Monitor Calibration

[antoeknee]

Have finally decided that I need to calibrate my monitors (dual display setup, wish Lightroom had floating menus) as the slight differences in hue/brightness are starting to annoy me.

Think my brain will explode if I read any more reviews on available hardware.

Looking like my decision is coming down to:

X-Rite ColorMunki Display
or
Datacolor Spyder 5 Pro

Would appreciate comments from anyone with either of these. Info on ease of use etc would be appreciated.

[planetc]

Re: Monitor Calibration

If the colormunki display is anything like the smile it's a doodle mate, couple of clicks then make the resulting profiles the default windows profiles for each monitor . Once default set just run the calibration with a couple of clicks once a week on each monitor.

[Parsen66]

Re: Monitor Calibration

I went through the same dilemma as you, wanting to calibrate but not knowing which way to turn. I have a Mac with dual display with the second display no where near the quality of the Mac.

I plumped for the ColorMunki Display. Apart from an initial hic up with the Mac not recognising the unit, easily overcome, it's very easy to use. First it assesses the natural light. Then the unit is placed on the screen. Click the mouse to start the process and 5 mins later, all done.
The unit can constantly assess the amount of light in the room and adjust the screen to suit, how clever is that?

Go for it

[ST-EOS]

Monitor Calibration

I think it's a case of which one suits your budget. I had a similar concern over my dual monitors one a Dell one an LG both of which use the onboard graphics (intel4400 from memory)
Various soothsayers said I wouldn't be able to calibrate both monitors because of this GPU arrangement and that I should buy a Graphics card for the PC.
Load of rowlocks that advice turned out to be, my Spyder Pro is able to calibrate both monitors and the system is able to store and use both of the LUT's (lookup tables)
Getting both monitors to give consistent colour/hue is a bit of a pain but it is doable.
One way I check the calibration after a recalibration is by dragging a browser window so that it sits across both monitors screens.

[antoeknee]

Re: Monitor Calibration

Thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated. The price range for these devices is almost as bad as lenses!

Dragging a window so it spans the two monitors is one way I'd noticed this issue. When I use PS I have the toolbars on one screen and the image on the other. The small image in the navigation panel is where I notice it most. Not really a problem but annoys me.

[antoeknee]

Re: Monitor Calibration

Thought I'd just add an update.

Ended up getting Datacolor Spyder 5 Express as was a lightening deal on Amazon for £55.

Have calibrated both monitors and changes weren't massive. Both had brightness/contrast changed slightly and both original configurations were slightly warmer, more so on one which might explain differences I was seeing.

Spyder 5 is really easy to use and seems to do the job well.

[Parsen66]

Re: Monitor Calibration

So now no more excuses hey Ant

[antoeknee]

Re: Monitor Calibration

Don't you believe it, I'll use any excuse I can get.