I'm new to Mac's and am trying to figure out how to calibrate my 24" iMac screen (glossy) using the Spyder 3 Pro. Anyone have a suggestion? I've Googled it and didn't find much useful information.
Posted by Jack Garrett on June 19, 2009 at 9:12 AM
Does it have Mac software? I use the 3pro on my windows machine and it works great. One thing though, you might want to ask Nat about the brightness. He was at my house yesterday and said that sometimes with the newer LCDs' you might have to turn the brightness down to get the right calibration. I think you do that before you calibrate.
Jack
Posted by Phillip Noll on June 19, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Bret,
Seeing as how you have a 24" iMac, you might want to read this thread.
Posted by Nat Coalson on June 19, 2009 at 11:17 AM
An unfortunate situation:
1) The iMac display has limited adjustments and cannot be perfectly calibrated/profiled;
2) The Spyder is known to produce inaccurate (eg; professionally unacceptable) results.
Since buying a second display is likely to be impractical, the first thing you should do is buy an X-Rite i1 Display 2 calibrator.
You will get much better results, even on the iMac.... probably good enough to produce work at the level you're accustomed to.
Thanks for the tips, folks. I'll pick up the X-Rite and hope to get close enough for my needs. I'd love to buy a 2nd monitor but I'm out of real estate on my desk.
Hold on, not so fast! You really should read the thread Phillip referred to above. The most common complaint I hear from iMac users is not only is the iMac too bright to begin with, but it does not have the breadth of adjustment to allow the brightness to be turned down to the level most photographers need it to be (around 100 to 140 cd/m2.) In other words, an iMac turned down to zero brightness is still too bright. Unfortunately both the software for the i1Display 2 and the Spyder 2 or 3 does nothing to help with this problem.
The most practical solution we have found is to pick up a third party software that will make use of the computer's graphics card to reduce brightness further. This software, Coloreyes Display Pro, will work with all the more popular instruments including the Spyder and i1D2. You can try out their demo for a couple of weeks for free.
And I'll give my disclaimer again: I don't work for Coloreyes. We use and sell all of these products so I don't have a particular grudge against any one company. But this is what we tell our customers.
Thanks for the detailed reply, Patrick. I'll be in touch soon to learn more about this option. It sounds like a good working solution but I'd like to ask you a few questions about it.
Glad Patrick got in on this. ColorEyes is without question the best software app for monitor calibration. BUT it's an extra expense that some photographers might not need. And it takes the process to new levels of complexity.
Unless you're prepared to go all the way, don't worry about ColorEyes. And note that Patrick's company, Chromix, is a top retailer for ColorEyes. (BTW - I recommend Chromix myself, for all manner of color management solutions..)
From my color management work with clients, I've been able to derive practical solutions for the iMac using just the bundled X-Rite software. Granted, this involves some eye-training on the part of the user; the iMac display with the basic level of provided software is still not capable of anything like a "screen-to-print" match.
If you want the all-out best solution, buy a top of the line NEC display, top of the line X-Rite calibration system, and get ColorEyes.
Short of that, at least getting away from the Spyder and on to i1 is a big step forward, without a lot of new cost incurred. I've not seen any reliable outcomes from Sypder (or Huey), on any display, but admittedly people using these don't usually have monitors that have the minimum required adjustment controls.
You need to decide how much "accurate color" matters to you. It doesn't come cheap, or easy. When shopping for a display, in addition to White Point, you need separate RGB controls. Without this, even Coloreyes won't get you where you need to be....so in order of priority:
1. Good NEC monitor ($600 min; $750 is the sweet spot)
2. X-rite calibration system ($200 min)
3. Additional software ...$ as far as you want to go
Also, if you're going to buy ColorEyes, be prepared to also wear a dark gray shirt all the time, put 5K lights in your office, and paint your walls gray.
"Perfection" is theoretically possible, but comes at a great price.
In the end, make your pictures look like you want them to, however you can.
And have fun.
Posted by Laurie Wendt on June 20, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Bret, I have 2 iMac's, a 20" and a 24". I use the eye-one display 2 to calibrate both of them. The 20inch that I've had for 6 months stays steady at 120cd/m2. The brightness slider to reach it has to be set at a little above the center. On the other hand my 24" brightness is set all the way down and reads 137cd/m2.
Posted by Nat Coalson on June 20, 2009 at 12:27 PM
120 and 137 are good...
110 is better, though.... even with the iMac a second display makes sense for serious color work.
Discussion
9 repliesJack
Seeing as how you have a 24" iMac, you might want to read this thread.
1) The iMac display has limited adjustments and cannot be perfectly calibrated/profiled;
2) The Spyder is known to produce inaccurate (eg; professionally unacceptable) results.
Since buying a second display is likely to be impractical, the first thing you should do is buy an X-Rite i1 Display 2 calibrator.
You will get much better results, even on the iMac.... probably good enough to produce work at the level you're accustomed to.
Sorry I can't give you better news
The most practical solution we have found is to pick up a third party software that will make use of the computer's graphics card to reduce brightness further. This software, Coloreyes Display Pro, will work with all the more popular instruments including the Spyder and i1D2. You can try out their demo for a couple of weeks for free.
And I'll give my disclaimer again: I don't work for Coloreyes. We use and sell all of these products so I don't have a particular grudge against any one company. But this is what we tell our customers.
Demo:
http://www.integrated-color.com
Article:
http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/My_Printer_Is_Too_Dark
Patrick Herold
Tech Support
http://www.chromix.com
Unless you're prepared to go all the way, don't worry about ColorEyes. And note that Patrick's company, Chromix, is a top retailer for ColorEyes. (BTW - I recommend Chromix myself, for all manner of color management solutions..)
From my color management work with clients, I've been able to derive practical solutions for the iMac using just the bundled X-Rite software. Granted, this involves some eye-training on the part of the user; the iMac display with the basic level of provided software is still not capable of anything like a "screen-to-print" match.
If you want the all-out best solution, buy a top of the line NEC display, top of the line X-Rite calibration system, and get ColorEyes.
Short of that, at least getting away from the Spyder and on to i1 is a big step forward, without a lot of new cost incurred. I've not seen any reliable outcomes from Sypder (or Huey), on any display, but admittedly people using these don't usually have monitors that have the minimum required adjustment controls.
You need to decide how much "accurate color" matters to you. It doesn't come cheap, or easy. When shopping for a display, in addition to White Point, you need separate RGB controls. Without this, even Coloreyes won't get you where you need to be....so in order of priority:
1. Good NEC monitor ($600 min; $750 is the sweet spot)
2. X-rite calibration system ($200 min)
3. Additional software ...$ as far as you want to go
Also, if you're going to buy ColorEyes, be prepared to also wear a dark gray shirt all the time, put 5K lights in your office, and paint your walls gray.
"Perfection" is theoretically possible, but comes at a great price.
In the end, make your pictures look like you want them to, however you can.
And have fun.
110 is better, though.... even with the iMac a second display makes sense for serious color work.