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Datacolor Calibration Aids - part 4 of 1 2 3 4 5 6

by Mike McNamee Published 01/06/2015

In use, the device can be added to a scene to provide a reference and then taken away for the actual shot. The reference image can then be used to develop the ACR settings for all the first tab sliders. In our example all that was needed was to check the colour temperature (which was actually spot on - we were in a viewing booth!) and small tweaks on the other sliders. To see the effect of an off-temperature setting we deliberately shot on the wrong white balance and this too was corrected in seconds. Generally we find that fixing the white balance dropper and then adjusting the exposure slider to give 120RGB points in ARGB on a mid-grey is all that needs to be done (that is all that was used to check the Spydercheckr and beat the full calibration workflow).

The only moot point in this is the value of the cube's mid-grey. This is either 5% or 7% too dark (depending on your views about what an 18% grey should look like!) and as such if you adjust the image to say 120RGB points it is by definition incorrect. That is less of a problem than it first appears, neutrality is the key factor and all the plastic patches are neutral (and indeed of low metamerism) and aesthetic judgments about tone placement are dominating - as we always say there is a difference between a pleasing rendering and a colormetrically accurate one, only in contract proofing are they the same beast! Overall then, we were quite taken with this little gizmo. It even fits on top of the Spydercheckr, there is a utility threaded spigot tucked away in its spine..

Spyder 5 Elite
This is a monitor calibrator and the latest of a long line of well-regarded devices produced by Datacolor.

First impressions are good - excellent in fact! This is the best packaging we have seen outside of an Apple store and this is important because calibrators should spend most of their lives in a box!

The shape of the Spyder is more like the traditional puck. This is welcome, the X-Rite offering for the Colormunki is an awkward, unstable design that never sits comfortably against the screen, you always worry about light leaks around the sides. The cover to protect the sensor also acts as a counter weight when the USB-connected device is place on the screen.

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Contact Mike McNamee

1st Published 01/06/2015
last update 09/12/2022 14:53:05

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