Current monitor calibrator of choice?

divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
edited September 28, 2012 in Digital Darkroom
Finally got a new computer, and am wondering what the hardware calibration tool of choice is now? I have a Huey, but I gather it doesn't play nice with win7, so am considering replacing it with a newer device - a quick look on Amazon, and the ones I saw are a LOT more expensive. Is there another moderately-priced calibrator worth considering, or should I just try to find win7 drivers and muddle through with the Huey?

Thanks!
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Comments

  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited September 23, 2012
    i1 display Pro seems to do real nice and there is a $50 rebate on the Display Pro .... I had a huey pro
    a few years back and went thru several as they did not work and then an i1 lite showed up as the
    replacement...it worked....then one day it could not find my monitor and I was looking again....after
    a lot of searching and reading I went with the i1 Display Pro and so far I am real happy....and that
    $50 rebate doesn't hurt either.....

    Got mine off ebay from Calumet in Chicago....I am now waiting to get rebate check in the mail.

    Good Luck

    EDIT - - - Here is a link to a Nikon Cafe discussion on this topic.....
    http://tinyurl.com/8e7ewqw

    Link to the Xrite i1 Display Pro Promotion ...you can see the promotion in the right hand column.....
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • adbsgicomadbsgicom Registered Users Posts: 3,615 Major grins
    edited September 23, 2012
    Still using my Spyder3 Elite, and works like a charm. I've had it now for a few years.
    - Andrew

    Who is wise? He who learns from everyone.
    My SmugMug Site
  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited September 23, 2012
    In fact, Huey has updated its drivesr and I thought I'd give it a try - installed and seems to be running fine. I probably should invest in a new one at some point, but for now I'm good to go. The big monitor is pretty close to accurate just as-is, which is nice, too :)
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  • angevin1angevin1 Registered Users Posts: 3,403 Major grins
    edited September 24, 2012
    divamum wrote: »
    Finally got a new computer, and am wondering what the hardware calibration tool of choice is now? I have a Huey, but I gather it doesn't play nice with win7, so am considering replacing it with a newer device - a quick look on Amazon, and the ones I saw are a LOT more expensive. Is there another moderately-priced calibrator worth considering, or should I just try to find win7 drivers and muddle through with the Huey?

    Thanks!

    Win7 drivers at bottom of this page. Requires log-in. https://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=19567&ca=12#login


    Congrats on the new piece (PC)..What'd ya get?
    tom wise
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited September 24, 2012
    Link to the Xrite i1 Display Pro....Promotion is on the right hand column....
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited September 25, 2012
    Yeah, found those drivers - installed ok, but not always behaving as I would expect; the room-light adjustments are sometimes pretty extreme! Not sure it's entirely trustable at this point, but we'll see....

    Tom, nothing too special in the end, but it was such a screaming deal - and available on the day I needed it - that I couldn't really walk past it. Another Dell studio 15 with an i3 processor, currently with 6g ram (which I will expand to maximum capacity as soon as I can) 1tb hdd, and including licensed copies of Word/Excel 2012 (our MS Office is really, really old -useable, but starting to have compatibility issues) .... $499 including 2yr extended warranty.

    So the processor is really at the minimum for what I do, but I can expand the RAM. Far more importantly, I have hooked it up to the nice Dell ips monitor we've had for a while now, but that I could'nt use with the other machine!! I added a wireless keyboard/mouse combo for a remarkably nice laptop-and-desktop solution for a stupid price. If it starts to falter as software demands more and more, at that price I can afford to upgrade again in two years. Here's hoping it keeps working as well as it has started out!! I can actually upload raw files in real time, now. And it hasn't yet balked at anything I've thrown it - very happy camper so far. Fingers crossed it isn't one of those machines that starts great but then starts to have problems after it breaks in.............
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  • ZerodogZerodog Registered Users Posts: 1,480 Major grins
    edited September 26, 2012
    Color munki here. No probs with Win 7. I like it because you can also do your own printer profiles with it.
  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited September 26, 2012
    Ok, am I missing something? All of these calibrators are in the $200-400 range. My Huey was, uh, $60 (and I've had 4 great and reliable years out of it - it's just outdated and, although it's running, doesn't really like the new OS). Are those my only choices, or am I looking at the wrong things? headscratch.gif
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  • aktseaktse Registered Users Posts: 1,928 Major grins
    edited September 26, 2012
    divamum wrote: »
    Ok, am I missing something? All of these calibrators are in the $200-400 range. My Huey was, uh, $60 (and I've had 4 great and reliable years out of it - it's just outdated and, although it's running, doesn't really like the new OS). Are those my only choices, or am I looking at the wrong things? headscratch.gif

    I think the Huey wasn't geared towards the pro market since very few illustrators that I know use it.

    xRrite just announced their Color Munki Smile which is a consumer version of their device.
    http://aktse.smugmug.com/
  • angevin1angevin1 Registered Users Posts: 3,403 Major grins
    edited September 26, 2012
    divamum wrote: »
    Yeah, found those drivers - installed ok, but not always behaving as I would expect; the room-light adjustments are sometimes pretty extreme! Not sure it's entirely trustable at this point, but we'll see....

    Tom, nothing too special in the end, but it was such a screaming deal - and available on the day I needed it - that I couldn't really walk past it. Another Dell studio 15 with an i3 processor, currently with 6g ram (which I will expand to maximum capacity as soon as I can) 1tb hdd, and including licensed copies of Word/Excel 2012 (our MS Office is really, really old -useable, but starting to have compatibility issues) .... $499 including 2yr extended warranty.

    So the processor is really at the minimum for what I do, but I can expand the RAM. Far more importantly, I have hooked it up to the nice Dell ips monitor we've had for a while now, but that I could'nt use with the other machine!! I added a wireless keyboard/mouse combo for a remarkably nice laptop-and-desktop solution for a stupid price. If it starts to falter as software demands more and more, at that price I can afford to upgrade again in two years. Here's hoping it keeps working as well as it has started out!! I can actually upload raw files in real time, now. And it hasn't yet balked at anything I've thrown it - very happy camper so far. Fingers crossed it isn't one of those machines that starts great but then starts to have problems after it breaks in.............

    Diva, That machine ought to be just fine. I actually used my Gf's LT over this past week on a job and used After Effects quite nicely. It only has 4GB of Ram even though it is a first gen i5. Video is notorious for heavy-loads. I was pleased. Her Machine is about 3yrs. old.
    tom wise
  • NewsyNewsy Registered Users Posts: 605 Major grins
    edited September 26, 2012
    That Smile looks like a recycle of the old i1 Display2 puck. Hopefully they have upgraded its' sensor to the standard of the new i1 Display Pro or Colormunki Display. If they have not, I'd pass. For starters I question it's compatibility with wide gamut monitors. The next point I ponder on is using it in a dual monitor system - my i1 Display2 is far from ideal in terms of elegant and reliable software and if this Smile uses a rehash of the old i1D2 software.... well, good luck. You may not be using dual monitors at the moment but later it may appeal to you.
    http://newsy.smugmug.com

    .
  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited September 26, 2012
    Is this the ColorMunki that folks like? http://www.amazon.com/Xrite-CMUNDIS-ColorMunki-Display/dp/B0055MBQOM/ref=pd_cp_p_3

    The Huey is constantly freaking out with the new OS - I'm pretty much decided to give up on it and just get something else; drivers or not, it's just no stable with win7.
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  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited September 27, 2012
    Diva...here is a link to a search on ebay for i1Display...it has the PRO and also the LT version....and for the PRO there is the $50 rebate thru the end of the year...
    LINK
    > http://tinyurl.com/bszm8zs

    The Lt is what I used after my Huey...went Ka Bluey... ... ... ... ...LT has been discontinued...

    LINK to i1 Photo site....you can compare what your needs are by reading the product info pages here ... ... happy Hunting
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited September 27, 2012
    Thanks Art. Even with the rebate those are still pretty steep. I'm thinking the mid-grade Munki will probably fit my needs, but just want to check and see if that's the one others have used and liked. The new "Smile" is indeed cheaper, but it will only pair with one monitor (not one monitor at a time, but ONE monitor for its lifetime - that's no good to me since I have the big screen and the laptop screen itself to consider).

    Andrew, looks like the Spyder3 elite is no longer a model; there are newer ones, but I"m getting horribly confused over what each model can do....
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  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited September 27, 2012
    Ok, just ordered a Spyderpro 4- it and the ColorMunki pro are comparable, but the Spyderpro seemed to have better reviews and fewer instances of "my screen went brown".

    Here's hoping.........................
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  • Manfr3dManfr3d Registered Users Posts: 2,008 Major grins
    edited September 27, 2012
    Good choice. All current colorimeters are good enough for us, "brown screens" usually happen when someone doesn't know what he/she is doing :)
    “To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk.”
    ― Edward Weston
  • babowcbabowc Registered Users Posts: 510 Major grins
    edited September 27, 2012
    I'm using spyder elite 3.. but my grey tones have reddish hue to them..
    I'm so frustrated!!
    -Mike Jin
    D800
    16/2.8, f1.4G primes, f2.8 trio, 105/200 macro, SB900.
    It never gets easier, you just get better.
  • Manfr3dManfr3d Registered Users Posts: 2,008 Major grins
    edited September 27, 2012
    I use the Spyder Elite 3 as well no casts whatsoever. I recommend checking your neutral settings before calibrating.
    Also use the tool to measure accuracy of your new profile after calibration. Does it show a delta (it should if it's really
    out of whack)?

    Sometimes it takes some time to get used to a new profile. When I first calibrated my monitor I tought everything
    had an orange tint to it. But after a while I got used to it and when I now switch by to my old (non-profile) settings
    everything looks as if it had a blue color cast. What I mean is that perception is not the best way to tell if a color
    is accurate. Got any prints to compare against the digital files on your monitor?
    “To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk.”
    ― Edward Weston
  • NewsyNewsy Registered Users Posts: 605 Major grins
    edited September 28, 2012
    babowc wrote: »
    I'm using spyder elite 3.. but my grey tones have reddish hue to them..
    I'm so frustrated!!

    Is the red more prevalent on the left side of the screen? Many recent IPS type LCD panels are prone to displaying a red/green tint/caste that's most noticeable on light gray or white screens. Red on left and green on right.

    Otherwise speak with the Datacolor support people - they're very good, more so than my experience with X-Rite CSR's.
    http://newsy.smugmug.com

    .
  • babowcbabowc Registered Users Posts: 510 Major grins
    edited September 28, 2012
    Sorry, it was my Nvidia driver that wasn't updated..
    color is actually pretty decent again!
    -Mike Jin
    D800
    16/2.8, f1.4G primes, f2.8 trio, 105/200 macro, SB900.
    It never gets easier, you just get better.
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