This site, and all its
contents are copyright
©2003-2008 Keith Cooper
The Spyder 2 Pro - monitor calibration made easy
ColorVision's latest version of the Spyder is a definite improvement
If you're moving into colour management, then you've probably been told to start with your monitor. Keith has used the original Spyder for some time and in this review looks at some of the advantages of the new offering from ColorVision.
The latest version of the Spyder 2 Pro now supports digital projector calibration - this is covered in a separate review. See also our Spyder2express review. Feature Update - Spyder2PRO Ambient light measurement
Update 2008 - We have reviews of the Spyder3Pro and Spyder3Elite and Spyder3 Print
Just in case you are wondering just what this 'Colour management' stuff is, I've a very short guide to colour management page that might be of help.
|
|
Topics The What's New Page gives a quick overview of the hundreds of pages of articles and picture on this site. This page is part of the Articles section of our Info and Resources feature |
| Northlight Images prides itself on its independence when giving advice. We do not sell hardware or software and have no direct commercial links with any of the software or hardware vendors that may be mentioned here. See our Review Policy for more information.
The Google ads on our site help pay our hosting costs. Why not get paid for visitors to your site? Get more info from Google, at the AdSense link just below. |
 |
Why do you need to sort out your monitor?
There is really only one place to start with Colour Management - your monitor. If it doesn't actually display accurate colour, it's difficult to get prints right and even more so getting anyone else to produce them accurately. At it's simplest you should adjust your monitor by eye to get good brightness and contrast. There are various software tools that can help you in this (see the Viewing Page in the Gallery section) but these are at best a partial solution (they rely on your eyesight for one thing).
I've used the original ColorVision Spyder for some time now, for calibrating my main monitor (a 21"crt). It works well and gives good consistent results, although the two part software solution (PreCAL and OptiCAL) does seem a little clunky sometimes. I've also noticed problems with some LCD screens, where the greyscale performance in particular was less than inspiring.
The recent announcement of the Spyder 2 and it's all new software looked as if it might well improve the situation, without having to spend more money on some of the other solutions on the market. I decided to see how much had changed...
- Will the Spyder make my monitor match my prints? I've been asked this a couple of time and have written a short article on how it will help, but why you need to consider some other factors as well.
What does the equipment do?
There are two main aspects of getting your monitor set up correctly:
Firstly, how do you characterise the actual performance of the display. For example...
- How red is bright red
- What colour is displayed at R=127,G=127,B=127 (should be a mid grey)
- How linear is the brightness output with changing input values
This is 'Profiling' your monitor
Secondly, making the monitor perform as a 'standard' device
- What gamma do you want to have (I use 2.2 for my displays now)
- What colour temperature do you want (I use 6500)
- What black and white point luminances do you want
This is 'Calibration'
It's worth remembering that you are actually measuring the whole monitor/display card combination, since some aspects of monitor display can depend on the capabilities of your video card.
How does it work?
The examples below are all on Apple Macs, but the software is supplied for windows PCs as well (Windows: 2000, XP. Macintosh: OS X 10.2+). It is also important that the sensor just measures what comes from the screen, so avoid bright lights (like the flash I used to take the pictures :-) and make sure that the monitor has been on long enough to stabilise (an hour is suggested).
Installation consists of running the installer on the CD, then you plug in the USB measuring device and fire up the software. The sensor measures the light coming from the screen when the software displays various colours and greys. At it's simplest, you just follow the default settings and instructions and you end up with a profiled screen calibrated (in the case of my 23" LCD below) to a Gamma of 2.2 and a temperature of 6500.
There is a weight attached to the lead that you can slide along the wire and balance the weight of the sensor. In the picture below, it is behind the screen. With LCDs you use a filter attachment and the sensor lays flat against the screen, while with CRTs the filter unit comes off to reveal small suckers that hold the scanner in place.
Measuring device on an Apple 23" LCD display - the screen is tilted back so that the sensor makes good contact
After running the checks, the software shows the PDI test image (available here) and allows you to see the difference that your new settings have made. Do remember that if there has been a lot of adjustment, the 'new' settings may look a bit odd, especially if you have been using the monitor uncalibrated for a while. This is perfectly normal and very quickly you won't notice it.
Test image allows comparison of settings
So, that was it ... I'd just set up my monitor. The greyscale in particular looked very smooth. There have been reports that the large Apple LCD has a smoother greyscale if you use the display's 'native' temperature rather than 6500. I tried this and the differences were minimal. It might be worth checking your own LCD displays with this option, unless you specifically need a cetain setting.
Now to do my laptop - this had not been very good at all with the old Spyder - but then I never use the laptop for critical work.
Just as easy to run and the greyscale was now without the slight colours that I'd noticed when trying out the old Spyder.
Calibrating a G4 Powerbook
The software certainly seems easier to use, not that the old version was difficult, just this one seemed to do everything it needed without fuss.
I took the device round to my old CRT. This is starting to show signs of it's age and compared to the new Apple 23" LCD looks soft and dim. Removing the LCD filter I stuck the sensor to the screen - it didn't fall off- and ran the software. Quite a few more options were available since the CRT has many more controls. The picture below shows the CRT's own adjustment menu (below sensor), where I'm adjusting the individual colours to balance them (upper right window) This was part of the PreCAL software in the original Spyder package.
The process was not difficult to follow, and there are numerous help screens available at most stages. One thing you can set is how often the software will remind you to calibrate your monitor. I have mine set up to remind me every two weeks, but you can choose your own settings -- I know some people who do it every day!
Setting up a CRT
So I'd managed to calibrate all three main monitors I use in less than an hour, and that included installing the software. Subsequent recalibration is quicker, unless you need to reset brightness/contrast settings as well. It is worth mentioing that if you (or anyone else) make -any- adjustments to the monitor then the calibration will need to be repeated.
I tend to use the three machines for quite different uses and rarely at the same location. This was one reason that I was happy to accept the defaults values for calibration. If I'd got half a dozen monitors in a single office I'd probably be much more keen to have them calibrated to consistent values so that people moving work from one machine to another would see the same view. More advanced modes of the software allow you to customise most settings for the particular task and hardware you are using.
For example, this gets more important if you are using special lighting for proofing, and need to work to much higher levels of accuracy. Most of my photographic work is not so colour critical, so the default 6500,2.2 settings were fine.
Custom targets and curve adjustment allow you to reproduce all kind of set-ups, but ... if you are going to be making use of the advanced settings, you should already have quite a lot of colour management knowledge -- if not then I'd suggest you take the time to learn about it...
Editing curves
Some of the more advanced settings you can select.
If you know why you want ITU-R Rec. BT.709 then by all means use it, otherwise it's probably best to stick to the defaults :-)
The sensor can also be used as a colorimeter to measure screen colours and can handle the calibration of multiple screens on the same computer.
The range of solutions
The package I've been looking at is the Spyder 2 Pro. At the moment it also comes bundled with nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 Standard Edition, PANTONE® colorist, and ColorVision® DoctorPRO.
It includes a site license for calibrating all your monitors (Mac and PC)
The picture below shows my old Spyder and the new Spyder 2 Pro. The new LCD filter (top) is much easier to fit than the old one. Not shown are the LCD balance weights, once again the new solution wins on simplicity
The only thing not improved is the box-- I rather like the old cloth covered black box
Old and new Spyders
ColorVision also offer simplified calibration hardware and software that might better suit other users.
The table below is taken from ColorVision info (you should check their site for the latest prices and details of bundled software).
| Features | ColorPLUS | Spyder | SpyderPRO |
| Price | $119 | $169 | $249 |
| Target End User | Anyone printing photos at home, digital imaging enthusiasts | Advanced Amateur, Prosumer or Designer | Professionals and Semi-Professionals |
| Calibrates CRT and LCD Displays | YES | YES | YES |
| Operating System |  |
 |
|
| Software | ColorPLUS | PhotoCAL (site license) |
OptiCAL (site license) |
| User Interface | Wizard | Wizard (with options) | Wizard & Progressive Dialog |
| Adobe® Software | Album SE | Album | Album |
| Choice of Gamma | Preset | 2 | Unlimited |
| Choice of Whitepoint | Preset | 2 | Unlimited |
| PreCAL Function | NO | YES | YES |
| Custom Targets | NO | NO | YES |
| Curve Manipulation | NO | NO | YES |
| Colorimeter Tool | NO | NO | YES |
| Reporting | NO | NO | YES |
| Matching Different Monitors to Same Target | NO | NO | YES |
| Precision Mode | NO | NO | YES |
| 30-Day Money Back Guarantee | YES | YES | YES |
| 1-Year Spyder Warranty | YES | YES | YES |
| Free Technical Support | YES | YES | YES |
| Free Software Upgrades | YES | YES | YES |
Summary
A solid, easy to use bit of kit. Just when advances in monitor technology were beginning to show up some of the deficiencies in my old Spyder, along comes one that is both easier to use and more accurate. The grey scale improvements are particularly welcome, given the amount of black and white photography I do.
As ever, I'd advise you to do some research of your own before making buying decisions, but I'm more than happy with the results I get with the new Spyder. It never was difficult to use, but the attention paid to interface design in the new software is welcome.
A very capable device ... even if I still prefer the box that the old one came in... :-)
Update - after several weeks of use I decided that the display on my Powerbook was slightly better at 'Native' settings, and the Apple 23" was fine at 6500. As I said, I don't usually use the Powerbook for critical work...
Feature matrix updated (Mar. 2006) after our review of the Spyder2express ($99)
| Features | Spyder2express (Keith's Review) |
Spyder2 Suite | Spyder2Pro |
| Monitor Calibration | Basic | Advanced | Professional |
| Monitor Gamma/Temp Choices | Fixed | Multiple | Unlimited |
| RGB Control Calibration | no | yes | yes |
| Front Projector/Ambient Light (Keith's Review) | no | no | yes |
| Printer Profiling | no | Yes (software based) | Yes (software based) |
| Bundled Software | Adobe Album Starter Edition (Win only) | ColorVision PrintFIX Plus (Keith's Review) | ColorVision PrintFIX Plus (Keith's Review) |
| Free Technical Support | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| List Price | $99 | $169 | $279 |
Update 2008 - We have a similar tables covering the Spyder2express, Spyder3Pro and Spyder3Elite
More Info
- Spyder 3 Elite - multiple monitor support and projector profiling (inc. ambient light measurement)
- Spyder 3 Pro - multiple monitor support for profiling (inc. ambient light measurement)
- Update to Spyder 2 Pro - covers projector profiling and the latest software
Feature Update - Spyder2PRO Ambient light measurement - An Introduction to colour management article by Keith and collection of CM info.
- Colour management links on this site
- Why don't my prints match my screen?
A short article showing why there is more to getting your prints to match your screen, than just calibrating your monitor. It's the vital first step, but you do need to consider some other factors for best results. - The Viewing page - basic monitor set-up
- Reviews - Other equipment and software reviews by Keith.
- Eye One Display 2 Monitor calibration and profiling device from GretagMacbeth - also allows ambient light measurement.
- The Pantone huey - entry level monitor profiling.
"Sorry, this application has expired"
If you get this message in 2005 from your Spyder 2 Pro software, then check out either of these update sites
We have a version of Google's Search engine, optimised for photography related items that may be of use in finding more information...
Keith is always happy to discuss matters raised in his articles. You can contact Keith at the address below.
The views above represent those of Keith Cooper. Articles copyright ©2003-8 Keith Cooper.
Other areas of our site that may be of interest...
NEW -- Create your own customised A3 size wall calendar from a choice of 90 of Keith's images. Choose your own images for your own custom printed calendar - 12 months starting any month of the year - many all new images not yet in our main gallery.
Digital Black and White. Keith was recently interviewed about digital black and white photography for a magazine article. We have an expanded version here covering some of his thoughts, techniques and tips for those thinking of trying black and white.
As well as our Commercial Photography services and Training there is a growing collection of photography Articles and Reviews on the site aimed at helping you get the best out of your own photography. We also have a growing collection of Photography related information and links that we hope you find useful.
New site features and some of Keith Cooper's latest work are always covered in the What's New page.
Visiting Leicester or wondering where it is? We have views from the Leicester traffic cameras.