ColorVision Spyder2 Express Win/Mac

I decided to buy a monitor calibration tool because I do a lot of digital photos and they always look different on different computers. Sometimes I boost the colors only to find at work the colors are way too strong. It's frustrating, my 1 year old has "orange" hair. On some monitors it's brown, on others it's red. If this sounds like you (the color problem, not the orange haired baby) then this device is for you.This is a great entry level monitor calibration tool. The software is great and calibration is easy. Now images look the same on all my computers. And the best part is this device is the same device as the pro version. First, that means you're not getting a cheap device! Second, it means you can upgrade the software to pro version if you need to. This is why I selected this model. The eye-one is not upgradeable, and it's more expensive.Overall, I highly recommend this device.

The Datacolor Spyder seemed to be the tool to perfectly equalize the monitor display of my several PCs. I was glad to snap up the older version that runs on Windows98 as well as XP. I installed it first on a Windows XP machine with a Mitsubishi "Diamond Plus 71" monitor, a CRT monitor that was highly rated at the time of its purchase and delivers an excellent picture. I let the software go through the calibration routine with the room in complete darkness, as recommended. The result was a too bright, completely washed-out picture with a green tint. A second run gave the same result.The Spyder software can, of course, not modify the monitor, but produces a file that is read by, and modifies the video adapter. The PC in question contains a motherboard-integrated ATI adapter. This file is loaded during bootup. But in the cheaper "Express" model, it is unfortunately automatically disabled when one looks (through Control Panel - Display - Settings) at the video adapter settings to find out in which way the Spyder modified them. The file itself is encoded and cannot be interpreted.However, the results were devastating and render the device useless. Manual modification of the video adapter while eyeballing a greyscale is less convenient but still seems to be the only way to a near-perfect display.

The 2.2 gamma setting seems to be unchangeable! so if you would like to set your gamma on your mac default number, you may not be able to do so. Otherwise the devise works well but for better calibration control you will probably need more professional device.

They say this is easy to use. Yea, maybe if you are part of the geek squad from Best Buy, or you know alot about computers. I have had this for a year now and it is still not installed. The directions tell you what to do but they assume you now all the tech on computers. It's like telling someone that does not take photos to use a small aperature for depth of field. I understand that but would not expect everyone to. I even had a friend who fixes computers for a living try. He couldn't get through all the "easy installation" instructions.I know this product is great for the calibration. But I can not see for myself because I can't get it installed.

Pros: Good, well contructed, colorimeter for the novice, easy to use software walks you through every step. I notice a definite improvement in my new 22" WS LCD's picture. I had tried Adobe Gamma and Quick Gamma, but these programs rely on your eyes for making brightness and contrast corrections, and setting gamma. My eyes are not as sharp as they were 20 years ago.Cons: The new updated software, version 2.3, has been out since June, 2006 but Colorvision is still shipping with the older version. Go to their website [...]), download 2.3 (110.3 MB), install it, and use the keycode on your 2.2 version to run it. The 2.3 version changes the target white point for LCDs to 6500K instead of Native. I personally prefer 6500k anyway. Gamma 2.2 and 6500K are the only choices with the Express. If you want more choices you will have to purchase the more expensive Pro version.After calibration and exiting the software I got a "Can not find color profile" error message. Rebooting solved this.With the counter-weight adjusted, I still had to tilt my LCD monitor back 15 - 20 degrees before I could get the Spyder to lay completely flat on the screen.

I does a good job getting you a quick and basic screen calibration. Don't be fooled into thinking that this will be the most detailed and thorough calibration...it's not meant to be. It's meant to give you a quick but accurate calibration...hence the name "express." It does a good job and you will be amazed at the before and after display (which this product lets you view by toggling back and forth between the two after calibration is complete). Well worth the buy UNLESS you require a complete and THOROUGH calibration...in that case you may want to skip this product and go the full blown Spyder calibration kit.

I spend a LOT of time post processing my photos. I have known for a long time how important it is to have your monitor calibrated in order to get the best possible results, but have been too lazy to get a calibration system. I finally bit the bullet and got the Spyder2 Express. The program installed very easily and makes a noticeable improvement on the images I see on my monitor. I have a dual monitor system, but have only calibrated one of the monitors. This makes it easy to see the difference between the calibrated monitor images and the non-calibrated ones. It is a BIG difference. The colors are much richer and details are more visible. For the price this is a great program.

facile d'utilisation

Ordered yesterday, arrived this morning and monitor calibrated one hour later. Initially it gave me wierd results even though I had reset the LCD monitor to factory settings (as advised in the Spyder software). Then I realised I had the graphics card (Nvidia) set to use the previous Adobe Gamma profile (which was never that successful as you had to do it by eye). Reset the card to the "standard" profile re-calibrated using the Spyder and the monitor is now perfect. Best it has been and I have checked it against several websites that show calibration charts.The previous reviewer may not have set his graphics card correctly before calibrating as this is what I did wrong and got some weird colours on the screen.

I had done software calibration on my Mac before but didn't think anything else was really necessary. However, I got some feedback that my photographs viewed differently on other people's calibrated monitors, and a picture printed for an exhibition came out very differently from what I expected.On advice, I decided to properly calibrate my monitor to ensure consistency in the processing of my digital photographs.I was shocked at the price of these devices and settled on this 'home user' model as a result. The downside is that the calibration is only basic and not Industry-standard. If you are looking for a professional level, you need to buy the more expensive version. The software in the 'pro' versions is much more complex and there are additional options and configurations.It arrived promptly and was very simple to set up and use. You will need to know how to change a few monitor settings before you start (such as Brightness, Contrast, etc.). As others have said below, you need to have your monitor set to default to start with otherwise it can throw the calibration off. The instructions explain this in more detail.The calibration/profiling takes about 5 minutes and is very simple. On a CRT monitor the Spyder has suction cups to stick it to the screen, on a LCD/laptop screen it simply dangles over the top and you align it as required.One useful thing is that after it runs the calibration it shows you a range of 'before and after' images. I was surprised to see that my monitor had quite a strong 'blue' tinge that made images look quite cold. The new settings are much warmer and whites are clean. However, without the direct comparison I don't think I'd be able to see the difference.Hopefully, images should now look consistent and give me a standard point from which to configure printing. I obviously can't control how other people have their monitors calibrated but I should at least have a benchmark for processing.This is simple enough for pretty much anyone to use, though it isn't necessarily something that everyone will feel the need for.You do need to remember to re-calibrate every so often though (monthly possibly) as the settings 'drift'.

My purchase of ColorVision's Spyder2 Express has been the best money spent in the goal of getting good color matching on my monitor.Simple to use !Great.Alan.Newton Abbot.

ColorVision Spyder2 Express I bought this to calibrate my LCD TV which worked well. However, my white balance settings looked strange when compared to others who have calibrated the same TV. I have since found out this device is not just a little inaccurate but so far out that calibrated results using this are far from desirable.I'd recommend those who want to calibrate their screens look elsewhere. I will be pursuing a refund as this is not fit for purpose. ColorVision Spyder2 Express