22Sep Monitor Color Calibration
A lot of monitor manufactures will make odd adjustments to their displays in an effort to make them look better on the show room floor. This might make colors pop out at you, but it doesn’t do much for accurate color reproduction. Some monitors like the ultra low price Catleap 2560×1440 IPS Display don’t include any kind of color adjustments on the monitor at all, which means you’ll have to do your color tweaking with your graphics card. Either way, it’s a good idea to invest in a Color Calibration tool, if you want to get the most out of your current monitor.
If you have the budget to spend $800 to $2500 on a Adobe RGB calibrated monitor you probably wont need a color calibration tool as most monitors in the price range have consistent and repeatable color performance. On the other hand, if you’re trying to get an existing monitor to give you the best results possible, the next best thing is to use a color calibration unit to get the most out of your monitor.
Something like the Spyder Express 3 (above) or Spyder 4 can be found on Amazon for around $80 to $115, but there are higher end models available as well. After running the Calibration test on the Catleap 2560×1440 IPS Display the results are night and day. Before the calibration light grays looked almost white and blue levels were out of control, it’s made a big difference.
I am by no means a color expert, but after spending some time around print matching applications, it’s very easy to see the benefit of a properly calibrated monitor. Even if you are working on a high end monitor it still might be worth it to have something like this around.
One thing to remember when using a color calibration tool, is that the lighting in the room can effect your results. That same lighting can also effect your perception of color when looking at the monitor. Neutral colored walls (grays or whites) can also improve they way you perceive colors on your newly calibrated monitor, so try to stay away from working brightly colored rooms.
September 23rd, 2012 at 3:34 am
I have an old Spyder 2 which still works great and allowed me to calibrated both my MacBook Pro and my HDTV to within an inch of their lives! As you say, the differences are indeed night and day.
My pet hate (as a TV freelancer) is folks home televisions in the wrong aspect ratio and not calibrated. So much time and effort is spent at source to get the best pictures to the viewer, who then ultimately watch the SD version in stretched 14:9 with high contrast and over saturation. AARGH.
September 23rd, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Can you make Catleap review?
TY
September 23rd, 2012 at 7:31 pm
Working on it.
September 23rd, 2012 at 10:40 pm
Thanks DJ! Quick question. Is the 3 elite better than the 4 pro?
September 24th, 2012 at 9:22 am
You might want to look over the specs, I believe the 4 pro only handles single monitors but has a new sensor, while the 3 elite handles dual monitors but has an older model sensor. Someone correct me if that’s wrong.
September 25th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
Thank you. I looked around and where did you find $70? I found the Elite 3 for almost as much as the elite 4
September 25th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Take a look on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cameras-Photo-/625/i.html?_sac=1&_nkw=spyder+3
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Thanks Deejay,
Does one of these monitor calibration tools works for the lilliput 5-7″ focus assist monitors?
October 23rd, 2012 at 8:50 pm
I don’t think so Mike. It uses software to calibrate the screen. Unless your using it as a computer monitor it probably wont do much good.