New Laptop with color issues

ChasP505 wrote in post #11058945
You need to invest in two things-- a good external monitor and a calibration device. If you aren't ready for a color accurate monitor yet, at least get something like a Spyder3 Express to get that laptop display as good as it can get. Don't expect miracles.

http://www.amazon.com …rd_r=1BYQKMZ3G6​ATNTVEVP96

The Spyder3 Express manufacturer's web-site mentions this:

"Spyder3Express is for calibrating a computer with a single monitor. If you have more than one display please see Spyder3Pro or Spyder3Elite."

Does this mean you have to purchase the Spyder3 Pro version to calibrate an external monitor connected to a laptop or can you still use the Express version as long as you disable the laptop's screen?

shaftmaster wrote in post #11169757
The Spyder3 Express manufacturer's web-site mentions this:

"Spyder3Express is for calibrating a computer with a single monitor. If you have more than one display please see Spyder3Pro or Spyder3Elite."

Does this mean you have to purchase the Spyder3 Pro version to calibrate an external monitor connected to a laptop or can you still use the Express version as long as you disable the laptop's screen?

They are identical hardware wise, they just try to jerk you around with the drivers. Just use the cheap one under Linux and transport the profiles to Windows.

uOpt wrote in post #11169778
They are identical hardware wise, they just try to jerk you around with the drivers. Just use the cheap one under Linux and transport the profiles to Windows.

My laptop is running Win7 but my external monitor is normally connected to a desktop running WinXP Pro. Can I use the WinXP desktop to calibrate the external monitor and copy that profile to the Win7 laptop or is the profile dependent on the OS?

shaftmaster wrote in post #11170078
My laptop is running Win7 but my external monitor is normally connected to a desktop running WinXP Pro. Can I use the WinXP desktop to calibrate the external monitor and copy that profile to the Win7 laptop or is the profile dependent on the OS?

I would expect the colors to be different for different graphics cards in your two computers. They all default to some random thing.

shaftmaster wrote in post #11169757
The Spyder3 Express manufacturer's web-site mentions this:

"Spyder3Express is for calibrating a computer with a single monitor. If you have more than one display please see Spyder3Pro or Spyder3Elite."

Does this mean you have to purchase the Spyder3 Pro version to calibrate an external monitor connected to a laptop or can you still use the Express version as long as you disable the laptop's screen?

I would assume so... I'm sure it is explained somewhere on DataColor's website. I've never used the Spyder3 Express software.

shaftmaster wrote in post #11169757
The Spyder3 Express manufacturer's web-site mentions this:

"Spyder3Express is for calibrating a computer with a single monitor. If you have more than one display please see Spyder3Pro or Spyder3Elite."

Does this mean you have to purchase the Spyder3 Pro version to calibrate an external monitor connected to a laptop or can you still use the Express version as long as you disable the laptop's screen?

If you use a laptop with a connected external monitor, you have to select one to apply the color correction to. It won't allow you to run two different profiles at once (i.e. 1 for your external, 1 for your laptop). You can install the software on more than one device, however. So you can run a profile on your laptop, then run a separate profile on your desktop.

Vermin87 wrote in post #11170869
If you use a laptop with a connected external monitor, you have to select one to apply the color correction to. It won't allow you to run two different profiles at once (i.e. 1 for your external, 1 for your laptop). You can install the software on more than one device, however. So you can run a profile on your laptop, then run a separate profile on your desktop.

How is that possible? It should give out icc files, which should be loaded by Windoze (respectively the NVidia drivers) without further involvement of the colorimeter and it's software.

uOpt wrote in post #11171166
How is that possible? It should give out icc files, which should be loaded by Windoze (respectively the NVidia drivers) without further involvement of the colorimeter and it's software.

Not sure, as I'm not a computer wizard, but the software must be running for it to continue to provide you with color calibration. I used the spyder2express for a while before getting the spyder3elite, so now I don't have to deal with that problem anymore.

Vermin87 wrote in post #11171337
Not sure, as I'm not a computer wizard, but the software must be running for it to continue to provide you with color calibration. I used the spyder2express for a while before getting the spyder3elite, so now I don't have to deal with that problem anymore.

I think that's optional. I noticed that when my wife used my Huey for a while it would offer you to run in the background with the meter permanently attached and adjust brightness based on background illumination.

That doesn't have anything to do with color profiles. The output of the metering should be an ICC file (or similar) that you stuff into the graphics card drivers. At that point software from the meter maker shouldn't be required at all.

uOpt wrote in post #11173921
I think that's optional. I noticed that when my wife used my Huey for a while it would offer you to run in the background with the meter permanently attached and adjust brightness based on background illumination.

That doesn't have anything to do with color profiles. The output of the metering should be an ICC file (or similar) that you stuff into the graphics card drivers. At that point software from the meter maker shouldn't be required at all.

Hmm, interesting. Well the Spyder2/3express doesn't even offer adjustment based on background illumination, as far as I know. Here is a link to Spyder Datacolor's website where they state in the comparison that spyder3express cannot support multiple monitor calibration.

http://spyder.datacolo​r.com/s3compare.php

I do realize what you are saying. It does create an ICC profile to be used. Not sure how they limit it. I remember though that before when I had my spyder2express, when I started up my computer, the screen was initially uncalibrated until the spyder software started up and ran in the background. Also, there is no way to stop the software from running in the background, unless you force it. *shrug* I don't have to deal with it anymore.

I think this is just a stupid money extortion game to have a "value" and a "premium" product, without providing any real value.

I am sure it still have ICC files. You can tell the NVidia drivers to load them, which it will do on every startup. Problem over. Or buy a different brand colorimeter if you don't like mindgames, but chances are the cheap one here is good value.

DataColor certainly doesn't try to hide what its 3 versions of the Spyder3 can and cannot do. Still, so many photographers spend thousands on their equipment, yet cheap out and unquestioningly buy the cheapest version. I believe they should go back to offering only 2 versions, as they did in the Spyder2 product generation.

http://spyder.datacolo​r.com/s3compare.php

shaftmaster wrote in post #11169757
Does this mean you have to purchase the Spyder3 Pro version to calibrate an external monitor connected to a laptop or can you still use the Express version as long as you disable the laptop's screen?

On most (all?) laptops you can only have one screen calibrated anyway, since the videocard cannot load more then one LUT.

Not true on Apple laptops. Each display can be calibrated independently.

Pay the extra money for the Spider Pro. Since calibrations change as the monitor ages you'll want to calibrate regularly. I imagine that switching the monitor and its profile back and forth, if that would even provode reliable results, would get old very quickly.

Gipetto wrote in post #11182330
Not true on Apple laptops. Each display can be calibrated independently.

Last time I tried (MBP 2008 or early 2009) this didn't work. Might have changed in the meantime. Would be nice.