What calibrator?

Just wondering if anyone can shed some light on my issue?

I am looking for a calibrator for my monitor but i have a limited budget (£100 absolute maximum but preferably as little as possible).

What options do i have?

Also if i calibrate my screen, will this help my printing? I only print a fraction of the images i shoot but would like to know that what i see is what will print.

Huey Pro is probably the least expensive...I have one and it works pretty good for me. It has a few pro features like automatically adjusting for room light and dual monitor support. It is really easy to set-up and calibrate and can be done in about 5 minutes. I have heard some of the other more expensive ones take a long time and is quite technical.

Before I got the Huey I just took a calibration print from my printer and displayed the same print on my monitor...then adjusted the monitor to match the print..worked surprisingly good! Just make certain your print profile in sRGB.

BCRose wrote in post #5703189
Just make certain your print profile in sRGB.

That would depend entirely on the workflow and printer (printing service) used...

Is Huey Pro is the least expensive?
I just seen Spyder 2 Express for $64 or so:

http://www.adorama.com​/ICVS2E100.html

Is it any good?

hmm, not to hijack, but im interested in this too. This seems like a very important factor in PP, to have a calibrated and accurate monitor, so that when you adjust color so it looks good on your monitor, it looks good on other people's monitors. It would be a shame to edit a bunch of photos on you uncalibrated monitor and post them on web or print them and realize they all have color casts or all have bad colors.

You have to remember a few things. Just because your monitor is calibrated and now they look good to you, when you post them does not mean others will not see color casts. It is independent somewhat on their color setups as well. Another thing that makes people gloomy is they calibrate their display and photoshop still prints out a horrible color print. You need to set photoshop to use the proper paper profiles and other settings/compensations as well. Last thing you want is photoshop and your printer fighting over who gets to decide the color. Another thing typically missed is forgetting to set the paper profile in your printer properties for color management.
I speak with alot of experience when it comes to these errors (unfortunately). I was using my Epson R1800, Eye-One Display 2 colorimeter, photoshop CS and still getting horrible prints. I setup photoshop correctly and my colorflow suddenly became great.

Adobe gamma will get you in the right ballpark, & it's free. You can check the calibration a bit better in Post #6 of this (wordy) thread:

PhotosGuy wrote in post #5718853
Adobe gamma will get you in the right ballpark, & it's free. You can check the calibration a bit better in Post #6 of this (wordy) thread:

Ugh, NO. There's a reason why Adobe discontinued it (hey where'd it go in CS3? :lol. It relys on YOUR eyes which are prone to error.

blinded wrote in post #5719620
Ugh, NO. There's a reason why Adobe discontinued it (hey where'd it go in CS3? :lol. It relys on YOUR eyes which are prone to error.

this is exactly the reason, why I am looking for the calibrator.
I cannot trust my eyes, only the RGB or CMYK numbers.

My eyes were calibrated shooting transparency for 35 years.

If you aren't using a commercial plate printer, there's no reason to get involved with CMYK?

Here's another: The gray bar at the center is the same density all the way across.
https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=2415343&po​stcount=30

CMYK just easier for me to understand what is wrong with skin tones
as described here:

http://www.smugmug.com​/help/skin-tone

gnnbtrn wrote in post #5717717
Is Huey Pro is the least expensive?
I just seen Spyder 2 Express for $64 or so:

http://www.adorama.com​/ICVS2E100.html

Is it any good?

I use the Spyder2 Express and the results are excellent.

Mike R wrote in post #5720693
I use the Spyder2 Express and the results are excellent.

i just bought it at Amazon for $28.99 free shipping
had to apply for their silly credit card though, but the price is good.

blinded wrote in post #5719620
Ugh, NO. There's a reason why Adobe discontinued it (hey where'd it go in CS3? :lol. It relys on YOUR eyes which are prone to error.

A and B are identical. Without thinking about it too hard (most optical illusions you can guess the two different things are the same) and not using the eyedropper tool, you wouldn't be able to tell, but a colorimeter can.

Then my monitor must be way off. To me, A looks like a gray, where B looks like a white.

Canon Soldier wrote in post #5720734
Then my monitor must be way off. To me, A looks like a gray, where B looks like a white.

This is not your monitor, this the way yours (and mine) eyes will see things. Only RGB or CMYK numbers will tell you if the color is the same.

Check square A and B with eyedropper