Pantone Eye-One Display 2 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This colorimeter is well-respected by photographers for good reason. In easy mode, it is pretty fast and you don't have to do anything but click 'next' it does all the work. In advanced mode, you can can drive your self silly with all the options.
They are always making the software better, so its a good idea to check for updates of the software.
Pros:
Easy to use.
Cons:
not the best instructions

Click Here to see more reviews about: Pantone Eye-One Display 2

Combination of tweaking and proofing might be eluding you simply because the color on your monitor is not accurate. The fact is, all monitors (yes, both new and old) display color differently. The only way to address this is by calibrating and profiling your monitor. EyeOne Display 2 is a professional monitor calibration tool that lets you achieve accurate color on all types of displays ? including LCDs, CRTs and laptops. With its advanced controls, you can achieve the best possible match across multiple monitors, optimize gray balance for more neutral and betterdefined grays and even check ambient light to determine optimal room lighting for colorcritical work. EyeOne Display 2 saves time and rework so your creative inspirations can be more easily realized. Designed to meet the needs of creative professionals and discerning digital imaging enthusiasts, EyeOne Display LT ensures reliable and accurate color onscreen.With the easytouse software wizard, you?ll achieve consistent, predictable color on all types of monitors ? LCD, CRT and laptops ? with a few simple clicks. Each individual package includes an EyeOne Display measurement device (emission only colorimeter) with ambient measurement head, EyeOne Match 3.0 software for monitors, EyeOne Share software for creating, evaluating and communicating color, Interactive Training Modules and a digital Pantone library.

Get 22% OFF

Click here for more information about Pantone Eye-One Display 2

Read More...

ColorVision Spyder 2 Pro Win/Mac Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My Gripes with the Spyder2PRO (applies mostly to Windows platform):
1. You won't know if the unit itself is miscalibrated.
2. Although the basic documentation is good, it lacks details. Such as, "How does the ColorVision Profile Chooser program affect Window's Color Management Settings and how do the two interact?"
3. Sometimes, the Profile Chooser fails to load your profile when coming out of Windows' hibernation/standby state.
4. The other "value-add" software that comes with it is not that great. Just buy the regular Spyder2 package.
I work primarily with photoshop and web graphics and do not do any print color matching. I wanted to merely calibrate all my CRT, LCD and laptop monitors just enough so that there would be some tonal consistency. I wasn't going for professional pre-press accuracy.
The first Spyder unit I received wasn't properly calibrated at the factory so all my monitors turned out to be too red! Even after several attempts to recalibrate and profile... So after a few email exchanges with Tech support, I returned it for a new unit. (Thanks Amazon)
The second unit seemed to work fine. Except, now, I have this nagging feeling that if it wasn't, I wouldn't really know since I don't have a reference monitor.
In any case, it did a fairly good job of matching my two different LCDs as well as my CRT. (NEC 1760NX, Sony SDM-M51 and ViewSonic G90f) However, on my laptop, the Profile Chooser fails to reload the profile when coming-out of its hibernation state. When I asked tech support about this, they shot me a canned email that didn't really resolve the issue. Now, I have to reselect the profile each time I resume.
(Tech support was prompt in their response. But, it seemed like that they really didn't read my email thoroughly.)
Overall, I'm satisfied with the product and I would recommend the unit. (You really can't beat the price.) I think it could be better if it had the following:
1. Better documentation on how the ColorVision's color management software affects and interacts with the platforms (windows) exisiting color management software.
2. Some reference prints of some sort where I can compare my calibrated monitor with; so that I can know that I've come close to reference material. (I don't know if this is possible or not.)
3. Get rid of the software bugs!

Click Here to see more reviews about: ColorVision Spyder 2 Pro Win/Mac

Spyde2rPRO provides step-by-step monitor calibration for better control over your digital darkroom. Get precise, repeatable results in a few easy steps. Today, all creative professionals understand that the cornerstone of the digital darkroom is a calibrated monitor. Professional photographers, graphic designers, ad agencies, publishers, and advanced amateurs now realize that a color managed workflow begins with accurate, on-screen color. Wherever color is critical, so too is a calibrated monitor. The ColorVision Spyder2PRO, the next-generation of the award-winning Spyder product line, was specifically designed to meet the needs of the new ?digital? creative professional. ColorVision Spyder2PRO sets a new standard for professional monitor calibration. Combining the all new Spyder2 colorimeter and Spyder2PRO software, this innovative and advanced product delivers unrivalled calibration results for the demanding digital imaging professional. The sleek, dual-phase Spyder2 hardware features precise calibration and highly accurate ICC profiles for CRT, LCD and laptop displays. The new software and graphical user interface provides ease-of-use previously unavailable in professional-level monitor calibration products.

Click here for more information about ColorVision Spyder 2 Pro Win/Mac

Read More...

ColorVision Spyder 2 (Win/Mac) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've used my Spyder2 on a Mac iBook and a Dell 2350 running Windows XP on a 17in Dell LCD flatscreen. The monitor calibrator and software in both cases did a much better job than I could do on my own with Adobe Gamma or other judgement-based calibrators. After calibration, pictures on my monitors appear much more like the prints I get from Kodak Gallery (formerly Ofoto), both in color and tone (to the extent that a projected-light RGB image can look like a reflected light CMYK image.) I haven't tested the system on a CRT monitor.
One gripe: I bought my system new from Amazon, and it came packaged as new, but the Spyder was scuffed and clearly had been used previously. It wasn't worth my time and energy to return it since it functions fine, but I don't think this was an honest business practice on the part of ColorVision.

Click Here to see more reviews about: ColorVision Spyder 2 (Win/Mac)

The Spyder2 includes: All new Spyder2 colorimeter All new Spyder2 monitor calibration software FREE PANTONE colorist software $75 rebate coupon for ColorVision PrintFIX or SpectroPRO (U.S. and Canada Customers only) 2 Year Spyder2 hardware warranty FREE technical support FREE software updates

Click here for more information about ColorVision Spyder 2 (Win/Mac)

Read More...

ColorVision Spyder2PRO Win/Mac Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)It does the basic job well. The calibration runs smoothly and accurately. Hardware looks and feels solid. My two completely different brand, size and age CRT monitors ended up with exactly the same colors sitting side by side.

User interface is merely adequate. Pop up help instructions are better than many I have seen. You will need to know already how the calibration buttons on your monitors work (the hardwired buttons on the monitor, not software). In order to make any edits you must run the entire time consuming calibration over. Sometimes you can use "back" within the calibration, sometimes you must start over. Also the separate "profile chooser" utility software, has not add or delete profile feature - even if it is a profile created and saved by the calibration software earlier. You can see it with windows display properties, but it may not appear in the profile chooser list.
Dual monitors is the one obvious reason to choose pro over plus version. Yes, it does dual monitors, but with an asterisk. It will create separate profiles, but will only apply the correct profiles automatically at startup to both monitors if you have two separate video cards. If you have a single video card with dual outputs, it will load the same profile (the last one you created) to both monitors at startup. This quirk is documented in a readme file on the installation disk (and blames windows for the problem), but this limitation appears nowhere in advertising material, catalogs, or on the box. Fortunately there is a work around (not documented) at least with my particular video card and running XP. After windows opens, you can run profile chooser then choose the correct profile for each monitor. You may have to use windows display properties settings to specify default profile and rerun the calibration to get the profiles you want to appear in profile chooser and to select the correct profile as default.
Once it's all set up, running profile chooser is a four of five click procedure, but you must rememeber to check it before using any application that uses color profiles. And check it after you open the application. I've had them change after opening photoshop - though not every time.


Click Here to see more reviews about: ColorVision Spyder2PRO Win/Mac

The Professionals Choice:Includes Spyder2 calibration, software based print profiling, new PreciseLight ambient light sensor, and calibration for projectors.

Click here for more information about ColorVision Spyder2PRO Win/Mac

Read More...

X-Rite Eye-One Display LT Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Recently, I've read several books about Photoshop CS2 and digital photography and the general consensus of the authors relating to color management is that calibrating one's display device is essential. The overriding recommendation is to use hardware calibration (colorimeter) or, at the very least, an eyeball method (Adobe Gamma, QuickGamma).
Mindful of this information, I calibrated my home CRT, LCD and laptop and my work CRT with free a software program (QuickGamma) that was recommended by several digital camera and Photoshop sites. Previous to this I had used Adobe Gamma but I quickly found that QuickGamma produced superior results. Another thing I noticed was that it was much easier to calibrate the CRT's than either the LCD or the laptop using either eyeball method. When I printed photographs with my home inkjet there seemed to be a pretty good match between the CRT display and output but when I moved pictures from different computers there were noticeable shifts.
With my interest piqued, I decided to purchase a hardware calibrator the Eye-One Display LT (Light?) to see if I could match images between displays and to determine if I could achieve a closer color match between my printer and displayed image.
The Eye-One was easy to use and set up on all displays once I got the hang of the wizard that explains each step. As other reviewers have mentioned a software update is available from Pantone's site and this adds some functionality to the software and is a recommended update. Depending on your displays capabilities the Eye-One allows the user to optimize the, brightness, contrast, color temp, gamma, and RGB set points and then creates a custom profile for your display. With the LT version the color temps available are 5000, 6500 and 7200 and the gamma points are 1.8, 2.2. The next version up allows greater flexibility in these areas but the LT's numbers should be adequate for most users.
Using the updated software, I was able to compare before and after pictures. I also printed several pictures out using the new profile and checked them against my monitor. The results showed marginal improvement over the QuickGamma profile (approx 5%). So with my home CRT, I was not greatly impressed with the results. After profiling my laptop and LCD, however, my feelings changed. Both displays became more vibrant and accurate and, in addition, there was greater consistency between all my displays with regards to color reproduction.
Overall, a nice piece of hardware and software that is intuitive to use and is particularly effective at creating profiles for LCD's and Laptops.
Note: The calorimeter included with the LT is the same as the one included with the more expensive Eye-One Display 2. The only difference between the 2 packages is the included software, which can be upgraded if needed.
Update 1/7/10: I just recently used the Eye-One to calibrate my Panasonic HDTV. Along with the free software Color HCFR and Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics disc (which I rented from Netflix), I achieved excellent results with little to no hassle. Just Google "GREYSCALE & COLOR CALIBRATION FOR DUMMIES" and you will be provided with an excellent walk through. This additional functionality has made a great product even better.

Click Here to see more reviews about: X-Rite Eye-One Display LT

Why do photographs sometimes not appear onscreen with the vibrancy of how the scene was shot? Why does color vary from monitor to monitor? The fact is, all monitors (yes, both new and old) display color differently. But with Eye-One Display LT, you can achieve accurate onscreen color just like the pros – without having to become a pro. Eye-One Display LT calibrates your monitor and adjusts the color onscreen, so your images remain true. Now you don't have to make excuses for poor color; your work can speak for itself.

Get 12% OFF

Click here for more information about X-Rite Eye-One Display LT

Read More...

ColorVision Spyder2 Express Win/Mac Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Pros: Good, well contructed, colorimeter for the novice, easy to use software walks you through every step. I notice a definite improvement in my new 22" WS LCD's picture. I had tried Adobe Gamma and Quick Gamma, but these programs rely on your eyes for making brightness and contrast corrections, and setting gamma. My eyes are not as sharp as they were 20 years ago.
Cons: The new updated software, version 2.3, has been out since June, 2006 but Colorvision is still shipping with the older version. Go to their website [...]), download 2.3 (110.3 MB), install it, and use the keycode on your 2.2 version to run it. The 2.3 version changes the target white point for LCDs to 6500K instead of Native. I personally prefer 6500k anyway. Gamma 2.2 and 6500K are the only choices with the Express. If you want more choices you will have to purchase the more expensive Pro version.
After calibration and exiting the software I got a "Can not find color profile" error message. Rebooting solved this.
With the counter-weight adjusted, I still had to tilt my LCD monitor back 15 - 20 degrees before I could get the Spyder to lay completely flat on the screen.

Click Here to see more reviews about: ColorVision Spyder2 Express Win/Mac

The most effective entry level monitor calibration, just plug in by USB, let it calibrate, remove from monitor…done!Easy as 1-2-3!

Click here for more information about ColorVision Spyder2 Express Win/Mac

Read More...