Which monitor calibration hardware to recommend?


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behyx

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Jun 15, 2002
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Hi guys,

With all the various brands of monitor calibration hardware, which is the one to recommend?

I just got the Dell 24" monitor so want to get 1 and do calibration.

Also, what is the average price I can get locally? I've also heard cheaper price if order from the States.. Does any of you get warranty support locally?

Thanks in advance!
 

Hi guys,

With all the various brands of monitor calibration hardware, which is the one to recommend?

I just got the Dell 24" monitor so want to get 1 and do calibration.

Also, what is the average price I can get locally? I've also heard cheaper price if order from the States.. Does any of you get warranty support locally?

Thanks in advance!

I use the Spyder2 Suite which is good enough for me (abt S$300). The Spyder2 Express I understand is the same as the Spder2 Suite except the gamma is fixed at 2.2 (or 1.8?, can't remember). The S2 Suite also comes with PrintfixPlus s/w in case you want to build your own profile which can be quite messy. If you order from overseas (B&H) you may be able to save abt S$50 after taking into acct shipping charges etc.Problem is there is no agent in Spore and you may need to deal direct with the overseas supplier if there are problems :(
So I just it got from Cathay Photo and heck with it. :) It really makes a world of difference to my printing.
 

I use the Spyder2 Suite which is good enough for me (abt S$300). The Spyder2 Express I understand is the same as the Spder2 Suite except the gamma is fixed at 2.2 (or 1.8?, can't remember). The S2 Suite also comes with PrintfixPlus s/w in case you want to build your own profile which can be quite messy. If you order from overseas (B&H) you may be able to save abt S$50 after taking into acct shipping charges etc.Problem is there is no agent in Spore and you may need to deal direct with the overseas supplier if there are problems :(
So I just it got from Cathay Photo and heck with it. :) It really makes a world of difference to my printing.

Thanks man :)

Read up a bit on the Spyder2 products, looks like they have express, suite and pro versions. Are all these similar in terms of hardware and differ only for the software part?

Can I actually buy the Spyder2 express, but use the pro version software for it? Thanks :)
 

Thanks man :)

Read up a bit on the Spyder2 products, looks like they have express, suite and pro versions. Are all these similar in terms of hardware and differ only for the software part?

Can I actually buy the Spyder2 express, but use the pro version software for it? Thanks :)

I suspect you're rite the h/w is similar except for the s/w. The specs for hardware looks the same for either version. Best to check it out with Cathay...guy name Michael, I think. Good luck and have fun :)
 

Hi guys,

With all the various brands of monitor calibration hardware, which is the one to recommend?

I just got the Dell 24" monitor so want to get 1 and do calibration.

Also, what is the average price I can get locally? I've also heard cheaper price if order from the States.. Does any of you get warranty support locally?

Thanks in advance!

East Gear has an OEM version of Gretag Macbeth Huey calibrator which was retailing for under $100. I don't know if they are still selling at that price. Not the best around but it's way better than any software calibrator.
 

If you are hobbyist & want relatively accurate colors, then the Gretag Macbeth huey would suffice.

The Xrite EyeOne is something more advanced/accurate which takes more samples during the calibration. It is able to create monitor profiles in a multi-monitor set up (eg. Notebook + desktop, or 2 monitor system). Of course, this costs more than the huey.

Note that the Colorvision Spyder2 units can calibrate two monitors under Windows XP, but only if the computer has two separate video cards. With a single "two-headed" card, where one video card runs two monitors, the Spyder2 can only calibrate one of them.
Mac OS has no problem handling dual monitor calibration, but Windows does.
 

Can anyone confrim that CP still selling Xrite EyeOne? Cos I neve found any product details on their site.:dunno:
 

Can anyone confrim that CP still selling Xrite EyeOne? Cos I neve found any product details on their site.:dunno:

CP probably stopped selling Gretag/Pantone/Xrite EyeOne because it competes with the Colorvision Spyders. CP are the local distributor for the Spyders.

If you really interested you can buy it from Amazon, which I did. I think there is a local distributor (Bits & Bytes?) here in Singapore but I think it costs about $50 more than buying from Amazon. Do a search in this forum to hunt down the address. Meanwhile the link to Pantone's Eyeone in Amazon is here:

http://www.amazon.com/Pantone-MEU10...5227?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1188903203&sr=8-1
 

I get my Xrite & Gretag equipment from a local company for work purposes. This company specializes in this field and they should also carry the EyeOne. You can try to contact Xrite local agent :

RVC International Pte Ltd
Tel: (65) 6844 5568
 

Xrite got bought over by Gretag or something like that. Anyway, the i-One Display 2 is probably a good choice. But don't get it from Cathay (if they still sell it) cos it's wayyy overpriced. Get it directly from the local distributor: Bits & Bytes Marketing
 

Should be around the same bah. IIRC i paid $399 for it at Bits & Bytes Marketing. Amazon.com has it for US$230 which is roughly S$350. Factor in shipping (although amazon won't ship electronics to SG directly, so you'd have to use something like vpost) and i think it'll be around the same price or possibly more expensive.
 

Thanks! Might as well as get it from Bits & Bytes Marketing if price not much different to save the trouble of shipping.:)
 

Hi,

[1] Need help to understand which calibration package (HW+SW) work best for me. Am on Windows and have:

- a notebook
- 1 external LCD monitor in office
- 1 desktop PC at home


Most of the time, my notebook is plugged to a LCD monitor at the office, But there are times when I work directly from my notebook. And there are times I work directly on my home desktop PC.

[2] Need to understand if I also need to calibrate my Photoshop and Lightroom.

Many thanks for your help! I am so new into DSLR photography and would appreciate your expert advices! :)
 

hey,

I have the dell 24" screen as well, and i'm using the spyder2pro calibrator.

I've got pretty good prints with it so far :)
 

any one can advice me where can i get a monitor calibration tool now? i've been around simlim. but can't find any.. pls advice :) thank you!
 

guys, how does all these hardwares work? Just plug in to the notebk and it calibrate on its own or need more skills than that?
 

guys, how does all these hardwares work? Just plug in to the notebk and it calibrate on its own or need more skills than that?

You should know a few things about your monitor, e.g. what can be adjusted, how it can be done (OSD menu or some software). Read the manual of the profiling software, it will tell you clearly which settings you should use initially (either 'facory default' or some good standard values). The hardware device usually goes via USB, put it centrally at the monitor and follow the advices. Spyder2 is really easy. Hint: it comes handy when you shift the OSD menu of the monitor a bit so that it doesn't appear in the middle of the screen.
How the profiling works? Simply: the software will generate lots of well-defined colours and the device will measure if the same colour comes out of your monitor. If not then there is some adjustment necessary. The sum of all these adjustments is called 'monitor profile' and need to be loaded upon system startup. The software will help you. In result you'll see exactly what the picture looks like.
 

any one can advice me where can i get a monitor calibration tool now? i've been around simlim. but can't find any.. pls advice :) thank you!

Got mine 2nd hand here in the forum. Works great and cheaper than latest models in market.
 

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