Really depends on your budget and your level of expertise.
I use a Huey pro which is definitely a lower end system but it's sufficient for what I need as a humble hobbyist. I'm sure the pros on here will have different options at somewhat more expense.
Bilsen (the artist formerly known as John Galt NY) Canon 600D; Canon 1D Mk2; 24-105 f4L IS; 70-200 f4L IS; 50mm 1.4; 28-75 f2.8; 55-250 IS; 580EX & (2) 430EX Flash,
Model Galleries: http://bilsen.zenfolio.com/
Everything Else: www.pbase.com/bilsen
Huey Pro here as well. Works as advertised, but sometimes the auto-correct for room brightness flops back and forth. Calibration takes but a few minutes, so I tend to re-calibrate before doing a batch anyway.
I have had 2 Huey's - both worked fine for a while and then made very weird colors. Pantone told me that they were defective. they replaced the first, but told me to pound sand with the second. Do a search - its well documented that the turn your monitor green and/or red.
I use a Colormunki now and it works great, although I think that its another Pantone company in which case i am sure that their customer service will be just as terrible if I ever need them.
Chad - www.brberrys.com
If I post it, please tell me how to make it better. My fragile ego can take it.
What is a good way to calibrate your laptop/computer monitor?
There have been a number of posts on this topic in the Digital Darkroom forum.
In the past 6 months we've seen some new hardware come to market.
Datacolor Spyder3 series >>> Spyder4 series
XRite i1 Display 2 >>>>> i1 Display Pro
XRite ColorMunki Display (similar to i1DPro but crippled)
Dry Creek has also updated their comparison page for these devices. IMHO, that the Huey's are not there should maybe tell you how they are viewed by people who require accurate calibrations.
The biggest issue addressed has been variability among units. A couple of years ago the Spyder3's were getting knocked hard and perhaps rightfully so. Datacolor tightened up QC and updated their software which much improved this device. You might be able to find some good deals on these atm as stores clear inventory.
As to calibrating a laptop..... unless you have a top end laptop with an IPS panel and at least an 8bit LUT in its GPU.... why bother? Most laptop screens are simply pathetic unless you have opted for one of the higher resolution better quality panels but even at that you just can't be sure if you're getting a full 8bits or better in the chipset processing the image before it is tossed the the screen of the laptop. Calibrate your standalone monitor, either the one attached to your laptop, or the desktop system, and use that for critical colour work.
I use a Colormunki now and it works great, although I think that its another Pantone company in which case i am sure that their customer service will be just as terrible if I ever need them.
Pantone, Gretag MacBeth.... it's all X-Rite now.
I have owned/used a Datacolor Spyder2 Pro and now use an X-Rite i1 Display 2. I have to say with both products I have had to inquire to their customer service group. X-Rite just left a bitter taste in my mouth.
When I updated to a Vista 64bit desktop sytem from an older WinXP system I had no issues what so ever getting the old Spyder2 Pro software to install and auto detect both of my monitors. With the i1D2 it was a mess during the original install, never auto detected the monitors correctly, and even with a re-install of Vista 64bit, I have been unable to resolve the auto-detect issues.
However, it seems that they have the hot product at the moment in terms of accuracy and variability between units and under that $250 USD price point in the USA market.
I have the XRite ColorMunki - easy to use and does monitor calibration plus print profiling. For a hobbyist, it was expensive for me to justify but I just saved my pennies. Certainly calibrate/check my monitor much more ofter than now than borrowing a mate's ColorMunki.
My opinion does not necessarily make it true. What you do with my opinion is entirely up to you. www.acecootephotography.com
Comments
I use a Huey pro which is definitely a lower end system but it's sufficient for what I need as a humble hobbyist. I'm sure the pros on here will have different options at somewhat more expense.
Canon 600D; Canon 1D Mk2;
24-105 f4L IS; 70-200 f4L IS; 50mm 1.4; 28-75 f2.8; 55-250 IS; 580EX & (2) 430EX Flash,
Model Galleries: http://bilsen.zenfolio.com/
Everything Else: www.pbase.com/bilsen
I use a Colormunki now and it works great, although I think that its another Pantone company in which case i am sure that their customer service will be just as terrible if I ever need them.
If I post it, please tell me how to make it better. My fragile ego can take it.
There have been a number of posts on this topic in the Digital Darkroom forum.
In the past 6 months we've seen some new hardware come to market.
Datacolor Spyder3 series >>> Spyder4 series
XRite i1 Display 2 >>>>> i1 Display Pro
XRite ColorMunki Display (similar to i1DPro but crippled)
Dry Creek has also updated their comparison page for these devices. IMHO, that the Huey's are not there should maybe tell you how they are viewed by people who require accurate calibrations.
http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/Calibration/MonitorCalibrationHardware.html
The biggest issue addressed has been variability among units. A couple of years ago the Spyder3's were getting knocked hard and perhaps rightfully so. Datacolor tightened up QC and updated their software which much improved this device. You might be able to find some good deals on these atm as stores clear inventory.
As to calibrating a laptop..... unless you have a top end laptop with an IPS panel and at least an 8bit LUT in its GPU.... why bother? Most laptop screens are simply pathetic unless you have opted for one of the higher resolution better quality panels but even at that you just can't be sure if you're getting a full 8bits or better in the chipset processing the image before it is tossed the the screen of the laptop. Calibrate your standalone monitor, either the one attached to your laptop, or the desktop system, and use that for critical colour work.
.
.
Pantone, Gretag MacBeth.... it's all X-Rite now.
I have owned/used a Datacolor Spyder2 Pro and now use an X-Rite i1 Display 2. I have to say with both products I have had to inquire to their customer service group. X-Rite just left a bitter taste in my mouth.
When I updated to a Vista 64bit desktop sytem from an older WinXP system I had no issues what so ever getting the old Spyder2 Pro software to install and auto detect both of my monitors. With the i1D2 it was a mess during the original install, never auto detected the monitors correctly, and even with a re-install of Vista 64bit, I have been unable to resolve the auto-detect issues.
However, it seems that they have the hot product at the moment in terms of accuracy and variability between units and under that $250 USD price point in the USA market.
.
.
www.acecootephotography.com