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Datacolor ColorFacts Professional Technical Articles
Understanding Color Measurement
In our article on understanding color measurement we:
- Reviewed that Color only exists in our eye/brain interpretation of it, and that only electromagnetic waves in the Visible spectrum exist "out there".
- Explored the eye's three responses, and saw where the Red, Green and Blue primary colors come from.
- Determined conceptually how a hardware instrument could be created that could accurately model the eye
- Took a look at some techniques for how such hardware instruments might actually be constructed.
- Finally, we saw how a "controlled condition" tristimulus meter could be developed that works with a specific type of display, how a "universal" tristimulus colorimeter could be developed that works with any display, and how a spectroradiometer could calculate color from knowing the radiance of light through the visible spectrum. In all cases, the instrument's accuracy is determined by how closely it matches the "standard observer" response curves:
The two best instruments for accurately modeling the eye at a cost-effective price point would be:
- A tristimulus colorimeter with filters that very closely match the standard observer curves
- A spectroradiometer with enough resolution to capture all of the detail in the 'standard observer'
At Milori, we offer bundled packages with either of these two hardware options.
The ColorFacts CF-6000 uses a spectroradiometer with accuracy close to xy +/- 0.002 compared to reference equipment to deliver an attractively priced, yet very accurate solution to emissive display calibrations. The spectroradiometer samples the visible range discretely, and then determines the three standard observer curve values from the intensity of the wavelengths in the visible range. From there, XYZ tristimulus values are calculated, and finally xy chromacity coordinates are projected. The processing is a bit mathematically complex, but the results are exceptional.
The ColorFacts CF-6500 uses a tristimulus colorimeter that directly measures the tristimulus values (the Red, Green and Blue humps of the 'standard observer' response) and is a lightweight and rugged solution for light measurement. The XYZ values can be directly determined from the intensity of the light passing through the precisely matched Red, Green and Blue filters. While it seems simple to create a tristimulus colorimeter with Red, Green and Blue filters, it actually requires dozens of very precisely selected filters with various properties made from various materials to precisely match the standard observer curves.
The science of color measurement has been evolving for quite some time, and we are finally at the point where highly accurate hardware is available for very reasonable prices utilizing several different technologies.
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