I am reading Color Confidence by Tim Grey and in the chapter Display he talks about the importance of using a Monitor Hood
I have never tried one and would like to know if you guys use them and how important they are in the digital darkroom?
Thanks,
Bob
I got one as a free item w/ an NEC PA and it's really a good thing. Unfortunately, it's $100 retail when not part of a promotion and for that money, I'd make one from black foamboard.
It also depends on how your room is lit and colored/painted as to how effective it'll be. I dont' like processing in a very dark room
Unless you have clients or art directors who you really want to impress, you can always make your own hood out of some black cardboard you can buy at Walwart or Hobby Lobby. Or you can simply shut off all lights in your retouching room.
I prefer to arrange my room lighting so that there is no glare on the monitor. It also helps to make sure the background in your view around the monitor is close to mid-tone.
Darkening the entire room with a bright monitor in the center of your view is hard on the eyes.
Any stray light on the monitor will reduce the visible contrast of images displayed on the monitor by filling in the blackest blacks. The brighter the light the more the reduction in contrast. Some of the light will be coming directly from the source and the rest is reflected off walls, ceiling, etc.
In a general purpose room where the lighting cannot be altered much without considerable expense and/or interfering with other activities in the room, a monitor hood is a good thing - provided that it is dark enough so as not to reflect stray light onto the screen, and also that it protrudes far enough at the top and sides to be an effective shield against direct light sources. That is easy if the light is pretty much above you but quite difficult if the light is pretty much behind you.
Hoods that protrude just a few inches are close to useless. 12 inches or more is likely to be somewhat beneficial. If they don't protrude at the sides as well as the top of the monitor then they will offer no protection from windows or lamps beside the monitor.
uintaangler wrote:
Anybody know where to purchase a decent Monitor Hood for a new iMac monitor 21.5" x 14.5" ?
DIY is not an option with me
I don't know but they could cost a lot of money. You need an opening at the top to allow a calibration puck to hang down on the screen surface, and you need a way to attach the monitor. There might be one that can stretch to fit various monitors.
Go with the black cardboard and a bit of sticky tape for a few days to see how much improvement you will get and to see how big the hood needs to be. That few dollars could save you a lot compared with buying the wrong hood. Perhaps use a ruler or such to support the top so that it does not sag into your view of the screen.
