Monitor calibrating device, please advise!

[Mikesht]

I am thinking of buying ColorVision Spyder Colorimeter - device that calibrates your monitor and you get what you see basically.
They come in different varieties, and I am thinking about Spyder with PhotoCAL software or SpyderPRO with OptiCAL software.
Can anybody tell me if the second one worth extra money, how advanced is the second one compared with a first one. And if you have any comments about this product in general, please share.
Thank you
Mikhail

[PacAce]

I am thinking of buying ColorVision Spyder Colorimeter - device that calibrates your monitor and you get what you see basically.
They come in different varieties, and I am thinking about Spyder with PhotoCAL software or SpyderPRO with OptiCAL software.
Can anybody tell me if the second one worth extra money, how advanced is the second one compared with a first one. And if you have any comments about this product in general, please share.
Thank you
Mikhail
I bought ColorVision SpyderPro with OptiCal from Amazon.com for US $240. It works as advertised but if you've been doing a pretty decent job of manually calibrating your monitor with the Photoshop Gama program then you may start to wonder, like I did, if it really was worth the extra money spent on it since the difference isn't noticeable on the monitor.

[Ferdinand]

Mikesht is it worth getting it if you have 2 different machine? Cause with Photo Gamma I cannot get my 2 monitors to look the same.

Regards,
Ferdi

[timmyquest]

Mikesht is it worth getting it if you have 2 different machine? Cause with Photo Gamma I cannot get my 2 monitors to look the same.

Regards,
Ferdi

Not all moniters will show you the same image no matter what you do...guess thats a major downside to this whole industry

[chris.bailey]

Spyder with Optical IS worth the money as it will get you closer to a colour managed solution. I say closer because not all devices have the same colour gamut capability. Colour management will make a pretty good fist at substituting but unless you have a professional level monitor and printer there is a degree of compromise.

What the Spyder has done for me is take my monitor out of the equation. The 10D is a given, a straight Argb colour space file. All I had to do was play around with my Epson 2100 to get it to match my screen. As any mathmatician knows, any more than one variable makes it tricky. The problem with Adobe Gamma is that it is subjective and dependent on the room lighting. Try it with natural or artificial light, you doing it or you wife. Totally different. Now have a couple of beers and try again! Optical makes it a simple process.

[Mikesht]

Thanks everybody who responded!
I actually found this comparasing myself, it gives some answers:

http://www.computer-darkroom.com/photocal/photocal_1.htm

[scottbergerphoto]

I have a Dell Trintron monitor, and an Epson 2200. I calibrated my monitor with Spyder Pro with Optical. The prints I get using the Epson ICC profiles are virtually identical to what I see on the monitor. There is a noticeable improvement over Adobe Gamma.
Scott

[msnow]

Ditto the above posts. I would also recommend the Spyder. What I see on the screen now looks like what I print.

[billfranklin]

Hi,
If you ever get a chance to attend a Will Crockett seminar, do it. Until you do, check out his comparison of monitor calibrations devices at:http://www.shootsmarter.com/infocenter/wc026a.htm. He has tested them all and for some reason does not reccomend the ColorVision.

[Ferdinand]

Scott,

I have read the above site about why not to get Colorvision's Spyder. How old is your current monitor as it seems to be an issue with monitor 5 years or older.

I am a beginner in photography after checking out all the other manufacturer, it seems Colorvision is the only one within my budget. Perhaps upgrading my monitor every 5 year will help resolve this issue? Does anyone know of any other sites that reviews monitor calibration kits? Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Ferdinand

[gkas]

I have read the above site about why not to get Colorvision's Spyder. How old is your current monitor as it seems to be an issue with monitor 5 years or older.

=============================

The Colorvision Spyder is an excellent deal for $150. My son is a Brooks Photography student. I got a Spyder for each of us. We are both extremely happy with the bang for the buck. There may be better solutions, but not on a budget. I've had extremely good matching for my Epson 820 and 2200... All CRT monitors start to substantially degrade by 5 years. Very good monitors are now pretty inexpensive. I think a LaCie 19" is only about $350 nowadays.

[billfranklin]

I just bought the LaCie 19" 3 or 4 weeks ago. It is a great monitor and worth the money. I am now using my Dell Trinitron as a dual monitor. Really works great when I am in photo shop.

Bill F

[gersur]

You can calibrate, printer, scanner &/or camera, plus monitor for about the same price

www.ezcolor.com

[Ferdinand]

Since I am on a tight budget would going for the Spyder Pro with OptiCAL be acceptable if my monitor is less than 5 years old. I think with the way things are these days we will all be going to a new monitor every 5 years.

Regards,
Ferdinand

[Jesper]

The Spyder with PhotoCAL is not as expensive anymore as it used to be. I bought it from Colour Confidence (http://shop.colourconfidence.com/) (in the UK) about two months ago. I see that it's now about 111 UK pounds including VAT.

It works much better than Adobe Gamma, which I was using before I had the Spyder. Measuring what your monitor does is always better than estimating it by eye... I think PacAce, who says above that he didn't notice a big difference between the Spyder and Adobe Gamma, was just lucky that he did such a good job with Adobe Gamma....

[dtrayers]

I recently got the BasICColor Squid for $199US from Colormall.com

http://www.colormall.com/product1.asp?SID=1&Product_ID=886

It works very well on my Thinkpad as well as my Samsung LCD.

[Ferdinand]

Well, thanks again for all the input guys, I have finally gone ahead and place an order for PANTONE's Spyder Pro with Optical. :D So the plan is to also get a new monitor every 5 years to avoid any issue with accuracy on monitor over 5 years old. And I should be okay without having to profile my printer, Canon I960, as long as I stick original ink and paper.

Regards,
Ferdinand.