monitor Calibration

silve225 · Jan 10, 2013

Hi everyone im looking into buying a a device that Calibrates the monitor. Which one would you recomend. Im not looking to spend much money as i dont have much.

KmH · Jan 10, 2013

This is about the best you can get for the price - Xrite CMUNDIS ColorMunki Display1

silve225 · Jan 10, 2013

this was the one i was looking at. Is the one you mentioned better? Datacolor Spyder4PRO - Advanced Color Calibration - Datacolor Imaging Solutions

KmH · Jan 10, 2013

From personal experience with both, I recommend X-Rite products over Datacolor products.

Light Guru · Jan 10, 2013

I have the spyder 4 Pro and have enjoyed it
Datacolor Spyder4Pro Display Calibration System S4P100 B&H Photo

KmH · Jan 10, 2013

If you take the time to look at their recommended image prep pages, many online print labs recommend X-Rite products for calibration too.

Garbz · Jan 11, 2013

I somehow feel X-rite has a better rep in the colour industry than Datacolor. In any case I am a happy owner of several X-rite products so you know what I'm going to recommend

silve225 · Jan 11, 2013

thanks everyone. If all goes to plan i should have enough money to buy it by monday.

Finntastic · Jan 24, 2013

So which one have you decided to buy? And did you get it yet? If so, are you pleased?

Just curious! I use a Spyder 4 and I am quite happy with it, but I am intrigued by the possibility of X-rite, which I have never used.

silve225 · Feb 5, 2013

Finntastic said:
So which one have you decided to buy? And did you get it yet? If so, are you pleased?

Just curious! I use a Spyder 4 and I am quite happy with it, but I am intrigued by the possibility of X-rite, which I have never used.

i didnt get the monitor calibration yet. I decided to wait until around spring time since my job picks up around there and will have more money then. And also i dont take many photos in the winter so i figured i would just wait until then. Also thinking of buying a new monitor.

JDFlood · Feb 5, 2013

By then you should be able to get a 4k monitor.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2023866/ces-sharp-announces-32-inch-4k-monitors.html

Can't wait, I want two. JD

silve225 · Feb 5, 2013

JDFlood said:
By then you should be able to get a 4k monitor.

Sharp announces 32-inch 4K monitors | PCWorld

Can't wait, I want two. JD

those look awesome but one problem i have is they will cost a stupid amount of money. (something i dont have much of)

Garbz · Feb 7, 2013

Given dual-link DVI is incapable of achieving 4K resolution at any faster than 24Hz I think you may want to save up for a decent video card before you get a decent display.

jbarrettash · Feb 7, 2013

I strongly suspect that the difference between makes of colour calibrators is a question of interface and personal preference - colorimeter technology is pretty simple and old. All they are all doing is measuring the luminance and chroma that the software displays on the screen, guiding you through the colour adjustments on the monitor and deriving a profile with the adjusted settings to "set" the monitor's colours at a given gamma and temperature. I have a Spyder2 (suite edoition) and for my purposes it is more than sufficient. Had I payed almost twice the price at the time, I would have gotten the ability to make custom targets, have multiple monitor support, front projection calibration and a few other features I didn't need.

So what it boils down to, I believe, is that you pay for a lot of features and/or the brand's reputation. My advice is to choose the most inexpensive one that has the features you need, and, if you can, test before buying just to see if the interface is straightforward and easy to follow and understand.

And I strongly recommend (assuming your monitor is decent enough from the getgo) buying the colour calibrator BEFORE a new monitor. The best monitor in the world will produce crap images if not properly calibrated. A colorimeter is an essential part of a decent workflow, IMHO.

Good Luck!

silve225 · Feb 7, 2013

Thanks for that write up jbarrettash. Im probably going to be buying a new monitor at the same exact time because i want to get an ips monitor. My monitor is okay but i wouldnt call great for photo editing as its only 1600X900 resolution and not ips.