Atomos Display Calibration

Why you should calibrate Atomos devices

Every monitor in the field and the editing suite naturally drifts in color over time. Calibration is therefore highly recommended to ensure accurate color representation on Atomos Display devices. This allows you to have the confidence to trust what you see on the display.

How often should you calibrate Atomos devices?

Performing regular calibration is recommended to ensure that your Atomos device is displaying an accurate image.  Calibration of your Atomos devices should be performed once a month to ensure that your colors stay consistent. 

Which Atomos products are supported for calibration?

The calibration procedure for current Atomos products is slightly different than the calibration procedure for legacy Atomos products. The current version (v2.18) of Atomos Calibrator supports the following products:

• Shogun Connect
• Zato Connect
• Sumo 19SE
• Ninja V+
• Ninja V
• Neon 24
• Neon 17
• Shogun 7
• Shogun Studio 2
• Shinobi 7″
• Shinobi 5″ HDMI
• Shinobi 5″ SDI
• Sumo 19
• Shogun Inferno
• Ninja Inferno

To calibrate legacy products, Atomos Calibrator version 1.5 is required. This version is available to download from the bottom of the page and supports the following products:

• Ninja Inferno
• Ninja Flame
• Ninja Assassin
• Ninja Blade 
• Samurai Blade
• Shogun Inferno
• Shogun Flame
• Shogun
• Shogun Studio

The following sections relate to calibration of current Atomos products. For details on the calibration of legacy products, please refer to the 'Calibrating Legacy Products' section at the bottom of this article.  

How can I calibrate my Atomos device?

Atomos have partnered with the leader in calibration technology, Calibrite, to open up professional display calibration to all filmmakers using our products. Atomos Calibrator software is used in conjunction with a Calibrite calibration device to perform calibration of Atomos devices. 

What you need to perform calibration of Atomos Devices:

1. A compatible Atomos device. 
2. The latest version of the Atomos Calibrator Software. 
3. A Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro or ColorChecker Display Plus (Formerly X-Rite i1 Display Pro or i1 Display Pro Plus – These will work just fine too)
4. An Atomos USB to Serial Calibration cable
   1. ATOMCAB004 (USB-A – 2m length)
   2. ATOMCAB018 (USB-C – 33cm length)
5. A PC or Mac running a recent version of Windows or macOS

The Calibration Procedure

Before you follow the steps below to perform the calibration, the Atomos device needs to be switched on with pictures on the screen, and the ColorChecker Display Pro (or Plus) plugged into your computer via USB for at least 30 minutes. Calibration should also be performed in a dark environment, at a temperature between 22˚C to 30˚C. 

1. Download the latest version of Atomos Calibrator software from our website: https://www.atomos.com/calibration
2. Unpack the ZIP file and install the Atomos Calibrator software.
3. Connect the 2.5mm jack of the USB to Serial cable to the LANC/Remote port of your Atomos device, and the USB connector into your Windows PC or Mac. On the NINJA V/V+, SHOGUN CONNECT and Shinobi 7, set the Remote mode in the Input menu to Calibration/LANC. 
4. Rotate the protective cover of the ColorChecker Display Pro (or Plus) to reveal the lens. Place the ColorChecker in the center of the LCD of your Atomos device and make sure that it doesn't move during the calibration process. The foam seal around the sensor must sit flat on the LCD to ensure that no light can enter the sensor.
5. In the Atomos Calibrator software, press Detect. Your device will be detected and the name of the device, eg. NINJAV will appear at Device Name. 
   
   
   

   
   
   If the Calibrator App doesn't detect your product

   • Check if the ccProfiler (formerly i1 Profiler for X-Rite branded devices) app is running in the background. You can calibrate computer monitors with your ColorChecker using this software. However, there can't be two applications accessing a single ColorChecker at the same time, so it needs to be closed before you can go ahead and calibrate your Atomos product.
   • If you've connected the calibration cable to your PC/Mac via a Dock/Dongle and the Calibrator software can't detect your Atomos product, try plugging the calibration cable directly into the computer.
   • Make sure that you follow the connection instructions. You need to connect your calibration cable and ColorChecker to your PC/Mac first before launching the Atomos Calibrator software.
   • If you use a NINJA V, NINJA V+, or SHINOBI 7, ensure that you have set the Remote mode in the Input menu to Calibration/LANC. If it's set to Camera controls, the Calibrator app will not be able to detect your product.
     
     
     
     
     
     
6. After your device is detected, press Calibrate to initiate the calibration process. 
   
7. A pop-up will appear asking if your device has been powered on for 30 minutes. Click yes to proceed.
   
8. Once initiated, the Status will reflect the progress of the calibration.
   
9. After the Calibrator software has gone through all of the necessary steps, a "Calibration Complete" message will appear. Press OK to complete the calibration.
   

Note: The calibration procedure is identical across all recent builds on both Mac and Windows. The only differences between the versions are the UI design and the list of supported devices.

Resetting calibration

Resetting the calibration of your device, deletes the current calibration settings and places your device in an uncalibrated state. To reset the calibration of the device, follow steps 1-5 above to detect your device and then click on Reset.

A warning dialogue box will appear, asking you to confirm your choice. Click on Yes to continue.

The Calibrator application will then reset your calibration settings for the device. Once the process is complete, the following will be displayed.

The Atomos Calibrator Report for NEON

On completion of the calibration process of Atomos NEON, you are presented with an option to save a report. This report contains details of the calibration results for your NEON monitor.

Note: The option to save a calibration report is only presented when calibrating a NEON monitor.

Click on 'Save Report' when presented with this option, to generate and save the report to your computer. Alternatively, click on Ok to end the calibration process without saving the report. Please also share the report with us at the following email address:[e-mail]

The following information will help you to understand the results of the report for your NEON.

Understanding the Atomos Calibrator Report

The measurement used for the tolerance is known as delta E 2000, and it represents the difference between two colours as a number. Our objective is to have the monitor colours under a dE2000 of less than 2.3. That is not always possible, and not meeting the target is not an indication that the screen is a failure.

Many factors can affect the measurements. If the report shows measurements over the dE2000 2.3 value, the monitor could still be acceptable to work with. It might also pass if the environmental conditions during calibration are changed.

For example, you should calibrate your NEON after it has been powered on with pictures on the screen for at least 30 minutes before you begin the calibration. Calibration should also be performed in a dark environment, at a temperature between 22˚C to 25˚C. Also, the calibration meter needs to have been stored in a cool, dry place and not in direct sunlight or bumped as it contains filters that can be affected by the environment.

Hardware and Software details section

The top of the report provides details on the monitor that has been measured and calibrated. In the case of the NEON, that also includes the Master Control Unit (MCU). The model of the measurement meter and it’s serial number are also recorded. These details are important for the comparison of results, since different meters have different profiles. The last field details the operating system used.

Color Space

The rest of the report details the target color space and what the monitor managed to achieve. The colour space is defined essentially by the following sets of parameters:

• Gamut is the amount of color the monitor can display and might be described as saturation or hue. Three measurements define the triangle, with the primaries Red, Green and Blue on the corners and the secondaries Yellow, Cyan, and Magenta along each line.

• The white point is where the neutral tones are balanced between Red, Green and Blue. It is also referred to as the color temperature, measured in degrees Kelvin from the black body curve, which is related to temperature.

• Luminance is the range of illumination the color space is defined to use from the peak white value to how low the minimum luminance is. It is measured in Candelas per meter squared (cdm2), more commonly called nits.

• Gamma or EOTF (Electronic to the Optical Transfer Function). This is how all the different tones of color appear on the screen looking the way we expect. Our eyes don't see the same way a screen displays color, so it is adjusted to show the tones at a luminance that makes sense to our perception.

For each of the above, there are measured values and charts to show how close the monitor is to the desired color space.

Gamut

The gamut chart on the left shows the measured results against the target triangle, whilst the table on the right shows the dE 2000 values for the primaries and secondaries.

White Point

The White point or color temperature is reported as the value in degrees Kelvin and also the x & y coordinates in the gamut chart and the delta E 2000 value.

Luminance

The luminance is reported as the minimum and maximum luminance.

EOTF (Electronic to Optical Transfer Function)

The EOTF (Electronic to Optical Transfer Function) chart shows the comparison between the measured and target curve that ensures the image appears how we expect it to look.

Gray Balance Chart

The Gray Balance chart displays the accuracy of neutral tone reproduction. This is a measure of whether the color temperature is correctly displayed from the dark tones through to peak white. A single line would be the ideal balance of red, green and blue, producing the required neutral gray.

Calibrating Legacy Products

None of the products listed at the top of the article can be calibrated with the now discontinued Atomos Spyder Calibrator, and certain legacy products aren't compatible with the latest version of the Atomos Calibrator software either.

However, you can still calibrate those legacy products with the Spyder and ColorChecker Display Pro or ColorChecker Display Plus (Formerly X-Rite i1 Display Pro or i1 Display Pro Plus) by using an older version of the Atomos Calibrator software. These products are supported in version 1.5: 

• Ninja Inferno
• Ninja Flame
• Ninja Assassin
• Ninja Blade 
• Samurai Blade
• Shogun Inferno
• Shogun Flame
• Shogun
• Shogun Studio

Note: Atomos Calibrator 1.5 runs on all recent versions of Windows. However, since the Mac version is 32-Bit software, it's not compatible with the latest releases of macOS. To install Atomos Calibrator 1.5, your Mac needs to be on Mojave or an earlier version.

Download Atomos Calibrator 1.5 from the attachment section below.