Spyder2 Color Calibrator review!

OK, some of you might care, but most of you don't.

Luckily for the few that care, I don't care that the rest of you don't care.

So there.

Right.

Soooo, I got my Spyder2Pro today, and it's....in a word..... fantastic.

For those that don't know, and are bound to join the legions of either those who care or those that don't care, let me explain:

In a nutshell, the colors on your screen, be it an LCD, a CRT, a plasma, an illustration etc (OK, not an illustration, I admit), suck. Let me rephrase, - unless you have a color calibrator, the colors on your screen are poop. Absolute poop. The stinky kind.

So, now that you know this, let me explain some more. There is a way to FIX this issue, and that is where a color calibrator (or colorimeter) comes in.

For those that care, you might remember that I did a mini review a few days ago of the Huey Pantone Pro, and thought that it was awful. Well, it's not awful if you like your screens a nice shade of pink, which I admit, for this time of the year in Minnesota (still bloody snowing, and wet, and cold) may not be a bad thing. For me, however, despite the inclement weather, I like my colors neutral, as they should be.

So, after spitting with disgust at my Huey Pantone Pro (Note: Don't buy), I decided the only way to go about this was to get me a Spyder2. There are various models of Spyder2, from the Spyder2 Express, to Spyder2 Suite, to Spyder2Pro. They all contain the EXACT same colorimeter, with the only difference being the software. Pick the version you want, basically.

Anyway, you rest the calibrator on your display/s, and the system cycles some colors, after which you're done. It's that simple. The optical reader in the device reads the colors and calibrates them according to RGB standards, so your pictures SHOULD (in theory) look the same when they're printed out.




Anyway, this is my Apple 23" Cinema Display out of the box, with no calibration at all:




And here's the Huey Pantone Pro, and, for obvious reasons, why I don't recommend it:



And here's the Spyder2-calibrated image:





Now, obviously what YOU see will vary, depending on your colors (haha, the irony....), but for me at least, the Spyder2 provides the most neutral colors I've yet seen on my displays, and I honestly can't imagine anything else....

So there you have it. The Spyder2 is fabulous, and super cheap on Amazon if you get the Express version, which right now is around $53. WELL worth the money.

Mmmmm....the pretty colors.....

 

you're funny, but I don't care. So there.

 

*sniff*

Nobody cares.... *sniff*

 

Definitely an improvement over the factory settings which looks bluish and with the spyder it looks much much better (neutral). Worth the money! Thanks for the review as I am considering the 23" or 30" ACD to replace the 2001 Dell FP.

 

WilliamG,

Thanks for the review, I was waiting to have my new 17" MacBook Pro and Apple Cinema to look into buy a screen calibrator.

Thanks to your review, I have a clear choice.

Regards

 

Yay! Someone cares!!!

*does happy dance*

The difference in person is even more pronounced. Anyone who has even the slightest interest in:

1.) Lowering the harsh colors inherent with out-of-the-box displays

2.) Even basic photography and printing pictures

For those people, get one!

 

But you are Canadian. You are snow blind 3/4th's of the year anyways.

WilliamG; Thanks for the review. When I get an ACD, I'll see about getting one of those.

 

Thanks for the review and the screens. I've been debating getting spider3pro for a while. Maybe i'll wait till some pop up on e-bay.

 

Can you use this thingermajig on LCD TV displays as well?

 

No reason why not, though you need a computer to be running to actually initiate the color profile, I believe.

 

Uhm... I CARE and have been using a Spyder 2 for about a year. I calibrate all my monitors with it. I find it does leave a slightly warmer hue than your basic default settings or calibrating by eye alone but all in all I am very happy with it. Usually default settings are really blue heavy. Not always but has been my experience. And anyone who is doing any kind of graphics or photo editing needs to calibrate their screen. Otherwise you are soooo fooling yourself and you should care.

And yes the Pantone one sucks the big one

 

Cool review
I've been using Spyder2Express for about a year and love it as well

 

Thanks for the great review........again!

 

If you don't have your TV hooked up to a computer you can get the TV version which runs off of a DVD player.

http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-ht-stv.php

If you can find Spyder2 Suite anywhere I believe it does TV as well AND all your computer screens as well, so it's probably a better deal.

 

It looks like they have the spyder3 for sale also. What are the differences?

 

did you see a big difference when u used it on a MBP??

 

I see a big difference on both my external LCD as well as my MBP. Not sure how well it works on glossy screens though as mine are both matte.

 

http://spyder.datacolor.com/s3compare2.php

 

Also found this to anyone who might be interested. It's the difference between the software packages.

 

It works fine on glossy screens. I have used it on my 1530 and saw a big improvement. Before and after are like night and day. As usual before had WAY too much blue.

 

I like the review.
But I also like the before picture better than the after.
I know some people like warm colors, but I don't.
My eyes are apparently sensitive to yellow, and warm screens are hard for me to look at for long.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you! Thanks for providing info on both models. If I ever have the money, I will purchase the Spyder 2. Until then, I have been putting a gummy spider on my screen. It does not calibrate my screen, just makes it sticky.

 

Most importantly, though, putting a gummy spider on your screen DOES improve the quality, despite its sticky nature.

In order of preference:

1.) A Spyder on your screen.
2.) A gummy spider on your screen
3.) A tarantula on your screen (they don't like to stay put)

 

Just bought Spyder2 Suite of eBay for 89 dollars because of this thread.
Cheap enough to give it a try anyway.

 

You won't be disappointed, especially at that price. Well worth it even if you are not a total colour geek like me.