COLOR

  • What light is best to illuminate gems for resale

    www.palagems.com/gem-lighting2

     

    Artificial light sources, not unlike the diverse phases of natural light, vary considerably in their properties. As a result, some lamps render an object’s color better than others do.

     

    The most important criterion for assessing the color-rendering ability of any lamp is its spectral power distribution curve.

     

    Natural daylight varies too much in strength and spectral composition to be taken seriously as a lighting standard for grading and dealing colored stones. For anything to be a standard, it must be constant in its properties, which natural light is not.

     

    For dealers in particular to make the transition from natural light to an artificial light source, that source must offer:
    1- A degree of illuminance at least as strong as the common phases of natural daylight.
    2- Spectral properties identical or comparable to a phase of natural daylight.

     

    A source combining these two things makes gems appear much the same as when viewed under a given phase of natural light. From the viewpoint of many dealers, this corresponds to a naturalappearance.

     

    The 6000° Kelvin xenon short-arc lamp appears closest to meeting the criteria for a standard light source. Besides the strong illuminance this lamp affords, its spectrum is very similar to CIE standard illuminants of similar color temperature.

    ,
    Read more: What light is best to illuminate gems for resale
  • OLED vs QLED – What TV is better?

     

    Supported by LG, Philips, Panasonic and Sony sell the OLED system TVs.
    OLED stands for “organic light emitting diode.”
    It is a fundamentally different technology from LCD, the major type of TV today.
    OLED is “emissive,” meaning the pixels emit their own light.

     

    Samsung is branding its best TVs with a new acronym: “QLED”
    QLED (according to Samsung) stands for “quantum dot LED TV.”
    It is a variation of the common LED LCD, adding a quantum dot film to the LCD “sandwich.”
    QLED, like LCD, is, in its current form, “transmissive” and relies on an LED backlight.

     

    OLED is the only technology capable of absolute blacks and extremely bright whites on a per-pixel basis. LCD definitely can’t do that, and even the vaunted, beloved, dearly departed plasma couldn’t do absolute blacks.

    QLED, as an improvement over OLED, significantly improves the picture quality. QLED can produce an even wider range of colors than OLED, which says something about this new tech. QLED is also known to produce up to 40% higher luminance efficiency than OLED technology. Further, many tests conclude that QLED is far more efficient in terms of power consumption than its predecessor, OLED.

     

    When analyzing TVs color, it may be beneficial to consider at least 3 elements:
    “Color Depth”, “Color Gamut”, and “Dynamic Range”.

     

    Color Depth (or “Bit-Depth”, e.g. 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit) determines how many distinct color variations (tones/shades) can be viewed on a given display.

     

    Color Gamut (e.g. WCG) determines which specific colors can be displayed from a given “Color Space” (Rec.709, Rec.2020, DCI-P3) (i.e. the color range).

     

    Dynamic Range (SDR, HDR) determines the luminosity range of a specific color – from its darkest shade (or tone) to its brightest.

     

    The overall brightness range of a color will be determined by a display’s “contrast ratio”, that is, the ratio of luminance between the darkest black that can be produced and the brightest white.

     

    Color Volume is the “Color Gamut” + the “Dynamic/Luminosity Range”.
    A TV’s Color Volume will not only determine which specific colors can be displayed (the color range) but also that color’s luminosity range, which will have an affect on its “brightness”, and “colorfulness” (intensity and saturation).

     

    The better the colour volume in a TV, the closer to life the colours appear.

     

    QLED TV can express nearly all of the colours in the DCI-P3 colour space, and of those colours, express 100% of the colour volume, thereby producing an incredible range of colours.

     

    With OLED TV, when the image is too bright, the percentage of the colours in the colour volume produced by the TV drops significantly. The colours get washed out and can only express around 70% colour volume, making the picture quality drop too.

     

    Note. OLED TV uses organic material, so it may lose colour expression as it ages.

     

    Resources for more reading and comparison below

    www.avsforum.com/forum/166-lcd-flat-panel-displays/2812161-what-color-volume.html

     

    www.newtechnologytv.com/qled-vs-oled/

     

    news.samsung.com/za/qled-tv-vs-oled-tv

     

    www.cnet.com/news/qled-vs-oled-samsungs-tv-tech-and-lgs-tv-tech-are-not-the-same/

     

    ,
    Read more: OLED vs QLED – What TV is better?
  • GretagMacbeth Color Checker Numeric Values and Middle Gray

    The human eye perceives half scene brightness not as the linear 50% of the present energy (linear nature values) but as 18% of the overall brightness. We are biased to perceive more information in the dark and contrast areas. A Macbeth chart helps with calibrating back into a photographic capture into this “human perspective” of the world.

     

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_gray

     

    In photography, painting, and other visual arts, middle gray or middle grey is a tone that is perceptually about halfway between black and white on a lightness scale in photography and printing, it is typically defined as 18% reflectance in visible light

     

    Light meters, cameras, and pictures are often calibrated using an 18% gray card[4][5][6] or a color reference card such as a ColorChecker. On the assumption that 18% is similar to the average reflectance of a scene, a grey card can be used to estimate the required exposure of the film.

     

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ColorChecker

     

     

    https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/968/how-can-i-correctly-measure-light-using-a-built-in-camera-meter

     

    The exposure meter in the camera does not know whether the subject itself is bright or not. It simply measures the amount of light that comes in, and makes a guess based on that. The camera will aim for 18% gray independently, meaning if you take a photo of an entirely white surface, and an entirely black surface you should get two identical images which both are gray (at least in theory). Thus enters the Macbeth chart.

     

    <!–more–>

     

    Note that Chroma Key Green is reasonably close to an 18% gray reflectance.

    http://www.rags-int-inc.com/PhotoTechStuff/MacbethTarget/

     

    No Camera Data

     

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/CIE1931xy_ColorChecker_SMIL.svg

     

    RGB coordinates of the Macbeth ColorChecker

     

    https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0e03/251ad1e6d3c3fb9cb0b1f9754351a959e065.pdf

    , , , ,
    Read more: GretagMacbeth Color Checker Numeric Values and Middle Gray
  • Eye retina’s Bipolar Cells, Horizontal Cells, and Photoreceptors

    In the retina, photoreceptors, bipolar cells, and horizontal cells work together to process visual information before it reaches the brain. Here’s how each cell type contributes to vision:

     

    1. Photoreceptors

    • Types: There are two main types of photoreceptors: rods and cones.
      • Rods: Specialized for low-light and peripheral vision; they help us see in dim lighting and detect motion.
      • Cones: Specialized for color and detail; they function best in bright light and are concentrated in the central retina (the fovea), allowing for high-resolution vision.
    • Function: Photoreceptors convert light into electrical signals. When light hits the retina, photoreceptors undergo a chemical change, triggering an electrical response that initiates the visual process. Rods and cones detect different intensities and colors, providing the foundation for brightness and color perception.

     

    2. Bipolar Cells

    • Function: Bipolar cells act as intermediaries, connecting photoreceptors to ganglion cells, which send signals to the brain. They receive input from photoreceptors and relay it to the retinal ganglion cells.
    • On and Off Bipolar Cells: Some bipolar cells are ON cells, responding when light is detected (depolarizing in light), and others are OFF cells, responding in darkness (depolarizing in the absence of light). This division allows for more precise contrast detection and the ability to distinguish light from dark areas in the visual field.

     

    3. Horizontal Cells

    • Function: Horizontal cells connect photoreceptors to each other and create lateral interactions between them. They integrate signals from multiple photoreceptors, allowing them to adjust the sensitivity of neighboring photoreceptors in response to varying light conditions.
    • Lateral Inhibition: This process improves visual contrast and sharpness by making the borders between light and dark areas more distinct, enhancing our ability to perceive edges and fine detail.

     

    These three types of cells work together to help the retina preprocess visual information and perception, emphasizing contrast and adjusting for different lighting conditions before signals are sent to the brain for further processing and interpretation.

     

     

    ,
    Read more: Eye retina’s Bipolar Cells, Horizontal Cells, and Photoreceptors

LIGHTING