DataColor Spyder 4 Studio or Color Munki

[philipus]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I'm looking for a calibration solution for monitor and printer. Two options stand out in a similar price range - the Color Munki and the DataColor Spyder 4 Studio. The former is a one-piece gizmo that can both analyse the monitor and swatches printed whereas the latter employs separate gadgets for these two functions and also includes a 'cube' which is used to calibrate grey and white balance.

 

I'm interested in people's experiences with these two solutions, inluding the included software and how much it allows the user to fine-tune the calibration.

 

Thanks in advance.

[esquire53]

I'm looking for a calibration solution for monitor and printer. Two options stand out in a similar price range - the Color Munki and the DataColor Spyder 4 Studio. The former is a one-piece gizmo that can both analyse the monitor and swatches printed whereas the latter employs separate gadgets for these two functions and also includes a 'cube' which is used to calibrate grey and white balance.

 

I'm interested in people's experiences with these two solutions, inluding the included software and how much it allows the user to fine-tune the calibration.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Philipus,

 

I use the Spyder 4 Studio, but not too impressed with the adjustment range and resolution.

I use dual Apple 30" HD monitors (Apple MacPRO, 2012, with good graphic card) of slightly different age and the software does not calibrate both monitors the same way. The color variation seems to be minor but clearly visible. The gray scale variation between the monitors is quite different and very visible. Most likely the effect of the human eye resolution to gray, rather than color.

The brightness and contrast setting are measured the same during the calibration process.

The adjustment range is quite wide, but what's the point of manual adjustment, when you try to calibrate against some measured values.

I use the screen with the more convincing gray scale for the editing.

(off course, it could also be my eyes r brain non linearity, but haven't found my adjustment pot yet)

 

Still looking for a better solution

 

Good luck and hopefully more suggestions will come up.

 

Uwe

[philipus]

Hi Uwe

 

Thanks for posting your experiences. In the meantime I got the 4Studio set. I have 't fully tried it out; I've only calibrated the screen (I only have one, the 23" ACD). However I am pretty happy so far.

 

I think I saw a function for "harmonising" the calibration across screens (i forget what it called) - did you try that?

 

I haven't found other solutions in the same price range but perhaps there are.

 

Cheers

[esquire53]

Yes, I tried the harmonizing between screens, but didn't find it useful.

Need to try this again once I return to my screens in a week or so.

 

I'll update you on the results.

 

Regards

Uwe