I just bought the Spyder 3 to go along with my Dell U2711. Unfortunately, I just noticed the Spyder 4 was released! The 4 Elite is $250, almost $80 more than the 3. The DataColor site says, "The fourth-generation sensor uses double-shielded filters for longer life and better performance. On average, accuracy and precision are improved by 26% and 19% respectively. "
I haven't opened the Spyder 3 Elite, yet. What kinds of folks should upgrade to the 4 for that super duper double shielded filters?
Make sure you're comparing the same thing. I doubt the S4 is $80 more than the equiv S3. They sell you the same hardware and make the $$ difference in the software (which is keyed to the hardware). For many, the Pro is more than enough but if you're going to try to match multiple monitors and/or some other features, the Elite may be preferred. You can usually 'buy up'.
My suggestion is if you have the S3Pro, return it for the S4Pro and see how you get on w/ it and if need be, upgrade teh software to Elite.
One thing I just noticed in the chart below is the huge recalibration time. Other units take only 10 seconds so I'm surprised by that.
I'm thinking I'll keep the 3 Elite. When I look back at "double-shielded filters" I feel like a mark at worst buy being given the Monster Cable sales pitch.
duronboy wrote:
I just bought the Spyder 3 to go along with my Dell U2711. Unfortunately, I just noticed the Spyder 4 was released! The 4 Elite is $250, almost $80 more than the 3. The DataColor site says, "The fourth-generation sensor uses double-shielded filters for longer life and better performance. On average, accuracy and precision are improved by 26% and 19% respectively. "
I haven't opened the Spyder 3 Elite, yet. What kinds of folks should upgrade to the 4 for that super duper double shielded filters?
I'd go for the i1 Display Pro at $250. It tests well on a wide array of display types. I have some early hints that it might even read, straight out of the box, my wide gamut monitor BETTER than my $900 i1 Pro Spectrometer.
Maybe the Spyder4 will be amazing and the best yet but there are no reviews or tests regarding it yet, but the i1 Display Pro is already showing some extremely positive signs in early testing (see also the Dry Creek tests where in their initial test so far it has had less copy to copy variation than anything under $2500). Granted testing is still in the early stages for the i1 Display Pro so it remains to see how it will pan out in the long run.
I wouldn't at all be surprised if the S4 turns out to be better than the S3 though.
skibum5 wrote:
I'd go for the i1 Display Pro at $250. It tests well on a wide array of display types. I have some early hints that it might even read, straight out of the box, my wide gamut monitor BETTER than my $900 i1 Pro Spectrometer.
Maybe the Spyder4 will be amazing and the best yet but there are no reviews or tests regarding it yet, but the i1 Display Pro is already showing some extremely positive signs in early testing (see also the Dry Creek tests where in their initial test so far it has had less copy to copy variation than anything under $2500). Granted testing is still in the early stages for the i1 Display Pro so it remains to see how it will pan out in the long run.
I wouldn't at all be surprised if the S4 turns out to be better than the S3 though. ...Show more →
As far as I know, QC problems aside, the S3 is one of the only ones that is good for wide gamut
Ok, I'll admit I don't know anything about color calibration. I've read a lot, and not absorbed a lot. What I do know is that the i1 Display Pro has been available since July 2011. What exactly are we waiting on? How is testing still in early stages? I know when a new camera body comes out, from any manufacturer, there are countless reviews almost instantly. And, they often come to fairly concrete conclusions about it's abilities compared to what's already available. On top of that, they're be to share those abilities in the form of photographic examples that the dumbest of us(me) can make sense of.
