I am looking to purchase a monitor calibration device and I have a couple of questions.
1) Does a more expensive calibration device better then a cheap one of the same brand ($99 vs $250)?
2) Is one brand better then the other (spyder vs colormunki)?
I am contemplating on a Spyder4 elite vs i1display pro. Anyone use either one and what are the pros and cons?
I am a amateur and have a dell 2209WA monitor.
Thank you
Doug
I have had Colormunki for 2 years and it works great every time. I also calibrate my printing profiles to match my screen output. For me, I am very satisfied with it. If you have the funds I recommend Colormunki.
The more expensive models usually have more features than the less expensive models (of the same brand). The cheaper models usually have a limited feature set even though the actual hardware is the same.
I think both the Spyder4 Elite and i1Display Pro can be had for $199 right now. So it is a good time to buy!
I recently purchased the i1Display Pro and it is great. Super easy to use and it does the job. I haven't used a Spyder to compare it too, but I have to assume they are pretty similar.
Thank you Allanb and Sic0048,
I don't mind paying for more if it's necessary but if the lower models cost less and do the same job then why pay more.
It's like buying the top of the line camera and just shoot in Auto mode.
I bought the Spyder3 elite a couple of years back and I'm not sure it was worth it. I use an iMac and used the Apple visual calibration method.....I used the Spyder and although there was a difference it was marginal....and I stress the word 'difference'...it wasn't 'better' as such.
However, as part of the purchase deal I was able to have two printer profiles made for me.....these made it worth while.
Why not, blob loblaw? Just curious. When I was looking at calibrators it seemed to me overall (and quite informally of course) that there were a lot more complaints and not quite as good reviews about the Colormunki vs Spyder. I also seem to recall reading that Spyder has more sensors or something but I could be wrong. I didn't graph out a technical overview or anything. That was just the feel I got after reading lots of reviews and threads from various forums.
My own personal experience is that I had a Colormunki smile and that in conjunction with using my camera's light meter to set luminance was about as good as using spyder4pro (which sets luminance based on the ambient light). I don't personally see a lot of difference in the final results.
Of course both made a drastic difference over an uncalibrated monitor. That's the key! Just calibrate!
I love my x-rite i1, works great. I prefer the slightly more expensive version. The options to set ambient light and manually choose some options are worth it to me.
photosmile wrote:
I am looking to purchase a monitor calibration device and I have a couple of questions.
1) Does a more expensive calibration device better then a cheap one of the same brand ($99 vs $250)?
2) Is one brand better then the other (spyder vs colormunki)?
I am contemplating on a Spyder4 elite vs i1display pro. Anyone use either one and what are the pros and cons?
I am a amateur and have a dell 2209WA monitor.
Thank you
Doug
Maybe it's not an exact comparison but they are spyder3 and colromunki design.
I found the munki to be faster and more accurate with no adjusting whatsoever.
I had to fiddle with spyder3 and set my own brightness levels on the monitor and RGB curves via secret menu options, etc. Nothing like that was required with the munki.
I have 3 dell screens, one is a wide gamut, few laptops, all sRGB.
I also find when windows starts up, the munki software starts up faster and loads the profile quicker, if that means anything to you.
The design also lets me sample fabric swatches and profile the printer, but that's outside the scope of this comparison.
DigMeTX wrote:
Why not, blob loblaw? Just curious. When I was looking at calibrators it seemed to me overall (and quite informally of course) that there were a lot more complaints and not quite as good reviews about the Colormunki vs Spyder. I also seem to recall reading that Spyder has more sensors or something but I could be wrong. I didn't graph out a technical overview or anything. That was just the feel I got after reading lots of reviews and threads from various forums.
My own personal experience is that I had a Colormunki smile and that in conjunction with using my camera's light meter to set luminance was about as good as using spyder4pro (which sets luminance based on the ambient light). I don't personally see a lot of difference in the final results.
Of course both made a drastic difference over an uncalibrated monitor. That's the key! Just calibrate!
