Phocus: External Monitor does not show correct color

[bodtlaender]

I have a new MBP 15inch Core i7 I use with an external 21inch Monitor. Unprofiled the external monitor shows a green cast. Profiled with BasicColor and i1Pro there is still some difference between internal and external, but not that much. Settings during the calibration of the two displays are the same.

I use the Display of the MBP as the main Display for tools and thumbnails and the external 21inch as viewer to get a good impression of the image when working with it.

With Lightroom or Photoshop colors of the external 21inch are fine. With Phocus the profile of the Laptop Monitor seems to be used for the 21inch (instead of it´s own) and thus results in a green cast.

Any ideas?

I just read some release notes on a very old Phocus version and that seem to be my fault (but I´m on 2.6.4):



"Phocus 1.1.2 read me

Changes since V 1.1.1


A multi-monitor color handling issue that could happen when dragging the viewer between monitors has been fixed."

Best,

Bernd

[jeff.grant@pobox.com]

Bernd, have you checked your color preferences? Phocus had a dual monitor problem way back but has been rock solid for ages now. I use an iMac and external monitor. I have both set to the external monitor profile as PS and just about any other piece of software will screw up dual monitor setups occasionally.

[bodtlaender]

Hmm, Jeff, if I set the internal Monitor of the MBP to the profile I created for my NEC P221W, the MBP looks totally magenta. Not very comfortable to work with, even though it´s only for thumbnails and tools....

Best,

Bernd

[jeff.grant@pobox.com]

That's a pity. I use a couple of iMacs that way. It solves all the dual monitor issues. One test is to have an image open on the Macbook and then drag it to the NEC. As you drop it, you should see the colour change as the NEC profile kicks in.

You did use an i1Pro? An i1D2 can be useless on wide gamut monitors. Mine produced a magenta cast in the profile.

[bodtlaender]

And that is exactly what does not happen.... 

I open the viewer with command-shift-F. Is that the correct procedure ?

Best,

Bernd


P.S.: 11:24 PM in Germany. I´m off for today but will come back tomorrow after trying around a bit more. Thank you for supporting me with your ideas!, Jeff!

[jeff.grant@pobox.com]

It sounds like it's time to call your friendly Hasselblad man and make it his problem

[bodtlaender]

Ok, I did not call Hasselblad. Instead, I found out by myself.

The error was: to make the viewer open in the second (or external) monitor I activated "Full Screen Viewer".

A full screen on the second monitor popped up. This seemed comfortable as I dis not have to resize the viewer. But it did not use the color profile of the second monitor. Instead it used the display profile of the main monitor (and thus showed wrong colors).

The correct way is to activate "Viewer in Separate Window". A small separate window on the main display opens above the Phocus surface. I has to be moved to the external/second display and then to be resized manually. A bit more complicated, but finally it shows the correct color! 

Best,

Bernd 

[jeff.grant@pobox.com]

Good to hear that you are up and running, I've always used the 'viewer in separate window' option. It does sound like a bug though. No matter what you do the correct profile should be used. It has been such a common problem that my solution of using the external monitor profile on the iMac has shielded me from it lately. If the iMac ever gets a decent screen, I may be in trouble.

[bodtlaender]

Finding out about this "bug" and learning to handle it also improved my workflow on the MacPro with a dual monitor setup. As the two displays are of the same type, it did not become aware of the problem for a long time, but always wondered, that pictures opened in Photoshop did look a bit different from what I intended in Phocus.

So far the only piece of software with such a problem in my "collection".

Best,

Bernd

[jeff.grant@pobox.com]

I have always had a problem with Phocus and its dark background. I use a mid grey in PS and everything looks different when I export it to PS.