View Full Version : Which Monitor Calibrator do you have?
....and why did you choose that one?
Looks like I need one from the problems I am having at the moment. Don't know the first thing about them, so your comments will be very useful indeed.
Thanks.
I calibrated my monitor with adobe gamma, then i purchased printfix suite. The monitor calibration with the spyder only altered the brightness slightly, but the printer profiling is very good black and whites with no casts, even with third party inks.
Canon Bob
13-07-2008, 22:57
I use a Spyder2Pro for printer and monitor...seems okay to me.
Bob
Chappers
14-07-2008, 08:50
I've a Gretag Macbeth Eye One. However consider the Huey,it seems to work well and is a lot cheaper
More important though is what's the problem you are having
redeyeshev
14-07-2008, 08:54
I use a HueyPro and it really makes a difference. I find that I often get eye strain from a monitor that isn't calibrated so I use it on all my monitors.
It sits in a cradle next to your monitor and measures the room lighting and adjusts the screen brightness accordingly in real time. You can set this to be from every 10 seconds to every 4 hours.
Gretag Macbeth eye-one Display 2
what I see in CS3 is what you see on the web
what I see in CS3 is what gets printed
seems to work for me! :thumbs:
mattchewone
14-07-2008, 09:52
What do these calibration programs do? I am on a macbook with a 13.3" screen would i need to calibrate my screen and my printer (canon mp610)??
a1ex2001
14-07-2008, 09:56
What do these calibration programs do? I am on a macbook with a 13.3" screen would i need to calibrate my screen and my printer (canon mp610)??
the aim of the device is to ensure that the colours you are displaying ar the correct colours, this way any image you have edited on your PC should look the same as it does on anyone elses monitor and more importantly the same as it does when you print it out!
What do these calibration programs do? I am on a macbook with a 13.3" screen would i need to calibrate my screen and my printer (canon mp610)??
dunno about Mac (bit of a black art them thangs)
on a PC it chats to the graphics card and alters it so what you see is standardised
that way when you pop a pic on the www, it looks the same
a) to you
b) to the rest of the world
in theory you need to do something similar for printers
most these days come profiled
but for top-notch work you print off a colour chart and send it off
they send you back a profile that you install
hth
mattchewone
14-07-2008, 10:00
How would i print a colour chart and where do you send it off to?
I have downloaded a profile for Ilford paper to use with the printer although i havent used it.
How would i print a colour chart and where do you send it off to?
I have downloaded a profile for Ilford paper to use with the printer although i havent used it.
when you buy a profiler it comes with
* a lump of hardware that you pop over the screen
* some software that does the business
* info on how to produce the colour chart and where to send it!
some printer manufacturers may offer the same service
I use the Pantone Huey Pro (http://www.pantone.co.uk/pages/products/product.aspx?pid=562&ca=2) and find it excellent. I chose it largely through recommendations on here :)
Chappers
14-07-2008, 10:30
How would i print a colour chart and where do you send it off to?
I have downloaded a profile for Ilford paper to use with the printer although i havent used it.
There are some companies that offer a profiling service. They supply the colour charts, usually downloaded from the web. you send it off with a cheque, usually about £30-£40 and they produce a profile for your printer. However if you don't have a calibrated screen it's a bit academic ,as the whole premise of colour management is that each part of the imaging chain is profiled.
As far as monitor profiling, it's the same on a Mac as a PC. Files are stored in a different location but that's about all.
In fact Macs were the first to be profilable as you could "talk" to the video card. Something PC's couldn't do until Windows 2000
I use a Pantone Huey. My monitor was displaying images with a blue tint until it was calibrated.
Anyone serious about digital photography will need to calibrate their monitor as the colours you see will be different to colours being printed out. Anyone serious about home printing will also need to calibrate their printers to the papers they use.
Gosh, thanks you guys. That is a lot to take in. I am going to have to get one of these gadgets pretty soon.
To answer Chappers - My images when downloaded onto my desktop PC with CRT monitor always appear underexposed and skintones slightly magenta. However, when I upload them onto my Acer laptop they appear bright and correct.
I have adjusted my monitor many times using the Gamma wotsit and still the same. The monitor is about 8 years old now. I probably need a new one.
Venomator
14-07-2008, 10:57
Huey Pro here too Gilly ... :thumbs: ... recommendations from here and best price too ... :D
And it seems to work too ... ;)
:p
Gretag Macbeth eye one for display's
X-rite DTP 41UV for printer's
Huey Pro here too Gilly ... :thumbs: ... recommendations from here and best price too ... :D
And it seems to work too ... ;)
:p
Nothing to do with the green box it comes it at all Rog? :lol: :D :p
Shutterman
14-07-2008, 11:14
Gilly there is a new one out at he moment.. well new to me I have only just seen it, this one is a monitor calibrator and print calibrator..
PANTONE COLORMUNKI
Might be worth looking at the review are quite glowing for it at the moment and the software looks to be quite easy and not that daunting..
Shutterman
....and why did you choose that one?One problem with calibration devices is that they really go hand-in-hand with the monitor(s) they are going to be paired with. You can have the best calibration device on the market but if your monitor isn't going to be capable of rendering the colours as accurately as the device needs it to, your money is somewhat wasted. The good news is that CRTs are usually a relatively safe bet for suitability, but will require regular re-profiling.
If you're in any way serious about your photography and intend to print your work, either for exhibition or sale, then you should go for the best on the market. And that's either the GretagMacBeth Eye-One Display 2 (also known as the X-Rite i1 Display 2) or the LaCie Blue Eye Pro. Both are the same hardware units, the only difference is the software suites they are paired with.
If you're semi-serious and you just want the peace of mind that a calibrated monitor will give you, the Pantone Huey or the Colorvision Spyder will do the job... but in reality they're not really doing the job properly. They get close but in my eyes it's not close enough for the money you're spending on them.
Seeing as you've got that lovely long list of expensive equipment in your sig, I'd strongly suggest going for the Eye-One Display 2 and using your CRT monitor for your post-processing work.
Huey NON PRO here. Apparently the upgrade to Pro is software only and can be obtained from Pantone website for a small fee that makes it cheaper to buy a non pro + the upgrade separately. So far, I don't really feel the need to upgrade though.
Craikeybaby
18-07-2008, 09:11
With the HUEY I take it you need to leave it plugged in for the constant updates, can you use it for one time (then every few weeks) and not have it plugged in all the time?
With the HUEY I take it you need to leave it plugged in for the constant updates, can you use it for one time (then every few weeks) and not have it plugged in all the time?
Yes you can, that's what I do :thumbs:
I have been using Pantone Color Plus since 2005 and am very pleased with the results. I believe it has been superceded but i am happy with my version.The reason i chose it was because it was on special offer.
pete
jonnyjogpants
30-07-2008, 15:10
huey PRO wheres the cheapest place to buy one from...
just spoke to morris photos and they dont have any and wont be getting any due to the faulty supplies since Xmas
I've just upgraded my Huey to HueyPro (£ 30 download) as I've now got a Macbook and am running 2 screens when at home.
I have my Huey plugged into a USB hub at home. The USB hub is either plugged into my macbook or my PC depending on what I'm using and its there, along with printer and external storage.
jonnyjogpants
03-08-2008, 15:26
any chance of letting me know your thoughts on the huey pro and colour munki
Any point in using any of these on a laptop???:help:
Spyder 2 Express and Pantone Huey are the same price where i'm looking. I've read a review that compares them and they're pretty similar, but I hear the Huey has the ambient light sensor, where as the Spyder is easier to use.
Oh I don't know...
Edit - All the signs seem to be pointing more to the Huey, so I think i'm going to go for that. Where would be the best price in the UK?
Stevieboy378
04-08-2008, 21:29
Using a Huey Pro here - after reading great reviews on photography forums.
Before I bought it I was really frustrated whenever I printed a photo - after hours of hard work in Photoshop the print would come out looking totally different to what I was seeing on the monitor. With the Huey connected and the monitor all profiled up I'm 100% confident that what I see onscreen is EXACTLY how the print will turn out . . ..
Anyone serious about getting accurate colour reproduction in their prints should get some calibration hardware . . . .
mattchewone
11-08-2008, 18:42
Wheres the best place to purchase these calibration kits from? I really need to get mine done on my macbook. I edit the RAW file and upload and view at work and its totally different.
I have the Eye-One Display2 puck and have been until now using the Eye-One Match 3 software which has been fine giving 0.4dE-2000 results BUT this week I started using the ColorEyes Display Pro demo for Windows and wow! the shadow details have improved big time, I can now see more shadow details and the overall picture brightness of calibration remains great.
The CE uses dE99 and not dE2000 like Match3 and the end results were very promising:
http://robbiekhan.co.uk/root/temp/coloreyes_th.jpg (http://robbiekhan.co.uk/root/temp/coloreyes.jpg)
I am using a Hazro HZ24Wi H-IPS monitor by the way (which is superb for photo viewing/editing!)
mattchewone
15-08-2008, 08:32
Where can i pick up calibration software? Can they be used on multiple monitors or are they limited to one or two.
jmghart62
17-08-2008, 10:48
I have been looking into Huey and it says it's compatible with Windows 2000 and XP ... does anyone know if it's compatible with Vista? Thanks
jonnyjogpants
17-08-2008, 11:16
yes it works on vista
http://www.pantone.com/pages/products/product.aspx?pid=562&ca=2
i bought one the other day in the apple shop. 89.99 in kingston
jmghart62
17-08-2008, 11:24
yes it works on vista
Thanks for that ... been having a look round and it seems there is a Huey Pro and huey display colour calibration kit which is considerably cheaper. Does anyone know what the difference is between the two... and would the cheaper one be false economy?
I use Gretagmacbeth eye one display with Spectraview software.
Hey all,
I'm looking to get hold of a colour calibrator, as I can never get my print outs to be accurate colour-wise. I was looking more for the mid-price range, between maybe the Hueys and the Colour Munki, and the EyeOne seems to be in that price range. Is this a recommended product?
Or any others at around that price, or maybe even cheaper (although preferabbly not more expensive) that you recommend would be great :)
1DMARKII
20-08-2008, 09:47
Pantone Huey - Non pro
It was a good price - got good reviews and I am 100% happy with it.
Simple to use and does a good job.
I'm fairly confident to go ahead and get the GretagMacbeth EyeOne 2. It seems to be older than the Huey or Spyder although going from what i've read it seems a bit more accurate and probably worth it in the long run (i'm sick of all this ink i'm wasting on innacurate prints.)
I've just gone ahead and bought the GretagMacbeth Eye One Display 2. I need to know what I see is what I print, although now I hear about there being different devices for monitor and printer calibration. Does this mean i'll get good monitor accuracy with the device, but it still will result in innacurate printouts? I'm a little confused.
eyeofskye
27-08-2008, 20:50
I've just gone ahead and bought the GretagMacbeth Eye One Display 2. I need to know what I see is what I print, although now I hear about there being different devices for monitor and printer calibration. Does this mean i'll get good monitor accuracy with the device, but it still will result in innacurate printouts? I'm a little confused.
Eye One Display will not profile your printer for you which is the other part of the equation. The profiles your printer came with can be very good these days if your printer was also a good one. Nevertheless it is not a bad idea to get your own profiles done for your favourite paper and ink combinations. This can be done by a third party as others have suggested or you could get your own print profiler. I use print fix pro which produces better profiles than the ones supplied by Epson for my R2400, particularly in shadow detail.
If you should stray from the safe path and use third party inks or paper in your printer it becomes essential that you get print profiles done.
Although I use the PrintFix Pro suite which includes the Spyder for the screen, having read a lot of reviews I would have recommended the all in one Colormunki which can also measure colour values directly off the subject and which produces print profiles very quickly indeed.
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