# Monitor calibration to match iPad Pro?



## paddycochrane (Jul 12, 2016)

hi all,

Apologises if this post is in the wrong group, I couldn't find a more appropriate one.

I own a mid level Eizo monitor which I use for most of my photo editing and processing on Lightroom CC (PC) while at home and when it's available to use.

When traveling I mainly use my iPad Pro and Lightroom mobile to do some basic edits - photo selection, color, contrast, saturation etc. 

When traveling My work flow is to import into Lightroom mobile from my camera, do the edits and upload to adobe cloud. When I return home to my PC, the photos are automatically synced to Lightroom on my PC and I can finish off any more technical edits in Lightroom CC.

The issue I have been having is that my iPad Pro and my Eizo render the colors of the same photos differently. The Eizo is much warmer.

I have color calibrated my Eizo using my Eye 1 calibration device, however even after calibration it's very different to my iPad Pro. (Not surprising due to the iPad Pro not exactly being color calibrated)

I understand that this issue is more likely with the colors of the iPad Pro, however is there any issue or downside if I decide to color calibrate my Eizo to match my iPad Pro?

If I did this then any made edits on my iPad Pro once I return back to my PC to finish off in Lightroom, would at least have a consistent color between the two devices.

The benefits of this are clear to me, however I can't seem to work out what the negative points would be, if there are any. The only issue I can think of is that when printing photos it might not match the output of the printer due to a different calibration. However this can be address as I can show them the iPad Pro colors in order to have a color reference.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Patrick


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## Johan Elzenga (Jul 12, 2016)

I would not screw up the calibration of an expensive Eizo monitor just for the sake of matching the colors with an uncalibrated iPad. The disadvantage would be that your photos would simply get the wrong colors. Let's exaggerate to make the point: your photos would not really have a blue sky but a green sky, because just by coincidence green looks blue on your iPad. The idea that you could get a good print from these photos by showing them to the printer on the iPad is rather naive. That is not how color management works. It's better to accept that an iPad Pro is not a professional image editing tool, despite the word 'Pro' in the name.


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## clee01l (Jul 12, 2016)

There is an app for the iPad called ColorTRUE.  You can install it on the iPad and use the i1Display device connected to your computer via the local network and calibrate the iPad


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## Johan Elzenga (Jul 12, 2016)

But don't forget this:

"Unlike your laptop or desktop operating system, iOS and Android operating systems do not have system wide color management capabilities. Therefore, each app must apply color profiles individually. Through X-Rite’s ColorTRUE Aware Partner Program, we are collaborating with other app developers to allow them to seamlessly access your ColorTRUE profile within their app by using X-Rite’s mobile color management software development kit (SDK). This way, any ColorTRUE Aware app can display colors accurately and consistently. So help us spread the word by telling your favorite app developers you want them to be ColorTRUE Aware!"

So Lightroom Mobile may not be ColorTRUE aware.


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## rob211 (Jul 12, 2016)

AFAIK the only Colortrue aware app is Camranger. Mylio dropped support for it. Xrite doesn't list any others. Sort of a dead end. Spyder has an app, but I believe it suffers from the same limitations: it only works in the app. Not others. So meh.

Couldn't you just soft proof on the Eizo with an iPad color profile? Or, even easier perhaps, just get one of those app/applications where you can use the iPad as a second monitor and you can proof right on it.


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## Johan Elzenga (Jul 12, 2016)

Yes, you could make an icc-profile of the iPad if you use something like Duet Display. However, that still won't solve the problem that the colors aren't correct when you use the iPad stand-alone with Lightroom Mobile. The icc-profile would be created (and located) on the main computer, not on the iPad itself. As far as the calibration software is concerned, the iPad is just another display, not another computer.


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## Conrad Chavez (Jul 12, 2016)

The only way to accurately profile the iPad is with a profiling kit that profiles the iPad in its native mode, and can produce a profile document that the computer can use for soft-proofing. I don't think that exists.

Most of the iOS profilers I've heard of produce a calibrated display only when you are in their app, because that's the only way a profile can be applied. Switch to any other app and the profile can't be used.

Apple is working on this, but for now that only makes the situation more complicated. If you have the 13-inch iPad Pro, I think that is probably factory calibrated to sRGB. If you have the newer 9.7 inch iPad Pro, that actually has a DCI-P3 capable display and is factory calibrated to that. In either case I don't know what the color temperature is, and you'd need to know that to get the Eizo to match.

To add to the confusion, Apple recently revealed that color management is now present in iOS 9.3. This is required to handle the DCI-P3 gamut displays that Apple is slowly spreading across the product lines (currently the 4K/5K iMacs and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro have DCI-P3). This is confusing because while Apple is implementing the groundwork for a fully calibrated/profiled iOS, I haven't heard that there are any products out yet that can  actually take advantage of this like Mac and Windows desktops can. So in theory what you want can be achieved, but in practice you can't buy anything yet that will do it.


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## rob211 (Jul 13, 2016)

There's an approximation available here: Preview Your iPad Colors on Your Display | Planet Quark

Dunno if it's accurate as to newer iPads; I think it's quite old.


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## paddycochrane (Jul 13, 2016)

Thanks to everyone for their feedback and recommendations on the topic at hand.

Honestly The issue has left me a little confused, what exactly is the point of an app like Lightroom mobile if all the post production one does needs to be redone again once back at ones main workstation because there is a color cast on each photo or because the temperature setting or brightness is slightly different?

The same also applies to a laptop screen, ok it's slightly easier to calibrate a laptop/notepad screen then it is an iPad Pro, but it's still not the same as calibrating a Eizo monitor.

How to photographers manage to get any sort of consistency when using a Desktop and a mobile device - be it a laptop or iPad, or even a MS surface?!?!

Cheers,

P.


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## clee01l (Jul 13, 2016)

paddycochrane said:


> ...what exactly is the point of an app like Lightroom mobile...


Apple decided that we needed a mobile environment (sells more iPhones and iPads). Adobe jumped in so as not to be left out of the march to mobility.  iPads and other mobile devices have limited horsepower, limited RAM and limited storage.  Initially I though I could replace a laptop with an iPad. I quickly realized this would not work when I could not store a full camera card on the iPad.  So, I got  a real computer for mobility and the capability to run (real) LR in a mobile environment.   
Any device display that runs OS X or Windows can be calibrated using a colorimeter like the i1Display or similar.  A Microsoft Surface running Windows10 is equivalent to my retina MBP.  Both are very mobile computers running a real operating system.  So LR Mobile becomes a cute little slideshow for your LR Mobile collections and a decent vehicle to transfer your iDevice photos to your master LR catalog. 

You want a calibrated screen in a real computer to develop with true colors  and to soft proof your images prior to printing. If the destination for the final derivative is the Web, you are going to dumb down the colors to fit inside the sRGB envelop. So the benefits of a calibrated system only come into play for really special images.  If most people are going to be viewing your images on some web browser maybe even on an iPad, you have little hope of managing the viewing experience.


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## rob211 (Jul 13, 2016)

paddycochrane said:


> Thanks to everyone for their feedback and recommendations on the topic at hand.
> 
> Honestly The issue has left me a little confused, what exactly is the point of an app like Lightroom mobile if all the post production one does needs to be redone again once back at ones main workstation because there is a color cast on each photo or because the temperature setting or brightness is slightly different?
> 
> ...



First, the iPad isn't much of a photography tool. You may have noticed a subset of tools for Lr Mobile, as well as other apps. It's very useful for finishing photos that will be used on the web; since tons of people will be viewing the photo on iPads and iPhones and so on it makes MORE sense to proof it on that than on your Eizo. The whole point is to see what the final product looks like there. The number of people viewing that shot with color corrected wide gamut displays is negligible (as opposed to printing, as Cletus pointed out).

Second, one advantage a retina device has over that Eizo is resolution. Sure, at 1:1 and a suitable distance away each would look the same. But sometimes you wanna view MORE of the image at 1:1 than just say a corner. Say when assessing the amount of noise reduction, so not as to soften up other parts of the image. And sharpening too. Having a higher rez monitor can be helpful even if you are printing.

Third, Lr Mobile is just a subset of Lr tools. It presumes that you'll only be doing certain tasks on the iOS device. In part this is down to iOS's limitations (let's hope that's changing). But as you've seen there's kinda no point in adding stuff like color profiles for soft proofing.

Unfortunately, there is no consistency with color. That's why there are different gamuts, profiles, and the need to calibrate. Each output device, even among the same model, can be different. You can control what the color your image looks like completely only on a very small subset of those devices (your monitor, your own printer, and your service bureau). I suspect you realized this when you bought your equipment.


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## johnbeardy (Jul 13, 2016)

paddycochrane said:


> Honestly The issue has left me a little confused, what exactly is the point of an app like Lightroom mobile if all the post production one does needs to be redone again once back at ones main workstation because there is a color cast on each photo or because the temperature setting or brightness is slightly different?



The point is not to imagine it is for finest quality work. However, before you get back to a calibrated environment, you can have many key adjustments in the bag, you'll have cropped it for instance, and considered other aspects of the image. Making good use of downtime before a meeting, or of the hour sitting on the train, means that your time chained to the calibrated monitor can then be devoted to fine tuning, not broad brush work. 

That said, I don't regard LrM as primarily for adjustment in a serious "post production" way. For me adjustment remains third after evaluating new images wherever I happen to be, and showing pictures whether that's on the phone, tablet or mirrored to the TV.

I find it really doesn't matter that the iPad's not calibrated.


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## Johan Elzenga (Jul 13, 2016)

I agree. The iPad screen may not be calibrated, but it's quite nice. You can certainly use LrM for things like cropping, exposure, shadows & highlights. The screen is definitely good enough to judge that. And of course for rating images. I wished you could also add other metadata like keywords and captions.


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## johnbeardy (Jul 13, 2016)

I'm completely with you regarding captions, titles too, and I'm amazed that LrMobile still remains so unbalanced in lacking any metadata entry. Keywording is more questionable though. Do long lists work well in mobile environments? So I struggle to see what kind of UI would be efficient (because keywording is always about volume). I'd sacrifice keywording for integration with other iOS services such as maps, allowing us to add GPS for instance.


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## Johan Elzenga (Jul 13, 2016)

johnbeardy said:


> I'm completely with you regarding captions, titles too, and I'm amazed that LrMobile still remains so unbalanced in lacking any metadata entry. Keywording is more questionable though. Do long lists work well in mobile environments? So I struggle to see what kind of UI would be efficient (because keywording is always about volume). I'd sacrifice keywording for integration with other iOS services such as maps, allowing us to add GPS for instance.



PhotoSmith had a pretty good method of working with keywords. It's no longer supported, but all the info is still online: Keywords and Metadata | Photosmith – your photography workflow, mobile


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## Gnits (Jul 13, 2016)

I wished you could also add other metadata like keywords and captions.  *+1*

I have been waiting for the ability to maintain Title, Caption, Location and Copyright metadata since Lr Mobile was released.  I am glad to see that others share my frustration.  

I am not at all interested in editing raw files )or jpgs) on mobile devices, but recognise this area will continue to evolve.


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## Gnits (Jul 13, 2016)

I posted a comment on the "Lightroom Journal" regarding metadata in Lr mobile and got a positive looking response.



 

The full comments (so far) can be viewed at the bottom of this link.

Lightroom for Mobile July Releases


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## rob211 (Jul 13, 2016)

Yeah, now that Lr Mobile does RAW from iOS back to the desktop they have recognized that direction as a workflow. And having done so perhaps they'll get around to getting better metadata tools for the app.

I gave up and use Mylio instead, but it doesn't do hiearchies, so there is still some workaround necessary.

I'd put metadata way ahead of color management on my needs for the iPad but YMMV.


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## Gnits (Jul 13, 2016)

1. I would also put metadata ahead of any other Lr Mobile development
2. I tried Mylio, but did not want all of my images synchronising with all  my devices and also sitting on third party cloud storage.

I am delighted to see at least recognition for the need to complete the workflow cycle for metadata.


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## Johan Elzenga (Jul 13, 2016)

I believe it when I see it. I know several problems in Lightroom desktop that Adobe is 'working on' for several years...


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## rob211 (Jul 13, 2016)

Gnits said:


> 2. I tried Mylio, but did not want all of my images synchronising with all  my devices and also sitting on third party cloud storage.


Maybe I'm misunderstanding the comment, but you do realize that Mylio works without storing a single image in the cloud? That's just one of many places you could choose to sync to and from. It's not even available in the free version, only in the more premium plans. And that you choose with devices to sync to, as well as which folders to sync to those devices, so you don't have to sync to all devices.

It's Lr Mobile that requires cloud storage, or iCloud Photo Library.


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## Gnits (Jul 16, 2016)

rob211 said:


> Maybe I'm misunderstanding the comment, but you do realize that Mylio works without storing a single image in the cloud? That's just one of many places you could choose to sync to and from. It's not even available in the free version, only in the more premium plans. And that you choose with devices to sync to, as well as which folders to sync to those devices, so you don't have to sync to all devices.
> 
> It's Lr Mobile that requires cloud storage, or iCloud Photo Library.



I was an early beta tester for Mylio and got into some detailed discussions with them regarding synching of devices.  At that stage I decided  Mylio was not for me.  Perhaps they have improved the synching options since.  

For the moment, I am quite happy to bring my ipad mini (for display) and my MacAir (for Lr full ver) when travelling, and look forward to the day when Lr Mobile will allow me edit my metadata on the ipad, as keeping a MacAir clampshell style device open on planes, trains and automobiles is very uncomfortable.


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## rob211 (Jul 16, 2016)

Gnits said:


> I was an early beta tester for Mylio and got into some detailed discussions with them regarding synching of devices.  At that stage I decided  Mylio was not for me.  Perhaps they have improved the synching options since.
> 
> For the moment, I am quite happy to bring my ipad mini (for display) and my MacAir (for Lr full ver) when travelling, and look forward to the day when Lr Mobile will allow me edit my metadata on the ipad, as keeping a MacAir clampshell style device open on planes, trains and automobiles is very uncomfortable.



Yes, they have made MANY many changes since beta. They now do faces, there's better integration with Lr (most common adjustments to RAW like WB, cropping, contrast, etc), some import options for Apple Photos, and so on. Much better for RAW work on iOS than LrM, even with Adobe's update. I just wish they'd change the price; it's still too expensive.

And at least you can do keywords...Adobe's neglect of metadata functions now appears to be one of those permanent policy decisions that is unlikely to change. Maybe by the time you're using iOS 25 on your self driving hovercraft you'll be able to keyword....


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## Gnits (Jul 16, 2016)

I am so frustrated by Adobe in relation to Lr.  The Library module is a pain if you need to move between folders (ie you have to find the image you were looking at in maybe 100's of images each time) and the Book module is a disaster.

I have been also frustrated by the lack of ability to edit  metadata in Lr Mobile.  I did get one piece of positive feedback when I complained on the Lr journal.  I posted this previously, apologies for repeating here. Ps my name is Matt O'Brien.



 

Link to discussion ...Lightroom for Mobile July Releases


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## Gnits (Jul 16, 2016)

I should balance the above comments by saying that I still have regard for Lr itself.


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