Advice re: monitor calibration purchase

[dawesy]

I am looking to get myself a device for monitor calibration as I think it's about time. I calibrated some time ago with a borrowed unit, but I think it's time to do it again.

I was looking at the Spyder units (http://www.buymac.com.au/store/pro-vide ... alibrators) and was wondering if anyone had experience with the higher level units vs the basic one. I don't print at home so the printer profiling options are not that attractive to me. The option of doing 2 monitors is appealing, but the price difference doesn't seem to justify it.

Are there any other key features or advantages to the more expensive units I've overlooked? Is there another brand I should be looking at?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[jammy2]

The differences between the SPyder2 express, suite and pro can be seen in this review for the spyder2 pro
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/arti ... r2pro.html

The main difference I find is that the pro allows more flexibility ie choice of gamma and colour temp. The express is limited to 6500k and gamma 2.2 which is default for PC anyway

Also, I found the ability to calibrate each R G and B channel separately important to get the colour temp more accurate if one of your channels is really off.

Other brand to look for at same level is the Huey and huey pro. Significant differences is the ambient light function (gimmick?) which varies the brightness of the monitor based on ambient light reading (ie dark room -darker monitor and vice-versa) The huey supposedly is easier to calibrate and much faster.

p.s: The spyder3 just got release so may want to keep that an option

cheers,
ken

[Mr Darcy]

I have an EyeOne that I bought via the bargains section here (the forum not the list!) I do 2 monitors with it, and regularly change the second monitor. I am quite happy with the unit

[jdear]

Sypder 3 is out now and is better than the previous 2 version.

Id steer clear of the standard huey.

Most photog's I know use the Eye-one. I have mine calibrated with one I borrowed. Hoping to shell out for one in the near future.

go in with some others if its too $$.

-- I can get spyder 3 a bit cheaper if you want a price - kayell sells to me at reduced price.

Jonathan

[W00DY]

Trying not to hijak the thread... but...

I have the Spyder 2 and use it every month or so. To be honest though I am not sure I am using it correctly

At the moment I use it on a Macbook Pro (laptop) which does not have any manual screen adjustments (that I know of). I have just purchased a 24'' iMac which also does not have the manual functions (I beleive).

So I usually just put the spyder on the screen when it tells me and I let it go.

My question is in regards to the room.

Should the room be dark or light?
Should the blinds and doors be closed?
Should the lights be turned out?

at the moment I am in a very bright room with big double doors leading outside, should I put a blanket over the doors to block out the light?

Appreciate your time.

[Mr Darcy]

I don't KNOW the answer. I use an EyeOne, not a spyder, but I would expect that either
1. The device blocks the ambient light, as the EyeOne does, or
2. Use it with the environment set the way it is when you use the monitor. That way you will get a correction for any funny stuff your room lighting does.

[dawesy]

Thanks all for the ideas. I'll check out the EyeOne as well.

Cheers.

[DaveB]

W00DY, the main thing is to make sure you don't have "ambient" light getting into the instrument (e.g. a lamp just above the screen shining down the face). There is one adjustment you can make on those laptop screens, and it's the backlight brightness. Just remember where it was when the calibration was done...

I'm in Singapore at the moment but will be back in Melbourne in another day or so. We have Spyder2PRO, EyeOne Display, and possibly a Spyder2express in stock, and I should have Spyder3 pricing and units this week.

I no longer actively sell the huey to photographers (although I still have one in stock if you have a non-photographer relative/friend who wants to see reasonable colours). The huey's "ambient monitoring" feature is a gimmick which I recommend turning off: it works its "magic" by tweaking the video card's colour tables and you're better off just setting your desk environment up properly. Incidentally, I've seen huey installations where the user had unplugged the device and forgotten about it, and wondered why their screen was looking more and more washed out over time...

The Spyder2express does a good job of profiling your monitor if you have a single monitor, but it doesn't help you calibrate the monitor (e.g. set brightness/contrast). Sometimes you're best off calibrating those by eye with step-wedges prior to profiling. Incidentally the huey has the same issue.
The Spyder2PRO and the Spyder3elite help you calibrate, and will handle matching multiple monitors on the one system. They will also let you profile data projectors.

The EyeOne Display is similar to those, but without projector calibration support. It does a good job, and is quite transportable. We use one as a rental unit as there's no serial number required for the software. BTW you can also get a Spyder2express, and use the device with the ColorEyes Display software for an excellent result (supporting multiple monitors, etc).

[Alpha_7]

Dave so you need dual monitors of the same make and model, it doesn't work for dis-similar displays.

[ATJ]

I got the EyeOne from Dave earlier in the year and I'm very happy with it.

[DaveB]

Dave so you need dual monitors of the same make and model, it doesn't work for dis-similar displays.

No, it works no matter what type each screen is. The magic it has is to match the colour and luminance of each monitor closely.
Software like the Spyder2express stuff doesn't cope with this as it uses the same profile name all the time and doesn't let you select which monitor.

Of course, on a WinXP system no matter what calibration device/software you're using you can still run into problems with multi-head cards that share a single LUT (do a forum search for this if you want to know more).

Cheers
(typed from a public terminal at Changi Airport...)