Colorvision S3P100 Datacolor Spyder 3 Pro - Windows Macintosh
Colorvision
- S3P100
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Reviews
(7)
0
I work as a professional photographer so I might be too critical for most folks.
2003:
My first was the Spider plus on a Dell XPS. The monitor profile it created was Olive Green in the shadows (10-30) I was able to correct this in the driver pallet using a curves feature found on high end PCs.
2008:
On my new MacBook Pro the Spider 3 gave me the same looking profile that my PC had. Olive Green and warm in color. It does not look like the target file/print no matter what gamma or white point I choose! "Unfortunately, you have purchased Pro" that's the official response of DataColor/ColorVision! Then tried to sell me the Elite! My comment; So the pro is crap! They never wrote back after that.
They put their money in marketing not CUSTOMER SERVICE. I wasted $140 because I'm looking for something else!
2003:
My first was the Spider plus on a Dell XPS. The monitor profile it created was Olive Green in the shadows (10-30) I was able to correct this in the driver pallet using a curves feature found on high end PCs.
2008:
On my new MacBook Pro the Spider 3 gave me the same looking profile that my PC had. Olive Green and warm in color. It does not look like the target file/print no matter what gamma or white point I choose! "Unfortunately, you have purchased Pro" that's the official response of DataColor/ColorVision! Then tried to sell me the Elite! My comment; So the pro is crap! They never wrote back after that.
They put their money in marketing not CUSTOMER SERVICE. I wasted $140 because I'm looking for something else!
6 price(s)
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I've used three other monitor calibrators and in my opinion this is a mid grade product. This item is superior to the Huey Pro since it's able to calibrate hybrid backlit monitors like the Dell Ultrasharp 2408wfp but the ultimate downfall of this product is that it does not measure luminance.
I was able to accurately calibrate color but the brightness of the monitor was blinding even when I set my brightness to ZERO, luminance level was measured at 320 cd/m2. I had to returned this item to purchase a X-rite Eye One Display Two since the calibration tool and software is similar to that of the Lacie Blue eye pro but more importantly it measures luminance for accuracy. With the Eye one display two I was able to calibrate my dell 2408wfp luminance to a comfortable 120 cd/m2 and still maintain superior color accuracy and good contrast.
If you don't have problems with brightness and just need color accurate calibration then this item is for you. But if you spend long hours in front of overly
I was able to accurately calibrate color but the brightness of the monitor was blinding even when I set my brightness to ZERO, luminance level was measured at 320 cd/m2. I had to returned this item to purchase a X-rite Eye One Display Two since the calibration tool and software is similar to that of the Lacie Blue eye pro but more importantly it measures luminance for accuracy. With the Eye one display two I was able to calibrate my dell 2408wfp luminance to a comfortable 120 cd/m2 and still maintain superior color accuracy and good contrast.
If you don't have problems with brightness and just need color accurate calibration then this item is for you. But if you spend long hours in front of overly
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This review won't compare this colorimeter to other brands/models. However, the capabilities of the Spyder3Pro where exactly what I was looking for, and I detail some of the results.
I bought this item after shooting my first wedding. I had noticed that previously, all of my photos had to have some additional correction to get anywhere close to what I had on screen when sending them to print, and even that was a crap shoot.
This little gem has completely fixed the issue. True, there is a *slight* variation from printer to printer (as I didn't buy the elite package that profiles your printers too), but it's not noticeable to most people.
Down to details:
* It's very nice to be able to set multiple monitors in multiple locations and know that the profiles you have will definitely work. I can match up computer LCD displays, CRT televisions (or monitors), or even wide-screen plasmas and projectors to become color corrected.
* The ambient light sensing ability is another big plus since
I bought this item after shooting my first wedding. I had noticed that previously, all of my photos had to have some additional correction to get anywhere close to what I had on screen when sending them to print, and even that was a crap shoot.
This little gem has completely fixed the issue. True, there is a *slight* variation from printer to printer (as I didn't buy the elite package that profiles your printers too), but it's not noticeable to most people.
Down to details:
* It's very nice to be able to set multiple monitors in multiple locations and know that the profiles you have will definitely work. I can match up computer LCD displays, CRT televisions (or monitors), or even wide-screen plasmas and projectors to become color corrected.
* The ambient light sensing ability is another big plus since
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As an avid amateur photographer, I had heard much about how important it is to calibrate one's monitor, so I finally gave in and ordered this. (Not from Amazon).
The short: it installed without much hassle on my Vista box, and the software runs fine. I was able to calibrate my LCD, a ViewSonic 2030WM, in less than 15 minutes, from opening the package to calibrated profile.
I don't print at home, so I had to wait to get prints back from a professional printer in order to compare an image viewed on my calibrated monitor against the output from a (presumably) calibrated printer with its own appropriate color profile. I have used drugstore prints as well as prints from MPix.
The colors match quite well.
(As an aside, the monitor profile did not seem to change the way the monitor looked very much at all. This implies that the ICM profile that came with my monitor was not so bad to start with.)
A few nits:
I find software that adds something to my taskbar annoying. I prefer software to
The short: it installed without much hassle on my Vista box, and the software runs fine. I was able to calibrate my LCD, a ViewSonic 2030WM, in less than 15 minutes, from opening the package to calibrated profile.
I don't print at home, so I had to wait to get prints back from a professional printer in order to compare an image viewed on my calibrated monitor against the output from a (presumably) calibrated printer with its own appropriate color profile. I have used drugstore prints as well as prints from MPix.
The colors match quite well.
(As an aside, the monitor profile did not seem to change the way the monitor looked very much at all. This implies that the ICM profile that came with my monitor was not so bad to start with.)
A few nits:
I find software that adds something to my taskbar annoying. I prefer software to
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more
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I don't know what some of these reviews are saying... I just received mine today and it works great! I do also have the huey, and that works ok, but the Spyder3 does a much better job and the colors look more vibrant and photos look the way you want them to when you print them.
Also I have a new iMac with a CRT on the side so i have two monitors. They are both easy to calibrate with the new updated software on the website.
Go ahead and splurge.....!!!!!!
Also I have a new iMac with a CRT on the side so i have two monitors. They are both easy to calibrate with the new updated software on the website.
Go ahead and splurge.....!!!!!!
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Just like B. Lee, I kept getting profiles that made my display too dark. Not only did my own photos look dark, the images provided in the "SpyderProof" screen and even my desktop were way too dark. You couldn't see details in areas that were plainly visible before using this product. I tried calibrating another laptop and got similar results, so the problem wasn't my computer.
I contacted customer support. At first, I got several reasonably prompt replies, but their suggestions didn't work. I then put together a webpage that illustrated my problems, but they never got back to me after that. I guess they ran out of ideas. I'm returning it.
I do have to say though that the colors were improved after calibration, at least the ones that you could still see.
I contacted customer support. At first, I got several reasonably prompt replies, but their suggestions didn't work. I then put together a webpage that illustrated my problems, but they never got back to me after that. I guess they ran out of ideas. I'm returning it.
I do have to say though that the colors were improved after calibration, at least the ones that you could still see.
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I think the one I got was defective, the profiles it created were far too dark to use and had a blue cast. I had a few exchanges with customer support and tried a few things they suggested which seemed to confirm that it was not working correctly and could not properly detect the screen color, but it always took a couple tries to get a response from them. Then they quit answering my emails at all. At the last minute (as in a couple days before the return period ended, and about a month after I had first contacted them) they said they were sending a replacement, but they sent the wrong thing. It was all a quite disappointing waste of my time, and based on the customer support experience alone I'm unlikely to try another one of their products.
