spyder 3

BlastedGlute

just bought a sypder 3 express to sort out my monitor.

anyone have any experience with these?

Paulw

I've a Spyder 3 Elite.

Works great.

Just follow the on-screen instructions.

gloobag

I have a Spyder 3 pro (I think). Very easy to set up and does exactly what it says on the tin to be honest. It'll look strange after your first calibration, almost too dark or something, but you'll get used to that.

You'll notice a big difference in the contrast and blacks between calibrated and uncalibrated.

jpb1974

I find the Spyder 3 OK.. the software can leave a green cast on some monitors (fine on my PC, green cast on my laptop) in which case you can give ColorEyes Pro a try in conjunction with the Spyder 3 hardware -

http://www.integrated-color.com/cedpro/coloreyesdisplay.html

BlastedGlute

damn it, I couldnt afford the pro or elite right now and im kind of desperate! Do you think the express model will be good enough for now and to get closer to a printable type of calibration? Or did I sell myself drastically short?

Paulw

I'm sure someone else will confirm, but print calibration is slightly different from monitor calibration.

Print calibration will have to consider the printer, the ink and the paper.

BlastedGlute

agreed, things tend to be a lot darker. but I guess im just looking for a more universal calibration so my monitor doesnt look to different from other (albeit uncalibrated) screens. I would hope to be able to setup a profile that i can use before preparing an image to print

gloobag

Well, print calibration is different, but I think having your monitor calibrated is a step in the right direction. I've never had any problem with prints I've gotten since I've been calibrating my monitor (I don't do my own printing though). Had a couple of dodgy ones before hand though.

With mine, you can set up different calibration profiles for different monitor and you can turn them on/off as you please.

As for the different types of Spyder (Pro, Elite, etc...), I think the hardware is the same for all of them, it's just the software that's different as far as I know.
Assuming you're only calibrating the one monitor you shouldn't have any problems with the express.

sarkozy

gloobag wrote: »

Well, print calibration is different, but I think having your monitor calibrated is a step in the right direction. I've never had any problem with prints I've gotten since I've been calibrating my monitor (I don't do my own printing though). Had a couple of dodgy ones before hand though.

With mine, you can set up different calibration profiles for different monitor and you can turn them on/off as you please.

As for the different types of Spyder (Pro, Elite, etc...), I think the hardware is the same for all of them, it's just the software that's different as far as I know.
Assuming you're only calibrating the one monitor you shouldn't have any problems with the express.

This is how I understand it. The difference is the software that's bundled with it.