best value in color calibrators?

dg27

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Dec 19, 2008
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Had to suddenly replace my trusty Dell 2001FP (IPS) panel and opted for the HP 2475w, which is also IPS. I don't regret it one bit: it's a great screen.

My primary concern is digital photography and I'm looking for a calibrator that I can use on all of my screens. I'm looking for something that's relatively simple but does the job.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks.

dg
 

dg27

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Dec 19, 2008
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0roo0roo,

Thanks for your reply, but I'm not sure what you're showing me: link goes to a calibration chart; I'm looking for hardware solutions (unless you have a better idea)...

dg
 

dg27

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Dec 19, 2008
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Blain:

Yikes: Just Googled and saw that indeed the range is really wide (from ~$75 to thousands). I guess I'm looking for something in the ~$150-200 range. I see lots of reviews of the Spyder2 versus 3 and X-Rite One-Eye. I'm hoping to find something I can use with all of my monitors (Dell 2007FP, Dell 1905FP, and HP 2475w). I've seen references to some hardware that will work with certain monitors and not others: want to avoid that if possible.

Sorry I wasn't specific enough in my initial question...

dg

p.s.: Hoping to find something that I don't have to quit my job to have the time to learn how to use!!
 

elconejito

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The Spyder 2 is pretty good, you can find it for less than $100 in many places. The Spyder3 is a little better (should be since it's newer) and it costs about $150. The Software for the Spyder2 only supports single monitor setups. The software for Spyder3 supports dual-monitor setups. I've installed the Spyder2 on both my laptop and desktop, but it only does color correction on one monitor for my desktop. For me it's no biggie, i just make sure photoshop is always on that screen :)

The software for the spyder walks you through a wizard that helps you calibrate. Very easy to use. It plugs in by USB whenever you want to calibrate.

The x-rite is a notch above the spyders. I have a photographer buddy and he says his x-rite "talks" to his monitor (an Eizo 24") so all he does is hit start and come back in 5mins and the screen is fully calibrated.

Stay away from the Hueys by Pantone. They leave a color cast. Which is ironic since, you know, calibrators are supposed to *remove* that sort of thing not add it.

HTH
 

dg27

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Dec 19, 2008
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Thanks, Elconejito.

The demise of my 2001FP on my 2nd machine caught me off guard (and will cause a bit of a delay in my pending build ;disgust; ...)

I love the HP2475W I just got to replace it, but as all the reviews indicate, it really does need color calibration: the reds are all candy apple and the greens like a leprechaun's suit.

It seems the reviews for all of the major three brands in this price range are uniform in that the documentation and instructions are very lacking. But one point I'm very glad you raised was the dual monitor issue. On my main machine, where I do my photo editing I use a Dell 2007FP (IPS) and a 1905FP (PVA). These are very different looking screens: so if I go with a Spyder, it's got to be the 3. I did read that Spyders do not address brightness @ all, which points me toward the X-Rite, which apparently does. I'd better make sure that can handle a dual monitor rig. And I did read the Huey is a step down from either the Spyders or X-Rite. Pretty sure I'll go with this one:

http://www.amazon.com/X-Rite-E...&qid=1243120533&sr=8-1

Thanks for weighing in...now just have to make sure about that dual-monitor issue with the X-Rite.

dg
 

elconejito

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Not sure what you mean about the brightness with the spyders. When going thru the wizard, it asks you what your monitor is capable of adjusting. Such as brightness, backlighting (for laptops), contrast, temperature, and individual RGB. It then takes an initial measurement and has you adjust your monitor settings until you get the right readings. Then it takes a final measurement and creates the ICM profile (which it seems like all my programs pickup correctly).

I think the x-rite does the same thing, but it's just "better" at it. And apparently, if your monitor supports it, the x-rite can "talk" to you monitor so you actually don't have to adjust any monitor settings.

For me, I didn't need super accuracy, I just needed "close-enough" (blue can't look purple for example) and the spyder2 was more than plenty. For someone a bit more serious I'd go with at least the spyder3, and if you can spring the cash the x-rite. I don't know what else the $1000 calibrators do, but I'd guess those are for the people spending 2grand on their really high-end monitors. My monitors cost me $230 on sale each (Asus 22") so spending $75 on a spyder was priced just right :)
 

dg27

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Elconejito: I'll have to look into it more (I saw this comment in a review I can't find again). I do know that with some monitors (such as this hp 2475w) some settings are disabled in DVI mode (contrast being one of them). Since I'll use this on two desktops with three screens, plus my wife's laptop, springing for the X-Rite may not be a bad idea.

Thanks.

dg

btw, I'm restoring my 2nd machine AGAIN right now using Retrospect 7.6: I think that sucker is on the way out, which means my main machine will become my 2nd machine and the build will have to take place soon...@ least all the research is complete (with your help)...
 

Leyawiin

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Nov 11, 2008
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Spyder 2 Express does adjust for brightness and contrast (and back light). As elconejito said it has a little wizard that asks you about what controls your monitor has before starting the calibration run. I'm not overly picky, but I've been pretty happy with the results (run it generally only when I upgrade video card drivers). Even in games that don't use the desktop ICC profile it produces after the calibration it still helps get the brightness and contrast about as perfect as it can be (on the cheap). I rarely have to adjust those items in game anymore.

Think I payed $69 for it last year on Amazon.com
 

dg27

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Dec 19, 2008
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Thanks, Leyawiin: Then I will not rule out the Spyder2. Have a hardware meltdown right now, so every dollar matters...

dg
 

s44

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Oct 13, 2006
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Eye-One for sure

edit -- you've seen this guide, right?
The Spyder meters typically delivers results that are not reliable enough to be used for display calibration. Approximately 1/3 of Spyder units seem to be very accurate. The next 1/3 are slightly off. The last third are considerably more inaccurate. Unfortunately there's no way to know how your Spyder unit rates unless you have a known accurate meter to compare it against.
 

Leyawiin

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Nov 11, 2008
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Kind of hinges on budget as well. For less than half the price the Spyder 2 Express does a pretty decent job - much better than I could ever do by my own eye. Good basic colormeter. Plus the linked guide is trying to sell products (and the Spyder, for whatever reason, isn't one of them). Their claim about 1/3 good, 1/3 so-so, 1/3 bad isn't substantiated anywhere else (at least anywhere I could find by Googling). Another option around $140 is the Spyder 3 Pro (supposedly more accurate).
 

dg27

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Dec 19, 2008
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Thanks for the link, s44. But I also wonder about site be linked to "buy now" redirects (most of which seems out of reach for most users from a price standpoint). I think for my purposes either the X-Rite Eye-One (thanks for the link) or the Spyder 3 seem mpst logical. It seems the X-Rites have received better reviews in terms of accuracy.

Thanks again.

dg
 

yhelothar

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Dec 11, 2002
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Are there even a difference between the color accuracy of all the different price levels?
I'm pretty sure for lots of them, they're the same in terms of accuracy, but the more expensive ones come with extra features.
You might want to check into that.
Well I have a huey, and it's supposedly as good as any other of pantone's calibrators in terms of accuracy.
 

dg27

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Thanks, elconejito, JackMDS, and gorobei for the great info and links. Will have to review all of these: appears there are indeed differences.

dg
 

dg27

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I went with the x-rite OneEye Display 2 ($204 on Amazon). Installed the software and calibrated two screens. On one I used the "Easy" mode: there was not much difference between the 'before' and 'after' results, but it does look better. On the second monitor I used the advanced mode, checked for ambient light first, and calibrated to sRGB. There was a noticeable difference. I'll have to read the tutorial info (just got it yesterday and wanted to try it out asap).

This is my first experience with calibration and I'm unsure of the 'best' route to take. My main concern is photography: I want to get accurate colors on screen as well as when I print (though printing is the lesser concern since I post my photos online). I use CS3; will be receiving CS4 this week.

Is it best to calibrate to a standard (such as sRGB) and then designate that as the default profile for both the screen and Photoshop? That's what I did with the second screen I did yesterday. Ideally, I'd like all of my screens and both instances of Photoshop to be calibrated to the same profile.

A few other comments on the hardware/software: The hardware seems fairly well made, but I think one has to be careful getting the ambient light attachment off the unit (it snaps into place and is rather difficult to remove). The software wasn't the nightmare I thought it would be based on reviews I read, though aside from the 1match software, I'm not sure what the other components are for yet.

One major disappointment is that it does not calibrate both monitors on a dual monitor setup unless you have two video cards. I have no room i my present machine for an additional card.

dg


 

elconejito

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I don't know if it is the "right" thing to do... but I'd calibrate "to" a standard (my spyder doesn't give this option). I would think that would give more predictable results when viewing anywhere other than your monitor (like a print lab for instance, or a client's monitor).

Some print labs let you download their ICC profile for their printers, so you can preview onscreen that it looks like (pretty accurate since the CMYK gamut is smaller than RGB). If you use your own personal printer, unless it's a pro-level printer (like one of the high-end Epsons for example) it's really a PITA trying to get the colors to match and at the end of the day, it might still not match.

I'm surprised about needing dual video cards. Windows supports each monitor with it's own profile, not sure why the eye-one software wouldn't. Have you checked for a software update? I'll ask my photography buddy about it, I'm 99% sure he has a dual monitor setup (on a mac though).
 

dg27

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>>I don't know if it is the "right" thing to do... but I'd calibrate "to" a standard

I agree. I did the first one using the "easy" mode, but that was just to see what would happen: question in my mind was "what does this relate to?" I went with sRGB for the 2nd one; need to research more. I'm less concerned about print color matching than I am about getting consistent color on screen.

I'll have to look into the dual-monitor scenario: On the screen where it said it wasn't supported there was a URL for an info page (where I bet they have a $200 plugin or something!). :shocked:

Thanks.

dg