Grading on 27" iMac

[Tom Meimer]

Hi,

i just ordered a new 27" iMac and i am thinking about what would be the best way to do Color Grading with it. 90% of my work are about 2-4 min clips for the web altough some of that is also played on TV from time to time.

I was reading about grading within the biggest Color Space and simply converting with LUTs for the desired medium (tv, web, etc.). It`s sounds like an great idea for me altough i am not sure how exactly my workflow would look like with my iMac Setup.

Is it possible to calibrate the iMac Monitor to represent sRGB color space? I think it shoud be easy to convert from sRGB to REC.709, right?

Would be great if somebody could explain the best grading workflow on an iMac (with Apple Monitor)!

Thanks

 

[Tom Meimer]

Nobody grading with an iMac here?

 

[Derek Morrison]

I use an iMac. For me, I use the ultra studio mini monitor (thunderbolt) from Blackmagic Design via hdsdi to an hdlink box to convert the 10-bit out to Displayport that is then connected to an ASUS Pro Art display calibrated to sRGB, "PA249Q". It's probably the cheapest solution for sRGB.This way its 10-bit 4:2:2 all the way through. HDLink is kinda a pain, have to unplug and replug the power cable whenever I start up the computer.

Mini-Monitor: ~$150.00
HDLink: ~$500.00
Pro-Art: ~$800.00

Under $2K

 

[Tom Gleeson]

I have graded with this machine with a Sony OLED connected via thunderbolt with a Blackmagic UltraStudio and I am amazed how good the Imac screen is. While not perfect they are amazing screens good enough for getting you 90% of the way there

 

[Tommy Davis]

I've been grading on a 27" iMac for about a year. I used an Xrite color monkey to calibrate my display. My wife does print work and this was the calibration the printing company uses. While I imagine there are better solutions this has worked great for us. Most of my work is currently web based but it has translated well for the broadcast work we've produced as well.

 

[Manfred Lopez]

I think the original apple 30" cinema display was great for this purpose. The problem I have with the new apple displays is that their glossiness over saturates everything.

 

[Tom Meimer]

Thanks for your replies!

@ Derek:

Are the Black Magic boxes really the only way to get 10 bit out to a second display on the iMac? Would connecting a 10 bit display via thunderbolt/display port not be enough?

And why not just take the HDMI port of the UltraStudio Mini and skip the HD Link?

 

[Tom Gleeson]

Tom,

You can do that with Redcine X but Blackmagic gives Resolve away for free so you will find it will not output out the HDMI but will require some BM hardware. Normally this would give me the s***s but Resolve is so awesomely cheap and the Ultrastudio is so cheap I am happy to go with it.

 

[Tom Meimer]

Thanks for the clarification!

Do you know how it`s working with After Effects CC & Speedgrade? Would a simple Display Link connection to a second monitor be enough to get 10-bit out with these programms?

 

[Kristin Stewart]

Currently only the AJA boxes work with Adobe CC Premiere and Speedgrade. Just take the T-Tap. We have this setup with a late 2013 iMac (32GB), and output to a Flanders Scientific CM171. But apparently Adobe is working on the Blackmagic drivers and should release them soon (?)

Kristin

 

[Kirk.Attard]

Sorry for repeating.
So the Mini monitor works only in davinci resolve?

If I setup a 10bit Eizo from the thunderbolt straight to Display port should there be any quality issues? The Mac should accept it as an external display natively.
So If I setup the Eizo from HDMI I need to set it up from Thunderbolt --> MiniMonitor --> HDLink ---> Eizo.... Still is the HDlink 10bit or is just its digital DVI-D 10 bit? Will the monitor be recognised as an extra display all the time? Not just when using resolve.

Thanks a lot