What Calibration Equipment Do You Use?

[Designer Dale]

I'm getting past the point where I can rely on my sight to calibrate my monitor, so tell me what you use to accomplish this task. I'm looking to buy, but that's not the point of this thread so I have no budget constraints. My main monitor is a 23 in. Samsung SyncMaster P 2370. It isn't made any more but you can look at it here. Not IPS, S-PVA (I think).

Dale

 

[snberk103]

Spyder3Elite:

I have no experience with other monitor calibration devices, so can't compare. This device was recommended to me by my local camera shop, whose judgement I trust.

The sensor does the usual thing, I gather, during the initial calibration. I place it against the monitor, and the SW then turns the monitor different colours and hues - it then creates a profile for the monitor. Nothing unusual there.

The extra feature I like is that after calibration it sits on a shelf directly above the monitor, and watches the ambient lighting. If the light in workspace deviates too far from the lighting conditions used to calibrate it will pop up a warning letting me to either recalibrate or to restore the ambient lighting.

It also pops up a reminder when it is time to recalibrate the monitor.

Seems to work fine. Any colour problems my prints have are user errors, not calibration errors, near as I can figure.

Hope this helps.

 

[SOLLERBOY]

I have Spyder 3 Pro. Been using it for a year with my 27" iMac. Seems to work fine. The disc that came with it would;'t play in anything though, it was mis shaped so had to download it from their website. It also won't work with my MBP, it turns it a funny colour.

On the iMac though, it really works a treat.

 

[TheDrift-]

I use the Spyder too

 

[fcortese]

Pantone Huey Pro. The price on this puppy was under $60 last week on a special sale so I snapped one up.

 

[initialsBB]

I'm getting past the point where I can rely on my sight to calibrate my monitor, so tell me what you use to accomplish this task. I'm looking to buy, but that's not the point of this thread so I have no budget constraints. My main monitor is a 23 in. Samsung SyncMaster P 2370. It isn't made any more but you can look at it here. Not IPS, S-PVA (I think).

Dale

There's no real point buying a calibrator for your screen. I have two that are very similar and even when calibrated they go out of whack in less than a day. That and the fact they only show 70% or so of the Adobe RGB gammut...

 

[Kebabselector]

The only calibration tool I've used is the Spyder Elite 3. Seems to work fine

 

[SDColorado]

I have a Spyder 3 Elite as well. I purchased it about 3 years ago I think. So far, I have been happy with it.

 

[Designer Dale]

I have Spyder 3 Pro. Been using it for a year with my 27" iMac. Seems to work fine. The disc that came with it would;'t play in anything though, it was mis shaped so had to download it from their website. It also won't work with my MBP, it turns it a funny colour.

On the iMac though, it really works a treat.

I wonder if anyone else has had an issue with a MBP or if this is just with the sample you got. I'm looking to calibrate both my Samsung and my MBP.

There's no real point buying a calibrator for your screen. I have two that are very similar and even when calibrated they go out of whack in less than a day. That and the fact they only show 70% or so of the Adobe RGB gammut...

I was wondering about this. My MBP calibrates well but my Samsung seems to have gone all warm on me. My next step in computing will be either an iMac or Mac Mini and I wanted to keep using the Samsung as a second monitor.

Pantone Huey Pro. The price on this puppy was under $60 last week on a special sale so I snapped one up.

I have looked at this one, too. The Spyder seems to be the most widely used device, but not necessarily the best. My local camera store stocks the Spyder systems.

Thanks to all for the comments. Keep 'em coming.

Dale

 

[Artful Dodger]

My question for this is what system is everyone running? I've seen mixed reviews and some bad feedback of many because of Lion. I looked at this model http://www.amazon.com/Xrite-CMUNDIS...UTF8&coliid=IOGDEVQ41N2PJ&colid=2YZ0OJ603XDCP not sure how the others are doing with Lion but one bad takes out 20 good reviews but it can happen I guess…

 

[compuwar]

Don't forget an Xrite Passport to calibrate the sensor.

Paul

 

[thekev]

There's no real point buying a calibrator for your screen. I have two that are very similar and even when calibrated they go out of whack in less than a day. That and the fact they only show 70% or so of the Adobe RGB gammut...

Don't feed the OP incorrect information. Barcos made in the 1990s were not significantly above that gamut level and they were calibrated. The 70% thing means it's around sRGB. That was a standard developed in the mid 90s to describe a typical CRT of the time. Adobe RGB means very little. It's wider in gamut, but there are many tradeoffs, and no matter what the starting profile looks like, it shifts over time. If it seems like it's out of whack in a day, you may have a bad sensor, or you might not be allowing your display to warm up long enough. Calibration should be done after a minimum of a thirty minute warmup.

Don't forget an Xrite Passport to calibrate the sensor.

Paul

It's important to differentiate between calibrate and profile. You would be applying a profile to the sensor. You aren't updating the internal readout of the sensor.


I'm going to simplify what I wrote previously. First cheaper displays tend to have only the capacity to profile the device, and even then the one you have is in no way designed for a color critical workflow. You're doing a measurement on the center of the display, and it can be different at the edges. This isn't going to fix clipped highlights or crushed shadows. It'll just generate a revised output profile in colorsync designed for a more neutral greyscale and possibly more accurate colors. It will not make a budget display perform like a higher quality one. You'll want to let it warm up at least 30 minutes before calibrating.

I just bought an i1 display pro ($249) to replace an older colorimeter. It's good. The Spyder is okay, but X-Rite has historically been better/more consistent.

Profiling will probably solve some of your problems, but if that display is more than a couple years old at this point, you are likely to be disappointed.

 

[initialsBB]

Don't feed the OP incorrect information. Barcos made in the 1990s were not significantly above that gamut level and they were calibrated.

OK, so I cut a few corners... but want to compare quality & price between a Barco and a Samsung, for fun ?

If it seems like it's out of whack in a day, you may have a bad sensor, or you might not be allowing your display to warm up long enough. Calibration should be done after a minimum of a thirty minute warmup.

I waited at least 1 hour, sometimes 2 or 4. I still don't recommend investing in a calibrator for monitors that are not designed for color critical work, neither set up in a controlled environment. It's much better renting or borrowing one every 4 or 6 months.

 

[thekev]

OK, so I cut a few corners... but want to compare quality & price between a Barco and a Samsung, for fun ?


I waited at least 1 hour, sometimes 2 or 4. I still don't recommend investing in a calibrator for monitors that are not designed for color critical work, neither set up in a controlled environment. It's much better renting or borrowing one every 4 or 6 months.

Out of whack within a day still seems strange.... Even poor or aging displays should not drift that fast. I've used many displays. I've never owned a Barco personally, but I've used a number of quality displays (Barco, Sony Artisan, Eizo, NEC, etc). One of those in a darkened room is a completely different experience from a cheap consumer display.

My only real problem was the idea that sRGB means no need to calibrate. Displays drift regardless. As they age, they tend to drift faster. As for the OP, you're right it won't do that much for him. I do think it's better to go all the way with a color workflow.

FWIW even if I'm not print checking, it's much easier to work on a decent display. Cheap displays are always way too bright with clipped details and poor greyscale tracking (which bugs me to no end). I keep things pretty dark so it's way too noticeable.

 

[Designer Dale]

The point of my question is to see what calibration equipment most of the people here use. A top-flight monitor like an Ezio would be nice, but $700 and up - way up - is out of the question. As far as Barco (which I had to look up) goes, it's "request a quote". My monitor isn't cheap. It cost me $400 in 2008 and was the best alternative to IPS at the time.

Dale

 

[thekev]

The point of my question is to see what calibration equipment most of the people here use. A top-flight monitor like an Ezio would be nice, but $700 and up - way up - is out of the question. As far as Barco (which I had to look up) goes, it's "request a quote". My monitor isn't cheap. It cost me $400 in 2008 and was the best alternative to IPS at the time.

Dale

I wasn't suggesting Barco. It was in reference to the gamut thing. My point was that sRGB does not necessarily mean it does not benefit from calibration. Barcos are tens of thousands . I was using it to reference my point there, not suggesting one.

Also the idea that IPS automatically equates to a perfect display isn't necessarily true. It's just something LG would like you to believe. After reading this response I agree with initialsBB. It's going to be pointless. The huey sucks. It's not accurate enough to be a truly guaranteed improvement. The cheap devices in general have a ton of unit to unit variability, and they are affected by heat, humidity, backlight type, etc. The Spyders have been suggested more recently due to lack of a better alternative. They work okay with some LED backlit displays (just okay and not well at all on some), and they're filtered in a way that they can produce acceptable results with newer wide gamut displays. Spyder in general has never been that great though. They drift over time, and they do break. Basically you can rely on one for up to two to three years of service.

My suggestion at this point is that you just continue on with what you have, but reset to the display's default profile (no one should ever calibrate by eye) or inquire about return policy before buying anything.

 

[fskywalker]

Re-starting this thread.... what about the x-rite i1 ? I'm considering buying a color calibrator an have heard good things about that one (@$225, expensive), not so good stories about the Datacolor Spyder 4 (@$80, cheaper). What other options are recommended?

 

[Apple fanboy]

Re-starting this thread.... what about the x-rite i1 ? I'm considering buying a color calibrator an have heard good things about that one (@$225, expensive), not so good stories about the Datacolor Spyder 4 (@$80, cheaper). What other options are recommended?

Do you do any printing? If so check out the ColorMunki Photo, which will calibrate your Camera, monitor and printer.
If you don't do printing the i1 pro and ColorMunki Display are both the same colorimeter, but the i1 will allow you more control in the settings. To be honest either of these are going to be fine.
Spyder 4 Pro and Elite are okay as well. Why not see if anybody is doing a Black Friday deal?