More Digital Photography Hardware
From monitor calibration tools to digital projectors, we review a wide variety of digital photography hardware. See tools that can have a big impact on the quality of your photos.
Buyer's Guide 2008: Color Calibration Use these tools to ensure consistent color from import to output  Calibrating your monitor may not sound exciting, but the results can be. Without a properly calibrated monitor, photo edits won't be accurate, and what you see on your screen isn't what the prints will look like. So you'll have to make some tweaks and print again...and again. |
Toolbox: Display Calibration For accurate adjustments and consistent color, start with a properly calibrated monitor  It may not be as exciting a topic as the latest D-SLR technologies, but color calibration is a critical part of digital photography. With a properly calibrated monitor, you can be confident that the adjustments you make to your images are exactly what you intend. Don't underestimate the importance of this! Adjusting an image on an uncalibrated screen can be a waste of time at best, and at worst, can cause permanent degradation to an image. You may also experience big frustration when your prints don't match what you see on screen. |
True Colors Part 2 Boost your HDTV's performance with this home theater colorimeter  As prices have dramatically dropped, sales of high-definition televisions have skyrocketed. The chances are good that you already own an HDTV or are planning to buy one in the near future. And with new products like Apple TV and Windows Vista Media Center bringing your image libraries to your home theater, the long-promised convergence of computers and home entertainment is finally happening. |
Short Reports: Logitech NuLOOQ Navigator Make your photo editing more efficient and fun with a unique interface  Though enhancing my images can be fun, especially when I'm working with a great photograph, it also can be incredibly time consuming. I like making my photos look better, but increasingly, I much prefer to be outside just making images rather than seeing the hours flash by under the glow of the LCD monitor. |
True Colors Calibrate your monitor to achieve accurate color in your digital darkroom  The joy of digital photography can be quickly diffused when the photograph we've printed doesn't resemble what we saw on our monitors. Dramatic differences in brightness, contrast and especially color make using a digital darkroom an exercise in frustration instead of creativity. |
Think BIG! Photography is all about the details. Larger monitors give you a better perspective on your images.  If you're tired of squinting to view menu items on your digital camera's LCD or feeling cramped by all of the palettes in Photoshop, maybe it's time to think outside the confines of tiny monitors. Even if you have perfect vision, there's no comparison to the viewing comfort and enhanced usability of screens with more real estate. |
Trade Tricks: Easy Color Management For the best prints, take control over your color  When your goal is to create a beautiful print, understanding basic color management is a key component in the digital darkroom. Because monitors and papers are two completely different media, it's important to realize your print isn't going to be an exact match of what you see on your screen. If you continually test your printer's capabilities, however, much like you would with various filters and papers in a traditional darkroom, you may end up developing interesting techniques. What really matters in the whole process is whether you like your end result. |
Match-Making Get your monitor to accurately portray the colors of your digital photos  I was thrilled when I bought my first inkjet printer and couldn't wait to make my first color print. After spending about half an hour perfecting the portrait photograph in Photoshop, I sent the image to the printer and was immediately disappointed. If the person had been a visiting extraterrestrial or suffering from jaundice, the yellowish skin tone might have been acceptable. Neither was the case. I was just another photographer experiencing the frustration of having an inkjet print that didn't match what was on the monitor. |
Buyer's Guide 2006: Monitor Calibration Achieve accurate color on your screen using these tools  If you've ever been frustrated with prints that don't match what you see on your monitor, you understand the importance of color management. Having a calibrated monitor allows you to make changes to an image with confidence because the colors displayed on the screen are an accurate reflection of the file. In addition, it helps ensure that the color values you see on the screen will closely match your output. |
