Dim Light or Bright Light

[jun_ea]

I'm trying to correct the set up of my photo editing area. I've read contradictory opinions regarding the

brightness of a digital darkroom. Some say that it should be kept as dim as possible. Others say that it should

be same brightness of the monitor. So which one is correct?

[g dan mitchell]

I can't give you a scientific answer to this, but I will say that too having it too dim will create a false impression of how

white/bright tones will be in a print.

[patricklavoie]

my setup is really simple. you should be able to read a journal anywhere in my room...without forcing your eye..a normal ligth condition.

[patricklavoie]

you should also be able to discern color of any object around you..not because you know there color, but because any one in your room can tell them just by seing it. so the room is not dim to the extreme, but comfortable to the eye, and yur monitor doestn look like a bright TV.

[jun_ea]

Thanks to both for your responses. So, what you're saying is that it, the brightness ratio, doesn't have to be exact. Instead, just get set the light to a level that feels comfortable for reading and set the brightness of the monitor to about the same level. I'm not sure if I trust my judgement of "comfortable" brightness, but I'll give it a go. Any other insights and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks!

[patricklavoie]

i didtn say that you can manually decide about your monitor brigthness..i said for the room only.

 

for the monitor, you need a hardware device such as a spirder3 pro or a eye1 display pro.

[jun_ea]

Patrick,

 

My mistake. I do use an Eye 1 Display 2. So, the brightness determined by a calibration device is completely independent of the brightness of ambient light?

[jun_ea]

Patrick,

 

Do you know off hand whether the Apple Cinema Display can be set to 5000K?

[patricklavoie]

yes. it is set from a standard. CRT 110/cd, LCD 120/cd. you can play with it a bit to suit your need to a certain extend.

 

_______

 

yes you can set your ACD to 5000k..but what the point, your monitor will look yellow and there no point.

 

2.2 gamma. 6500k. 120/cd. standard you must first understand and set your equipment before wanting to customize it.

[jun_ea]

Thanks for that reply. I asked about adjusting the ACD monitor to 5000K because in my search for recommendations on setting up an optimal digital darkroom I found one by someone who's provided a convincing argument to match the color temperature of the monitor to an ideal light source (the SoLux halogen at 5000K). Please feel free to speak if you don't agree with this recommendation?