Calibrating my monitor screwed it all up!

[Chainsaw_Willie]

I figured that maybe I could improve my existing monitor by color calibrating it.

I used the monitor calibration tool that comes with Windows 7.

Now all my pictures, and everyone else's for that matter, look dark and murky. WTH? Is there any way I can get back to where I was before?

It seems to be the gamma adjustment that's causing the problem as the monitor's brightness and contrast settings are the same as before.

I'll be buying a real monitor and a color calibrator soon, but until then I need the existing monitor to work at least as well as it used to.

Tech talk?

[Chainsaw_Willie]

Nevermind - finally figured out how to disable the calibration profile that was created when I went through the calibration steps and my monitor is back to where it was.

Typical Microsoft - give you a checkbox in one window that's not active and can't be clicked until you go to another window and click a button that takes you back to the original window but now with the checkbox active. Who the hell designs this stuff?

[SchralphMacchio]

BTW, your contrast curves had you crushing shadows/blacks left and right. Things will look different to you once you get a real calibrator.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

Actually, it's the real monitor I need even more than the calibrator. The monitor I'm currently running is a cheap Samsung 21" TN from about 4-5 years ago. It really has a pretty narrow gamut and doesn't do a good job of distinguishing blacks/grays if the contrast is set low enough to make out highlight details.

Biding my time waiting for a good deal to come along on one of the 24" IPS panels I want...

[ski_adk]

Actually, it's the real monitor I need even more than the calibrator. The monitor I'm currently running is a cheap Samsung 21" TN from about 4-5 years ago. It really has a pretty narrow gamut and doesn't do a good job of distinguishing blacks/grays if the contrast is set low enough to make out highlight details.

Biding my time waiting for a good deal to come along on one of the 24" IPS panels I want...

Get yourself a real monitor calibration tool like a Spyder and you'll be amazed by the results. Even if you have a narrow gamma, it will at least give you a decent idea of your screen is supposed to look like.