I am thinking of buying an IT8 target

http://www.targets.coloraid.de/ seems to be a good source for an IT8 target. However, I am a bit puzzled over which Target to order (there are so many).

My main use for it would be to use it with a digital camera (Fuji X-T1) – but I also have a scanner (Epson XP-960).

For camera use, target C1 is recommended.
For flatbed scanner target R1 (or RF) is recommended.

  • Why would it not be possible for me to use R1 for flatbed scanner and camera?
  • Or why would it not be possible for me to use C1 for camera and for flatbed scanner?

Does anybody have any wise advice to give?

Sincerely,
Claes in Lund, Sweden

The C1 is the only IT 8.7 target suitable for cameras, though I admit not knowing what makes the others unsuitable, the website doesn’t explain that. If I was to make a guess, I would presume that the others are glossy while the C1 is not.

Keep in mind that any glare is disastrous, and that more patches does not necessarily make the target better. Anders Torger designed DCamProf, a program for creating ICC and DCP, and while doing that he made many detailed tests and found that despite the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport having fewer patches than some other targets, it performed as well as or better than other ones with more patches.

Due to natural limitations of camera profiling precision it’s quite hard to improve on the classic 24 patch Macbeth color checker when it comes to making profiles for all-around use. It’s more important to have a good reference measurement of the test target than to have many patches.
(…)
Although darker repeats of colors does not hurt there’s not much gain from it as the LUT is 2.5D, so an IT-8 style target layout (many patches are just repeats in darker shades) does not make that much sense.
(…)
Dark patches are problematic as they are more sensitive to glare and noise (both in camera and spectrometer measurement), so an ideal target has as light colors as possible for a given chromaticity.
(…)
(Semi-)glossy targets, such as X-Rite’s ColorChecker SG, are extremely glare-prone and therefore hard to use. They cannot be shot outdoors, but must be shot indoor in a pitch-dark room with controlled light. Due to their difficulty during measurement the end result is often a worse profile than using a matte target.
(…)
(Semi-)glossy targets are virtually impossible to shot accurately outdoor

http://www.ludd.ltu.se/~torger/dcamprof.html#test_target
http://www.ludd.ltu.se/~torger/dcamprof.html#shoot_target
http://www.ludd.ltu.se/~torger/dcamprof.html#extreme_colors

I have an (old) X-Rite ColorChecker Passport. If you get a C1, it would be interesting to get together, shoot both targets under the same light, and see what the results and differences are.

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Hi Morgan,

Thank you for an interesting reply. Since we live just about 40 car minutes apart, that ought to be easily arranged :slight_smile: . If I finally decide on a C1 target, I’ll tell you when it has arrived.

My ColorCheckr Passport has date ID 0411, which I interpret as being manufactured in April 2011 (or, worst case: in Nov 2004).

From your reply and the links you gave, I still believe that I would be able to use a C1 target on a flatbed scanner…