Datacolor Spyder3 Elite Review

This review is missing a key question, in fact, the whole point of color calibration, as far as I'm concerned: How much difference has this calibration process made in your printed out images? Has it significantly enhanced your control over output colors?

Just wondering... how do we know whether it actually did its job? Is there any objective measurement of whether its calibrations were correct, or do we just take Spyder's word that everything is perfect?

Also, I agree with the other post. Now that your monitor is supposedly calibrated... so what?

I mean, these calibration units aren't exactly cheap (the reviewed item seems to be around $270), so I'm going to need a lot of convincing that they make that big of a difference.

Agree, and by the way applying suction cups on the LCD without protective glass is not very smart...

Josh,

In the same boat that I've never gotten around to doing this even though I had one in my hand the other day but put it back on the shelf as too expensive to buy without knowing something about. In that respect a timely review that does help ... many thanks.

It's possibly not as expensive to adjust and print proofs, particularly easy on a Mac. Of course that is a significantly harder approach IF this thing works as advertised! So I would like to know how big a difference it makes on printed output. Especially as a whole heap of other issues may come up. Does it, for instance, show any inconsistencies with your printer's calibration? How does a print match up against the screens representation (A single picture of both side by side would be great to see!)?

Also would like to know, were you able to get two monitors on the same machine to accurately match each other in terms of brightness and colour? Can you effectively get two profiles to match, let's say a laptop in a dark environment with the brightness turned down (say a blacked out studio) and a bright environment (daytime, office)?

I have this product, and have been using it for the last two months. Previously I had problems with my prints not matching what I saw on my monitor. Sometimes the difference was immaterial, other times it was a very significant difference where I had to have pictures reprinted for clients. I got this product so my prints would match what I see on my monitor. I have been very impressed with it, and it works very well. My prints match almost exactly what I see on the screen. The color is extremely accurate when I compare prints to the monitor. The prints seem to be just a tiny bit darker, but not much, and nothing even close to problematic. I have only used the unit with the calibration wizard, and it has worked very well. I use a ViewSonic VP2250wb monitor.

My spyder 2 manual clearly states that the suction cup is only intended for CRT screens and not to be used on LCD's. It might be good to mention that before people damage their screens trying to attach the suction cup.

If you walked into a retailer and looked a a long wall of monitors you would notice that each one is different. All monitors display colors differently, drift and wear out over time. Calibrating your monitor is like tuning your car’s engine. You need to calibrate regularly (at least once a month) to achieve accurate, consistent color, life-like flesh tones, superb gray balance and tonal response.

Color perception by the human eye is subjective and is different from person to person. The Spyder3 is like an “electronic eye” that scientifically measures color and adjusts it to the industry standard. This sounds harder than it is. Spyder3 software is very user friendly and walks you through the entire process.

As a photographer it is critical that your images are displayed and printed correctly. If you have a color managed workflow you can be confident that your colors are true and avoid costly mistakes and time consuming reprints.

As Ryan pointed out, the prints come out a bit darker than his display. This is because Emissive light (coming from a display) does not register in our eyes quite the same way that reflective light (bouncing off your page) does. You would get the best visible match if you used a proofing light to view the print.

You can dive deeper into color management by profiling your printer and viewing prints under a controlled lighting condition that matches your display’s luminance level but now you're getting really complex. Bottom line is that calibrating your monitor is the first easy step to accurate colors on screen and in your prints.

<were you able to get two monitors on the same machine to accurately match each other in terms of brightness and colour?>

Yes, you can match 2 monitors to the same luminance to get them to display the same colors. You would not want to match yourlap top to your desktop display because a laptop has a noticeable color shift (based on viewing angle) compared to your desktop LCD/CRT.

Josh reviewed the Spyder3Elite which is the most feature rich product at a list of $249. You can purchase the Spyder3Pro for a list of $169. Both products are very simple to use. The differences are in the software features. If you are new to calibration I’d recommend you start with Spyder3Pro. If you need to calibrate a projector and match 2 displays to one target or have unlimited control I’d go for the Spyder3Elite.

Great Color Management Guide from Photoshop CS3 Visual Quick Pro Guide: http://spyder.datacolor.com/pdfs/pscs3vqp_excerpt.pdf

Pro Photographer, Catherine Hall’s Video on why Spyder3 is important to her: http://www.rangefindermag.com/videos/64/Cinematic-Studios-Catherine-Hall-Spyder-3-Elite.aspx

Krista Worldwide Product Manager - Datacolor

They advise you not to use suction cups on LED screens & there's a provided attachment to stop you doing so. I attach the Spyder to the top of the screen frame with Scotch tape & let it hang. Works fine

This a nice review of an item from a great product line. I am still using my Spyder 2 which is a brilliant tool but to advantage of a recent offer to buy a Spyder 3 Print.This is a terrific product and a big improvement over my Monaco EZcolor which a had been satisfied with until I saw the superior results from the Spyder 3 Print profiles.

If anyone plans to get Spyder 3 then make sure you get a Spyder 3 Print as well.

I've just recalibrated due to a new PC, using Spyder2 - I have always found that the monitor calibration has very little effect, and it's impossible to get the monitor to match the printer output that way. In Spyder 2 you also receive 'Printfix' software which attempts to calibrate the screen directly to the printer - I don't know if that is included in Spyder3 but I think it's much more important than simple display calibration.

I'm a little surprised that Krista did not mention one additional product in the lineup, Spyder 3 Studio. This product adds printer calibration. It includes a separate colorimeter for measuring off printed paper swatches. Perhaps she did not want to shock anyone with the, <gulp>, $600 price tag. With studio, the suite takes you from input file all the way through final print in a color corrected solution. The print calibrator takes longer, because you have to measure each color patch on, IIRC, about 3 or 4 pages filled with patches, but the results are quite good.

Eric

I have owned the Spyder 2 suite (monitor/print calibrator combo) for aprox 2 years, fairly recently after my purchase, I tried to contact the customer unsupport as I now call it, through their site where I am a duly registered owner. I ended up giving up and managed to solve the problem. A week ago I discovered that the print calibration patches were misplaced or "lost". As I needed to get some prints done I called customer service and the gentleman told me that he "didn't know" if "they" would provide me with a replacement,we are not talking about an instrument.This is a sheet of paper with good quality controlled printing process that if any mortal spills any beverage on it is going to be ruined. I have sent 2 e-mails a week apart, and so far they haven't had the courtesy or respect to acknowledge any of my pleas.Think it over

Datacolor is offering a mail-in rebate of $35 for Spyder 3 Elite if purchased by 11/30/08.

Would it be unreasonable to expect they've misplaced their own copies and are no longer capable of print new ones that are correctly colour-managed? ;)

Anyway, I've downloaded a copy of SuperCal for Mac OS X quite some time ago. It's got much elaborate controls than the OS X built-in tool, and has made my screens much more pleasurable to use. I like that it give the option to use a gamma-corrected profile or a 'perceptual' profile based on the same calibration (I tend to use the latter). Also, since *you* are watching the screen from a normal working distance, I presume that you get to account much more for ambient lighting than with a device that shields off said lighting by being smack on the screen.

As a result, colours appear much deeper and more saturated, and there's more detail in the darker parts especially. This also helps avoiding discretisation (staircase) effects, especially annoying when watching videos. I haven't ever managed to get colours to match across monitors, though. Despite what Krisha says, I *do* want to match my laptop's screen to my external screen — why on earth would you accept colour mis-matches??

Couple of years ago, I asked advice from a good friend in the publishing business (she does CD sleeves, annual reports, that kind of thing, working from home). She told me she just used a software tool like I (I think the one in Photoshop), that in her experience the investment in an electronic tool was largely lost as you control so little outside your own office/home that the benefits are in fact negligible. Is she wrong (nowadays)?

To correct the above, Spyder3Print is for anybody with a printer they want to profile, not "printing professionals." It used to be called PrintFixPro (new name, same device). I use this with several Epson inkjet printers and it works well and is quite affordable.

<I'm a little surprised that Krista did not mention one additional product in the lineup, Spyder 3 Studio. This product adds printer calibration.>

The only reason I didn’t mention the Spyder3Studio is because I was replying to a review on Spyder3Elite for display calibration; plus it would have been an even longer winded post. ;) The Spyder3Studio is a full color management solution for monitor calibration and printer profiling and is a great product for profiling any combination of printer, ink and media. The list is $599 but you can find it for less at one of our photo resellers.

<Despite what Krisha says, I *do* want to match my laptop's screen to my external screen — why on earth would you accept colour mis-matches??>

I’m not saying you can’t do this but a laptop screen is a serious compromise, for the sake of battery life, so to dumb your studio screens down to what a laptop can do is not ideal. Besides, you probably want to run your laptop in uncontrolled lighting, and thus calibrate it in Visual mode, for max luminance, not target it to a studio standard. Most professional photographers use the laptop on location and edit their work on their studio desktop screen in controlled lighting.

<I called customer service and the gentleman told me that he "didn't know" if "they" would provide me with a replacement,we are not talking about an instrument>

I believe Juan is referring to PrintFIX which is a product we discontinued three years ago, and no longer have a supply of calibration sheets for it at this time. We ran a PrintFIX to PrintFIX PRO upgrade offer for six months, ending two and a half years ago, for those wishing to remain current, and have since upgraded all PrintFIX PRO users for free to Spyder3Print software, and most recently the faster, easier Spyder3Print v3.5 software, but that we can't offer support or upgrades offers indefinitely, they all have timeframes.

For anyone that owns PrintFIX PRO (for printer profiling) you can update your software for free (Spyder3Print 3.5) on our website under the software downloads section.

There are some nice enhancements in the software features and the patch read time is much faster. Patch options are from 150 (one sheet) – to over 729 and there is a target for printing your best black and white photo too.

Krista

Thought I would update this thread with my recent experiences.

I just received a Spyder3Studio SR and decided to check it out on my 24" Apple LED Cinema Display.  To say I was impressed is an understatement.

I calibrated the display three times under different ambient lighting conditions: 1) normal ceiling fluorescent lights; 2) table lamps on but ceiling fluorescents off; 3) room lights off but lights in adjoining rooms on.  The results were identical for all three situations.

As a retired electrical engineer/computer geek, I've designed many products that involved integration of hardware, software, and user interfaces.  In my professional opinion, this is a very well-designed product. 

It's not perfect (what is?).  There are a couple of places in the software that need Back buttons but don't have them.  But you can always exit the program and re-start it.

One possible problem moving forward is its insistence that the detector be plugged into a direct USB port rather than through a hub.  Most new computers have the hub built in.  There are no direct ports accessible to the user at all.

I did have an issue getting a license code for the free upgrade to software version 4.0.  I sent an email to customer service and had an answer within an hour, from a guy in Switzerland.  Seems like pretty good support to me.

I haven't used the printer calibration yet.  I really hate to print that many pages on a very expensive pigment-based printer, with the potential of having to repeat the test, but that's the way it is.

Anyhow, two thumbs up for this guy.  Very well done.

- Leigh

Datacolor is running a scam. They say if you buy a Spyder Elite in 2010 that you will receive all upgrades, no charge. Well these guys promise FREE but they scammed me as they want $ to upgrade despite just buying the product last week. They have no United States phone number and do not respond to emails in a timely fashion. In attempting to upgrade it wiped out my prior version and am unable to calibrate my monitor at all unless I pay their upgrade price. DONT buy any product from DATACOLOR if you can help it.