Stopped using a studio monitor calibrator for 6 months and my eyes adjusted better

I turned off my Datacolor Spyder after getting tired of the dim screen, and my color grading freelance work actually got more consistent without it fighting my room's awful lighting. Has anyone else found their own eyes beat a tool when the room setup is bad?

2 comments

2 Comments

hernandez.ben6d ago

Yeah the "dim screen" part is what gets me. A calibrator is supposed to help but if your room lighting is garbage it just makes everything look dark and muddy. That's not really the calibrator's fault though. The issue is most people don't control their ambient light first so the calibrator is trying to fix something it can't. If you've got a window behind you or crappy overhead fluorescents, your eyes will absolutely do a better job because they're adapting to what you actually see. The tool isn't wrong, your setup is just working against it.

the_zara6d ago

... but if your eyes are doing the job fine without it, why stress? It's just a tool, not a magic bullet.