W520 FHD LED TFT 95% Gamut Display and Color Sensor with Pantone Calibration - Review

Last week I have received my (first) new Lenovo W520 Thinkpad, which I decided to buy after lots of research on the internet. I am excited about its computing power and feature richness. Its biggest flaw though is the 1920x1080 LED TFT FHD display, which offers the worst color calibration I have seen in a high-end laptop in the last 10 years.
Its color rendering is highly disappointing as it shows unnatural, oversaturated colors that make the monitor useless for professional photo and video editing purposes. Primary tones glare neon-like in a highly disturbing manner. A red stop sign appears pink and flags in the google image search are displayed in a ridiculous way.
I have tried the following approaches to improve the color rendering.
The built-in color sensor in conjunction with the Pantone calibration software lead to the worst outcome. The white background of Windows Explorer becomes yellowish-greenish.
A better outcome canbe achieved using Windows 7 color management for display calibration, which doesn't avoid the neon colors, but at least white is rendered white.
Using the Nvidia graphic card tools and setting back gamma to 0.76 also helps to a very little degree.
Another solution is a free gamma correction tool called QuickMonitorProfile. This brings back the reds to normal tones with the side effect, that all mid-tones are rendered very pale.
I didn't have a possibility to try high-class external calibration hardware. For me the only solution remains to use a decent external monitor.
I have found the following interesting threads related to this topic:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/How-do-I-lower-the-saturation-on-my-W520-the-r...
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/W510-W520-FHD-color-profile-supplied-by-Lenovo...
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Very-happy-with-my-W520/m-p/508841#M18189
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Color sensor is bad joke, it's totally useless. Display gives better results without calibration than calibration with color sensor.
I tested calibration with best possible tools, using Eye One with i1Profiler and results are much better but still it's no way near acceptable for serious photography work. Delta variation is 15-20% (meaning colors are 15-20% off from the correct one, compared to Eizo Coloredge monitors where delta variation is around 2%).
Color sensor is just marketing gimmic for Lenovo. As I have stated on another post, Lenovo needs to get on grip on various BIG problems with their top of the Thinkpad laptops.

Similar Messages

  • I want to connect my IMAC to TV with HDMI cable. I did it before going to Dispaly and Arrangments and then mirror. Now when I go to display I dont have to option of arrangements. Olny {Display and Color} pops up. Any ideas what happend to arrengements?

    I want to connect my IMAC to TV with HDMI cable. I did it before going to Dispaly and Arrangments and then mirror. Now when I go to display I dont have to option of arrangements. Olny {Display and Color} pops up. Any ideas what happend to arrengements?

    For the "Arangements" option to appear, the external display must be turned on with the correct input selected and connected to the computer.  Then close system prefs, reopen, go to "Display" and "Arrangement" will be along the top. 

  • Setting up displays and preview monitor with Quadro FX1700

    Hi,
    I am using a Quadro FX1700 graphics card with two DVI displays and a montitor with component connection to the PNY breakout box. I want to have a spanned desktop on my DVI displays and use my component monitor to preview video in Premiere.
    Is this possible (it should be as the card is designed for use with premiere) and how do you d set it up? The nVidia control panel only seems to allow two displays at one time..!!
    Thanks!!!
    Tim

    Perhaps this will help:
    FAQ:How do I use two monitors?
    Cheers
    Eddie
    PremiereProPedia   (
    RSS feed)
    - Over 300 frequently answered questions
    - Over 250 free tutorials
    - Maintained by editors like
    you
    Forum FAQ

  • Are the Kuler color schemes and individual colors associated with pantone codes?

    Are the Kuler color schemes and individual colors associated with pantone codes?
    How do you find the pantone reference for a color in a color scheme?

    Hi Monika,
    What is the reason that it is possible to search for (explore) color themes from within the Color Themes panel in InDesign and Photoshop, but not in Illustrator? Seems a bit odd…
    Cheers,
    Marinka

  • Best way to configure Photoshop workflow settings when source photos are shot in AdobeRGB, edited using a wide gamut display, and output to sRGB?

    Being able to quickly produce finished photos is of importance with the majority of my photography work. Therefore I shoot, process, and deliver JPEG files. For this time sensitive workflow there is no benefit to my clients by my shooting RAW. I do want to be able to accommodate any possible future uses of the photos, so I shoot using the Adobe RGB color space. The output for my clients are JPEG images for use on the Web, therefore sRGB. I currently used a wide gamut display (NEC PA302W) with a 24-bit graphics card. (I plan on upgrading to a 30-bit card sometime in the future.)
    I've noticed that in Internet Explorer the reds in my finished photos are overly intense on my display. My photos look fine in other web browsers on my display. This situation has me concerned as I do not know exactly why it is happening since my photos have the sRBG color profile embedded and IE supports embedded color profiles. If anything, I would think the reds would be overly intense in other applications that do not support embedded color profiles.
    Please let me know if my workflow can be improved, outside of shooting RAW and using a 30-bit display:
    Shoot JPEG photos in Adobe RBG color space
    Edit photos in Photoshop using wide gamut display, 24-bit
    Color Settings: Monitor Color (Monitor RGB -  PA302W, calibrated)
    Save for Web, JPEG, Embed Color Profile, Convert to sRGB
    While working in Photoshop the reds appear fine. When saving for the Web and previewing 'Monitor Color' the reds are intense, when previewing 'Internet Standard RGB (No Color Management)' the reds appear fine. The final saved images look fine with the exception of when displayed in IE, which supports embedded color profiles- Color Management.

    You're rapidly making a mess out of this. Stop, sit back, and stop thinking there's a "problem" to "fix". There isn't - you just need to use software that is color managed. That disqualifies IE right off. Stop using it, throw it away. It's useless with wide gamut displays. Use Firefox, which has proper color management.
    OK. Save For Web in sRGB, embed profile. So far so good. But:
    Don't ! set your working space to Monitor Color!. That turns off display color management which is the very last thing you want with a wide gamut monitor. You could sort of get away with that with a standard gamut monitor, because it's not all that different from sRGB anyway. So you wouldn't notice the difference (but it's there). The fact that your Adobe RGB files look right in Photoshop is purely coincidental. Any other profile will look wrong.
    With a wide gamut display you absolutely and unconditionally need a fully color managed pipeline. That means 1. an embedded document profile, 2. a valid display profile (Spectraview or other calibrator), and 3. an application that reads both profiles and does the conversion from one to the other as the image is sent to the display.
    See, it's not just the document profile. That's half of it. The other half is the display profile. IE doesn't use the display profile, instead substituting sRGB. And that's very wrong with that monitor. Firefox is fully color managed if there is an embedded document profile. But it can be configured to color manage even if the image is untagged (and a lot of material on the web is untagged). It does this by assigning sRGB to the image.
    To configure this - and you really need that with a wide gamut monitor - type "about:config" without the quotes in the address bar and hit reload. Scroll down to gfx.color_management.mode, and change it from 2 to 1. Relaunch. All web material will now appear correctly regardless.

  • Wide-gamut displays and Thunderbolt

    I returned an ASUS PA279Q wide-gamut monitor because several important advertised functions (Adobe RGB and sRGB modes) were not supported through the Thunderbolt connection on my 2013 MacBook Pro Retina (15”). ASUS support explained to me that the Thunderbolt port output was YUV rather than RBG and their calibrated modes were disabled with that output. The monitor worked perfectly on a 2009 non-Thunderbolt MacBook Air through the mini-DisplayPort.
    I am now considering the NEC PA272W but it appears to be the same panel as the ASUS monitor. Could anyone confirm that the NEC can utilize its Adobe RGB and sRGB functions when connected by a mini-DisplayPort cable through a Thunderbolt port?
    Or could anyone recommend another wide-gamut display that works for sure through a mini-DisplayPort/Thunderbolt connection…
    Would you consider the Apple Thunderbolt Display for critical color work?
    Thanks.

    chris.dg wrote:
    So I am curious how well the sRGB mode works? I've read reports on other NEC wide-gamut monitors that when switched into sRGB mode you lose a bit of luminance, that the reds over oversaturated, and general desktop/browser colors are obviously not "normal". Have you noticed anything of the sort with your new PA272, or in sRGB mode is it still a cream of the crop display?
    I have not noticed anything odd about sRGB mode. The problems you mentioned, where colors can look horribly oversaturated or shifted, I have seen (or seen documented by others) when the monitor is in Adobe RGB mode. But that is not the fault of the monitor at all. It is always the fault of the OS or an application not adapted to work with such a wide color space, mistakenly assuming the monitor is sRGB. The colors look fine in high-end graphics apps even when the OS X desktop and web browsers look oversaturated.
    But like Charles says, other features compensate for this. For example, the Adobe RGB and sRGB modes are just two of the built-in presets for the (highly accurate and factory verified) internal calibration. But you also get to store a number of your own presets. I do not even use the factory Adobe RGB and sRGB presets. I made two of my own. One I calibrated for "widest possible" gamut for photo work, at a certain luminance, the other an "sRGB emulation" preset at a completely different luminance. Because I didn't agree with the luminance of the factory presets. When you make a preset you can set the luminance, white point, gamut, etc. so if you don't like the factory presets it doesn't matter, just make your own. (Note: I am using the PA272-SV with one of the calibrator devices that actually talks to the internal monitor circuitry, so I am not sure how well this works if you get the more commonPA272 model without it and use a cheaper calibrator that only creates a profile without talking to the monitor.)
    The factory Adobe RGB and sRGB presets are very useful if you don't want to get into customizing the color specifications, but any limitations they have are easily understood and remedied if you have some knowledge of color management concepts and have a compatible integrated calibrator.
    What you might glean from this is that the true value of the PA272 is if you are an experienced graphics user who knows enough about color to get the most out of the monitor. If you are a casual user who just wants to flip back and forth between sRGB and Adobe RGB once in a while, things might not always work as expected and a more conventional monitors could have been a better deal. If you understand how the PA272 is designed relative to color science, and in terms of how it's an internal calibration compared to the external profiling of most monitors, the sRGB mode makes a lot of sense.
    chris.dg wrote:
    The PA272 has a number of key features for me: the 2560x1600 native resolution, the built-in KVM switch, DisplayPort, wide-gamut for when I want it,etc. But the only thing holding me back is whether or not I should simply stick with a "normal" gamut range monitor because that is where I'll spend most of my time. Cost is not so much of an issue, i just want the best of both worlds, if it even exists.
    Although you said cost is not an issue there seem to be a decent selection of monitors out there that would get you similar features, without wide gamut, for a lot less money. Monitors with that resolution, DisplayPort, pivoting, etc. are now widely available.
    One last note: Minor problems have been observed with these monitors in OS X Mavericks. I think they started turning up in 10.9.2. It still performs the same but some things don't work right and it looks like Apple's fault:
    OS X 10.9.2 Breaks Display Support with NEC Displays: Sleep, 90° Rotation Failure
    Apparently all is needed is for Apple to fix it in the next release, whenever that is. A later post on that same blog indicates that a fix may be coming from Apple. Again, these problems do not stop the monitor from doing its job so if you want one you should still buy it.

  • Display and Boot Problem with MSI K9NGM2

    I recently purchased a system:
    - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200 Core Duo
    - MSI K9NGM2
    - 1 GB Kingston RAM
    - 320 GB Sata seagate
    - Sony DVD RW
    - 450 Watts Power Supply
    The very first day I started having problems with my system. Sometimes it never showed a display and if it does it was not able to recognise my hard disk. I have to reboot it several times before it does. I think its the computer who decides when to boot and when not to. I got it checked and the vendor says that everything is fine , although he is also not able to respond to my problem. The Sata cabling and the Ram has also been replaced twice but still the problem persists.
    Does anyone have any answer to this problem.

    "PSU Details
    +3.3V 10A Orange , +5V 15A Red , +12 V 8A  Yellow , -12V 0.5A Blue , -5V 0.5A White , +5VSB 2A Purple"
    oh my god
    replace that "PSU" mate, (that PSU is directly for trash) get a decent one. (single rail, with high amperes on +12V (30A for example)) avoid noname/unknown,Q-Tec,Codegen brands
    Good PSU Recommendation:
    https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=103299.msg757739#msg757739
    Add-on to read:
    PSU's---2 x 12v---The Dual Rail Myth
    Is your problem caused by your PSU?
    good suggestion can be found here:
    https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=105635.msg783148#msg783148
    https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=103299.msg757739#msg757739
    Good PSU vs Cheap/Unamed/Budget PSU   Oscilloscope scan:
    Bad PSU:
    Quality PSU:
    Cheap PSU Codegen 350W:
    Enermax 365EG(350W):
    What would happen if your PSU can't cope with the load?
        * bad 3D performance
        * crashing games
        * random shutdown
        * spontaneous resetting PC
        * freezes during gameplay
        * PSU overload can cause it to break down

  • Display and Print Problem with Reader 9.1.x

    hallo
    an external software produced pdf-documents. all of this pdf´s will work with all reader-versions 7 and 8. but with 9.x we have the problem, that the view is not korrekt. letters are not comlpete. this view will also be printed. this error is not on alle text-lines, but some lines show uncompleted letters. the manufacturer say, that is all standard and it is sure that the reader will have the problem :-)  yes surely.
    but maybe the reader is the problem. some ideas?
    the attch file shows the error. it is a label and in the middel of the label: Tamaris-TREND     or with reader 9.x T.......-TREND.
    thanks
    markus

    testing and testing and testing
    here the newest info
    it is not the letter size. small or caps letters.
    i added a new pdf. here under the bold number you must see "581*LAVENDER". but with reader 9.x it looks like the printer cardridge goes empty.
    i´ll go crazy with this sh... :-)
    thanks
    markus

  • Using Cinema Display and Samsung LCD with One Mini

    I have been trying unsuccessful to output the DVI of my mini to my 23" Apple Cinema and my Samsung 4669F (native resolution of 1920x 1080p). I have tried various methods including using the Gefen 1:2 DVI Splitter (Ext-DVI-144) and a DVI-HDMI cable to the samsung in conjunction with SwitchResX, all to no avail.
    Any help?- I wish to mirror the same display on both LCD screen simultaneously?- However, I would settle for a solution of a convenient A/B switch? ANy tips?
    What about an external USB video card for the Mini- that should work too?- any tips?
    I used SwitchResX because I determine that because the 23" ACD was 1920 x1200, the Samsung was not displaying because the Gefen splitter box was sending the same signal in 1920 x1200 to the Samsung, which was not accepted by the Samsung whose native resolution is 1920 x 1080p. However, once I switched the resolution to 1920 x 1080 to force an out of the mini to that resolution, there was no display at all on the 23" ACD and I had to do a safe mode reboot to recover the display on the 23" ACD?-
    One would think that it would be relatively easier for Apple to create a script that would allow a person to display 1920 x 1080p on the Cinema Display, a script that overrided the message from the ACD that tells the mac mini to stretch any resolution to 1920x1200 before it gets to the 23" - This way I could use SwitchResX and the Gefen splitter to output 1920x1080p to both displays at once (of course the 23" ACD would have to have some black borders on the top and bottom. Why doesn't apple make this available? - Spent $900 on this monitor and the Mini has a DVI output- why should the Gefen splitter be rendered useless simply because my other display is a different native resolution.
    Message was edited by: sidebysidefootball

    Of course it is!
    (I've got this problem for 3 month now)

  • Display and driver issues with Windows 7 on i5 MBP

    Hello-
    I just purchased one of the i5 Macbook Pros, and set out to get Windows 7 working through boot camp. I did this on an older model (32-bit) previously with no problems.
    This time around, installation of Windows worked fine, but I have had some trouble getting all the drivers working. The setup.exe program on the OS X DVD didn't want to run at all, I had to do a workaround from the command line that I found on a forum (otherwise I just got a response of "Bootcamp x64 is unsupported on this computer model").
    Eventually I got (at least some of) the drivers to work, but there are still some issues.
    After installing the drivers, things like brightness and two-finger clicking started working. A number of other things still aren't, though:
    - Display: My machine has a 1440x900 screen. But for some reason Windows refuses to go higher than 1280x800.
    - Network: No wireless at all. Windows doesn't detect any wireless capability, and only gets on-line via ethernet.
    There may be other issues, but these are the big ones. Can anyone provide suggestions on what to do to get everything working?
    Thanks!

    I just used winclone to move my Win 7 from my Core2Duo MPB to an i5 MBP and had to do a few updates and have eneded up in pretty much the same place as you. I won't bother installing from scratch. I'm guessing we just need to wait for some bootcamp updates for these new machines.
    For those of you who are looking to migrate your bootcamp partition over, winclone made it easy - I followed the directions for resizing and Win7 boots, does a disk check, then installed many of the new drivers automatically. There are some drivers that are still needed however, wifi and video. I also so a USB driver issue but have to look at that a little closer before I comment.
    Best of luck,
    Simon

  • Display and power issue with iBook G4

    My girlfriends iBook recently started acting up... here's the situation. I'm pretty sure it is a G4 but not positive. It's the "chiclet" version and a HD900? After coming back from a vacation the display seemed to go strange. I was able to get it to boot up just fine but every time I do the display starts to show bleeding colors and crazy patterns after a few minutes. When I do boot it up it always shows the "Your computers time is set to a date prior to" error as well. If I hold down the power button I get a rapidly blinking light on the front panel and a chime.
    Does anyone have any thoughts? Does that model have some sort of internal battery that might need replacing? Any type of reset that I might try? Any help appreciated!

    Thanks Ronda
    It looks like I was wrong about the G4... I'm pretty sure this is the model that I'm dealing with
    iBook (16 VRAM)
    600, 700
    Translucent White
    non-metallic
    none
    12.1-inch
    Tray-load

  • W520 - Windows Server 2008R2 and color sensor

    Good evening,
    Does anybody have an experience how to make calibration working under Windows Server 2008 R2? It beeps 3 times when I close the lid and displays the message that system cannot be put to calibration mode.
    Thank you!
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    If you installed the calibration software after the R2 desktop experience and the latest NVIDIA Windows 7 x64 video driver, then you've done all that you can.
    If it works on Windows 7 but not when booted up on R2, then it's clearly a software issue and considering Windows Server 2008 R2 isn't supported, you are probably at a dead end.

  • Cracked display and having trouble with second monitor

    Can someone help me please. I also have a shattered screen on my MacBook Pro
    I attached an old dell CRT to the port and can see my desktop bachground. The problem is I cant see the dock or the top toolbar. how can i get to the apps or the display controls when i have nothing to click?
    Thanks in advance for you input.
    Joe

    Hi Joe,
    In System Preferences, open the Display settings. Go to arrangement from the top of the little window. You will see the 2 small blue rectangles for your screens. You can arrange them to resemble your screen arrangement to - for example - move the mouse arrow from screen to screen in a straight line.
    And you can also pick up the little white bar on top of the smaller screen and drag it over to the bigger blue rectangle.
    This should move your main screen controls (menu bar and dock) over to the external display.
    Alternatively - connect your external screen. Put your MacBook Pro to sleep. Close the lid and wake it up again. With the lid closed it should recognise the external display as the main screen.
    hope this works for you.
    Stefan.

  • Display and render bug with FCPX 10.8 on a MBP retina 15"

    Hi,
    I have a brand new MBP Retina 15, 2.7 GHZ with SSD, OS X 10.8.3 and FCPX 10.8 and I have a problem with most of  video fx that just doesn't preview and render.
    When I try to preview it display black on the viewer (or white picture or no effect or something uncorrect).
    When I apply the fX it render it as pur black or white. Same with Magic Bullet look, when I render it's just black picture.
    No problem on geometrics fx
    Same story with Motion
    I throw the pref and all the basics rescue opération, even re-install FCPX and Motion following the apple process, no changes !
    I've got same configuration on the MBP 17"(2009 model) and no problem.
    Does it ring a bell to sbdyelse ?
    Do you know a way to contact by email sbdy at FCPX apple ?
    thanks
    cheers
    Seb

    here is what I did :
    Timemachine save of the mac
    Restart > format the drive
    Install Mac OSX
    Timemachine BUT NOT APPLICATION
    Re-install all app's
    and it works
    Important
    I did a first try when I had everything from time machine except application, then FCPX was working. Then I re-installl everything from app store and webpages of the other soft (no so many) : FCPX was working. Finally to get the last few app (like office) I decided to use timemachine/application to install them... and the same problem came back. (...)
    I start from start...  format again... and install the app from app store and webpages, even MBL - Slice X and other different plugin and it work. I decided to not install some recent things before saving my system.
    The main 2 things I didn't install are
    from appstore : Resolution Tab
    and from web
    the SONY XDCAM driver I used this week to check some F55 files
    http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/pdzk-lt2
    So It could be one of those... maybe, but I don't want to loose anymore time to know it for sure.
    cheers
    seb

  • Display and sound issues with One Link Pro Dock and X1

    When my computer is connected to the dock and shut down there is a buzzing that comes from the external speakers that the dock is connected too.
    Same thing happens if I leave the dock connector not connected.
    What is causing this feedback and can anything stop it?
    Display wise, my external monitor goes black every 30 minutes or so for 5 seconds and then comes back.
    I am running Windows 8.1 if that matters.

    "I don't know if my problem relates to this...but I cannot seem to keep my ethernet connection.  I have two monitors (+laptop) working....occassionally screen goes black for a second....can live with that...but...why do I keep loosing my internet connection....anyone else have this problem.  My IT guys say the problem is with the docking station but cannot pinpoint reason."
    This is (unfortunately) a known issue. See this very, very long thread:
    http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Options-Accessories/Re-OneLink-network-port-flapping/td-p/1358947
    A workaround appears possible, but is a bit of a hassle
    http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-Edge-S-series/One-Onelink-dock-Thinkpad-Yoga-problem-solved/td-...

Maybe you are looking for