Renting a Calibrator | Which one?

[sm4him]

That is the more expensive spectrophotometer and it can not only calibrate/profile a computer display, it can also profile printers, scanners, projectors.
A colorimeter is much less expensive and can't be used with so many types of devices.

For $89 you can buy a X-Rite ColorMunki Smile
Or for $169 you can buy a X-Rite ColorMunki Display
The one you are considering renting is a $459 X-Rite ColorMunki Photo

I would recommend you aspire to the ColorMunki Display because it detects how much ambient light is falling on the display. The less expensive Smile doesn't.

I have that mid-range one, bought it maybe a year ago and have been quite happy with it. As already mentioned, yes, it requires about a monthly re-calibration, but it reminds you, and it's quick and easy to do--takes about five minutes. The rest of the time, it just stays connected and does a regular check of the ambient light (IIRC, you can choose how often it checks) and adjusts as needed.

To answer the other question you asked, yes, it's something you can do yourself, at least with the X-Rite ColorMunki Display unit I have. It does all the calculating and adjusting; no evaluation of color is required from you, so your ability to discern those different tints won't matter in the calibration process.

 

[runnah]

Don't forget to buy a calibrator calibration tool.

 

[MichaelHenson]

That is the more expensive spectrophotometer and it can not only calibrate/profile a computer display, it can also profile printers, scanners, projectors.
A colorimeter is much less expensive and can't be used with so many types of devices.

For $89 you can buy a X-Rite ColorMunki Smile
Or for $169 you can buy a X-Rite ColorMunki Display
The one you are considering renting is a $459 X-Rite ColorMunki Photo

I would recommend you aspire to the ColorMunki Display because it detects how much ambient light is falling on the display. The less expensive Smile doesn't.

I have that mid-range one, bought it maybe a year ago and have been quite happy with it. As already mentioned, yes, it requires about a monthly re-calibration, but it reminds you, and it's quick and easy to do--takes about five minutes. The rest of the time, it just stays connected and does a regular check of the ambient light (IIRC, you can choose how often it checks) and adjusts as needed.

To answer the other question you asked, yes, it's something you can do yourself, at least with the X-Rite ColorMunki Display unit I have. It does all the calculating and adjusting; no evaluation of color is required from you, so your ability to discern those different tints won't matter in the calibration process.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Ysarex]

>>MacBook Pro laptop<<

Good to hear. The recent MBPs I have seen do have IPS displays that are worthy of the time to calibrate!

Doug

The retina displays are IPS displays -- the other MacBooks are TN displays.

Joe

 

[MichaelHenson]

>>MacBook Pro laptop<<

Good to hear. The recent MBPs I have seen do have IPS displays that are worthy of the time to calibrate!

Doug

The retina displays are IPS displays -- the other MacBooks are TN displays.

Joe

Pretty sure mine isn't a retina....So a calibrator wouldn't help me, correct?

 

[Ysarex]

>>MacBook Pro laptop<<

Good to hear. The recent MBPs I have seen do have IPS displays that are worthy of the time to calibrate!

Doug

The retina displays are IPS displays -- the other MacBooks are TN displays.

Joe

Pretty sure mine isn't a retina....So a calibrator wouldn't help me, correct?

Calibrator will help you. Hardware does play a limiting role. Consider this analogy; a guitar sounds better when it's tuned. You can tune a $1800.00 Martin guitar, a $199.00 Yahama guitar, and a $19.95 toy guitar. They'll all be tuned when you're finished but they won't all sound the same. TN displays have two problems. 1. They have a very restricted viewing angle -- you have to be right in front of them and not move much. 2. They have a limited physical gamut. Assume you have a photo that's in the sRGB color space. The sRGB color space is a defined range of colors. What happens if there are colors in the sRGB space (and so potentially in your photo) but your TN display isn't physically capable of displaying those colors -- this is the limited gamut problem: TN displays can't physically reproduce the full sRGB color gamut. It's not as bad as it sounds but it's not insignificant either. What happens is you see a color that is as close as the display can get but not spot on. MacBook Pro displays are pretty good as laptops go and worth getting calibrated.

You're doing more than just calibrate the display. The devices you're looking at also profile the display and that is likewise a critical job that makes a big difference. You want to get that done. Your processing software expects to find and use that profile and if you don't have it custom generated for your display then you get a generic default that isn't helping you.

Joe

 

[Buckster]

>>MacBook Pro laptop<<

Good to hear. The recent MBPs I have seen do have IPS displays that are worthy of the time to calibrate!

Doug

The retina displays are IPS displays -- the other MacBooks are TN displays.

Joe

Pretty sure mine isn't a retina....So a calibrator wouldn't help me, correct?

Calibrating is always a great idea, regardless of the display.

People are all hot for IPS displays these days, as if you have to have one, but somehow photographers made beautiful photos with displays before IPS was invented anyway. I know, it seems impossible, the way people talk up IPS displays, but it's true nonetheless. Make of that what you will.

Yes, IPS displays let you move your head 3 feet right to left without affecting the way you see the display. Umm... I don't know about anyone else, but when I'm editing, my head probably doesn't move more than a couple inches right to left anyway, and it's not because I feel restricted by my display, or anything else.

And the additional colors they can display are no doubt great - if you can really tell the difference.

Here's a test to see how sensitive you are to color hues:

Munsell Hue Test

I don't have an IPS display, and scored a perfect 0 anyway. Maybe the IPS display users can somehow do better with those awesome screens?

 

[ruben_c]

Concerning the price, the expensive one includes creating your own profiles for your printer, which is not necessary unless you need very reliable prints made by your printer. And that will only make sense with mid to high range printers, not any all in one printer.

I recommend you a Spyder4PRO or a i1 Display Pro, because both work with ambient light compensation, the Spyder4Express won't.
I use a Spyder4PRO and do the SoftProof with my labs ICC profile. That's the workflow that work's best for me.

In any case I can also recommend you this eBook as a crash course into color management:
http://spyder.datacolor.com/scripts/ebook-en/Spyder_eBook_EN_final.pdf

 

[MrWrong]

Can these be used to calibrate TV's as well or will they only work on monitors?