confidence in the opinions you render here, as well as your decision whether to pull the trigger on that questionably-shot
ebay photograph. For me, this is not good; having b0rked the one I have, I now
must go out and spend money I
don't have on another IPS panel.
But for you, fortunately, given the chance for error on both ends I won't be advising you to go drop $$ on a new monitor just to keep up with the Joneses. Unless, of course, you shoot and post coin images, or sell coins online....
This is an obsessive hobby. We strive for perfection in our coins, and don't tell me that doesn't inform how you handle the rest of your life.
There are others looking at your work on panels deliberately bought for this quality.
Posted 08/14/2012 06:09 am
