Let's talk about monitor calibration devices

[TridenT]

Alright, lookin' around... I'm not sure what to get. I've wanted one for years. I hear much better reviews about the i1display pro than the spyder4 elite. The colormunki sounds like it is lacking in some areas and finesse that I might want even though it is significantly cheaper. Also, the i1display pro can come with a colorchecker (I think the colormunki can too?) which sounds like something up my alley since I do photography as well (I was thinking of buying one or something else similar already before I realized you could get both together).

But, here's the deal: It's $300. That's a big chunk o' change. And how many devices can I use this device and software with? Can I only calibrate the monitors hooked up to my one desktop? What if I don't want to do just software calibration but want to adjust the hardware settings instead? (e.g. for a TV, or a projector that receives multiple inputs from multiple computers, et cetera) All these limitations are not very fucking obvious. It sounds mostly software related and I don't know if I want just that or not. So, I'm looking for someone who knows about these devices and what I can and cannot do.

I wouldn't mind buying this thing if I got a few people to pay me some money to use the device for their devices... Just calibrate their monitor using the software, they have some nice ICC profile or hardware settings, uninstall the related software, and bam. Good to go... But, if I can't do that then I'm going to think about this a bit more critically.

 

[TridenT]

555 views and no replies.

This is not a locked sticky thread, is it?

 

[snoylekim]

I use the I1 DisplayPro .. I've calibrated my Windows Desktop/Dell U2410, my Mac Mini Cluster with a 24" Cinema Display, and my Macbook Pro 15 Retina ..all with the DisplayRite Software that comes with the Displaypro ... I understand the Displaypro can also be used w/ TV Calibration software ..I haven't done this .. I did use a trial version of BasicColor 5 to calibrate the retina, as this software seems to do a better job w/ this display .. So, the software choices that work with the Displaypro are pretty good .. Mine was less tha 300.00 on sale at a large camera retailer ..

 

[Worthington]

I use the X-Rite I1 Display Two + it's software bundle and am pretty happy with it. The difference, even on my TN panels (for gaming) are significant. I don't think I could ever go back to non-calibrated monitors at this point.

 

[kbp]

I use spyder4 elite. You can calibrate as many devices as you want, just have to install the software on the device.

 

[TridenT]

I bought a X-rite i1display pro. The software isn't great. It's actually a pain in the ass to get two different monitors calibrated properly and have their whitepoints near perfect. Very annoyed.

 

[vbuggy]

You probably just need to get the hang of it more, as well as be more methodical in your calibration steps. As a piece of software offering the degree of control it does, I think it's perfectly OK in producing consistent results.

 

[TridenT]

I'm noticing that Windows keep changing my ICC profiles whenever I change display modes. (Duplicate vs extended or whenever the resolution changes or something.)

I'm also noticing that my Dell still has a green tint that I cannot get rid of even though I did hardware calibration through their "Dell UltraSharp Color Calibration Solution". So annoying! My other display has a tiny smidgen of green tinting too, but it's hardly as severe.

When I open up Lightroom and the grey background comes up... It's fucking green grey on my Dell. On the other, it's nearly just an almost ordinary grey. It becomes a real problem when I'm looking at pictures of people with white shirts. Their shirts go from near perfect white to green-tinted.

I'm going nuts.


EDIT: Is there a way to just test for the white point in the i1Profiler and not have it also do that stupid fucking ambient lighting check. After it does that, the profile is always fucked (And no matter what option I deselect, it doesn't let me bypass it).

EDIT2: Ugh, it's even worse with Lightroom. Images I'm seeing in Lightroom are actually changed based upon what monitor I'm viewing it on. This ends up actually fucking me over because when I output the image... It doesn't look anything like what I set it to look like in Lightroom. FML.

 

[_Rick_]

Maybe Lightroom uses a fixed color profile?
Color profiles changing with modes is the norm - after all the color output changes, the hardware calibration changes...

And trying to match two screens is almost impossible. The cheapest and best way to calibrate, is to get a print from the process you'll end up using, and use that to calibrate by hand. Takes a while, but at least you know where your screen is accurate, and where it's not.

Manual calibration should get rid of the green tint as well.

 

[TridenT]

I'll probably be systematic about it later.

I'm also probably going to buy another Dell U2413 just so that I can have near identical displays after calibration. (It's only $350 with my promo cards and stuff)