Color SENSOR (not stabilizer), how do I use it?

[ChancyRat]

I hope this is a good topic for this forum. My new laptop has a color sensor. I understand that can be good for making sure that the color you need, is right. (Hope that doesn't completely miss the concept.)

My new screen, the colors are much brighter and intense than my old laptop which was 5 years old.

How do I use the color sensor for video editing? It 'feels' like the old laptop had more genuine objective color, than this new one, but that probably doesn't make sense, it's only how my brain and eyes are seeing the new world. I'm hoping a color sensor will help but don't know how it would.

[_Paz_]

Could you please elaborate? What do you mean by "Color Sensor"? Is it a color calibrator?

[Bob]

Computer Issues would probably be a better location for this topic.

What laptop do you have? If I'm correctly understanding what you have, the color sensor is a built-in colorimeter that is used to calibrate and profile your laptop monitor. A calibrated monitor will help you to see a more accurate color representation.

There should be a calibration program installed on your system that you run to perform the process. How the software does that may differ from one manufacturer to another, but, in general, you would start the program, answer some set up questions, and close the lid when instructed. The calibration will run and signal you when it's done. The result will be a profile of your monitor that is stored on your system as the default profile for the monitor. Color managed applications, such as Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, can also use this profile.

Monitors will change slightly as they age, so it's important to periodically run the calibration application.

[ChancyRat]

Sorry for not responding sooner. I have a Lenovo Thinkpad W530, which, I discovered, tends to come with terrible color calibration. A little hunting on a Thinkpad forum got me to this "fix":

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-Th ... 685#M27243

And now my screen color seems both normal and beautiful.

So I'm back to the associated question, what does the color sensor in my laptop do? Or, how do I use it?
I've searched for any kind of instructions and find only general phrases such as, "used by professional photographers," or "only used when applying color". But - when, where, and how? What's the context?

[ChancyRat]

Regarding the "color sensor" versus color calibration, I'm not entirely sure of the difference but I think they are apples and oranges. Here's a thread on the topic which again leaves me hanging with more questions:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-Th ... d-p/597169

[Bob]

The color sensor in your laptop is a colorimeter. Think of it as a specialized light meter that can measure luminosity and color. The calibration program that's installed on your laptop uses it to determine the color response and characteristics of your display. It does that by displaying a series of known colors and intensities while measuring them with the color sensor to see what's actually being displayed. The calibration program then uses that information to create a profile for the display.

If you are using Windows 7, you can start the calibration program by clicking Start > All Programs > X-Rite > Color Calibrator > Pantone Color Calibrator.

I've heard mixed results with the included calibration program on the Thinkpad. It's fairly basic and some people are happy with it and other's aren't.

[ChancyRat]

Thanks, Bob. So - it is the same as a calibration? Running it achieves the same results as the fix I was given (and applied), here:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-Th ... 685#M27243

? I mean, why would I do anything with the internal color sensor if I already calibrated with another program?

And - then how do people "use the color sensor in Photoshop to get the right color"? I don't see anything one can do except eyeball the screen and choose a color you like, which has always seemed completely subjective to me. Color #ABCDE on my monitor won't look the same on your monitor, or in this light, or near that window. I guess I thought a color sensor would help somehow. There's a flat plastic circle on the keyboard (between the pad and the fingerprint sensor), which I thought was the color sensor and that one would pass colors over it? LOL I really feel like I climbed a tree and branched off.

[Bob]

Thanks, Bob. So - it is the same as a calibration? Running it achieves the same results as the fix I was given (and applied), here:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-Th ... 685#M27243

Yes, it is a calibration. No, it doesn't necessarily match what you got installing the other profile. The reason being that the calibration you get from running the calibration program using your color sensor creates a profile for your specific display. The other profile is for the display used by the guy who ran the calibration. His display characteristics and settings may be close to your display or it may not be. You aren't really going to know if you see the same thing he sees unless you put your display next to his.

? I mean, why would I do anything with the internal color sensor if I already calibrated with another program?

The problem is that you didn't calibrate your monitor with another program. You installed a profile from someone else's calibration of their monitor. There is a variation from one monitor to another in manufacturing. Most manufacturers include a profile for their monitor, but that is typically based on an average of sampled monitors. It may not reflect your specific monitor. The monitor settings affect the calibration. Change brightness, contrast, or color temperature on the monitor and you will need to recalibrate. Another problem is that the characteristics of each monitor change as they age. The white point especially tends to shift. A profile that was good when the monitor was new may not be good later. Professionals, who need consistency, calibrate their monitors frequently.

And - then how do people "use the color sensor in Photoshop to get the right color"? I don't see anything one can do except eyeball the screen and choose a color you like, which has always seemed completely subjective to me. Color #ABCDE on my monitor won't look the same on your monitor, or in this light, or near that window. I guess I thought a color sensor would help somehow. There's a flat plastic circle on the keyboard (between the pad and the fingerprint sensor), which I thought was the color sensor and that one would pass colors over it? LOL I really feel like I climbed a tree and branched off.

Now you are entering the world of Color Management. Color Management can get pretty complex, but the basic idea is pretty simple. Every display device has different characteristics. A particular shade of color may look one way on one monitor but appear to be another color on another monitor. If you can calibrate and create a profile for each device, you should be able use that profile to adjust the color values so that the same color is displayed on each. What you see will be essentially the same as what I see. Assuming of course that the device can actually display that color.

Not many applications are color managed at this time. But, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements both support color management. When you set up one of these for a color managed workflow, you designate a working color space to be used -- typically sRGB or Adobe RGB. If you are intending to publish on the web or send out photos for printing, sRGB is a good choice. If you are printing your photos yourself on your own quality printer, Adobe RGB may be useful. Regardless of which you choose, when you open a photo for processing it is converted into the working color space. The program will also read the calibration profile assigned to your monitor and use it to convert the color values in the working color space into the appropriate values to display on your monitor to match the color. If you have a calibration profile for your printer, you can have Photoshop and Photoshop Elements use the printer profile to adjust the color values sent to the printer. Assuming you have accurate profiles, what you see on the screen should be pretty close to what you print.

Due to the way the brain interprets what the eye sees, the surrounding lighting and colors can affect perception. There are programs that use the color sensor to adjust the display to account for changes. In practice, it may not be all that useful. I use a desktop system in a room with fixed lighting and a dark background. I don't use this feature. In evaluating prints, it is important to evaluate them in lighting similar to the intended display conditions.

On thing that could affect you is the quality of the sensor and the calibration program used to generate the profile. These differ greatly and low end ones may not produce good results. The built-in sensor in the ThinkPad is similar to the one in the Huey calibration device. It's a basic device. The software used is fairly basic also. I don't know how good the profile will be. You may be able to get a better calibration using different calibration software. It won't hurt to try out the built-in calibration software. If you don't like it, you can always switch back to the other profile.