Introduction:
Are you like me, you often need to deal with flat photos or video editing work? I believe that we will encounter the same problem in our work, that is, different monitors, colors, color temperature and brightness are not the same, if you have a dual-monitor that is even more headaches, it is difficult to manually adjust to the same, so the work of the efficiency and accuracy of the work will certainly be greatly reduced! This is where we all need a product that can assist in correcting the screen display - a monitor calibration tool!
I: Unboxing the Spyder X Red Spider Shooting Kit
Datacolor has always been a trusted name in the world of color management, and the Spyder X Red Spider Shooting Kit is a convenient and cost-effective way to make our visual images come to life. The main body of the Spyder X kit is housed in a sophisticated "safe" with the Datacolor 50th Anniversary logo painted on the outer sleeve.
Opening the box, we see the 24-color card at the top, and the Starscream Cubic Spider in custom foam, which protects the product from bumps and bruises.
In addition to the color correction trio (SpyderX Calibrator, 24-color card, and Cubic Spider), a cleaning wipe, storage bag, and more are also included.
Two: SpyderX Elite Red Spider X Colorimeter
At present, Datacolor SpyderX series **** has two products, respectively, PRO and ELITE, its color correction hardware is the same, the difference in the software provides features and options are somewhat different. Whether you are a professional designer or a studio, you can choose the PRO or ELITE version, and for detailed version differences, you can refer to the product comparison table provided on the SpyderX website.
The author's SpyderX Elite has an ambient light detection function, which detects the strength of the ambient light source before color-checking the screen, and suggests the optimal screen brightness to make color-checking more accurate. On the other hand, the operation of the software is also easier to get started. In addition to step-by-step instructions, the program also provides interactive explanations of the calibration settings, so that users can clearly understand the intent of each step of the setup. After the calibration is complete, you can view the difference between the before and after calibration in full screen.
The next step is to take a look at it!
Compared to previous generations of Spiders, the new Spyder X has a sleeker white design. It's a vibrant match for professional displays that are generally black and metallic in color. In terms of functionality, the new generation Spyder X Elite adopts the solution of optical lens + image engine, which makes the whole color correction process faster and more accurate. Moreover, SpyderX Elite is equipped with an ambient light sensor that measures indoor light throughout the day with 3 levels of ambient light adjustment, allowing users to adjust the brightness and contrast of the display to the ideal level.
The back side is designed with a ring-shaped rubberized cushion intended to stabilize the lens cap when placed on the back of the monitor.
On the side of the color calibrator, there is a tripod connector that can be mounted on a camera tripod for more flexibility! It can also be used to calibrate products like projectors.
The design of SpyderX is quite special, the USB cable connects the colorimeter to the lens cap, and when you open the lens cap, it becomes a counterweight plate, and when you finish using it, you put the lens cap back on.
The USB port for connecting to a computer comes with a cable tie, and there is an anti-magnetic ring on top to avoid interference, so the design is spot on.
SpyderX colorimeter is very simple to use, it can be on the laptop, PC monitor, projector and other display devices for color correction. So let's take a look at the color correction together!
The SpyderX website provides SpyderX Elite and Spyder Checkr software, and we need to download SpyderX Elite to use the SpyderX color checker. Both Windows and MacOS are supported, and even Apple's latest M1 chip Macs have no problem.
SpyderX Elite is easy to use, and the official website provides a user guide and quick start guide, which is a nice touch. SpyderX Elite works just like it used to, with step-by-step software instructions to get you started. If you have any questions about setting up a feature or function, there is an interactive explanation on the right side of the software that explains in more detail the purpose of the feature and suggested setup options!
You can't access the calibrator device during installation. The entire software installation is very simple, just follow the prompts all the way to the next step.
After the installation is complete, we need to enter the serial number to activate (at this time you need to connect the Starscream X to the computer USB port), after activation we can use the software normally.
More importantly, before calibration, the monitor needs to be warmed up for about 1 hour, and during the calibration process, make sure that there is no strong light shining directly onto the monitor. Once everything is accurate, we open the software and proceed to select the type of monitor, I calibrate my PC monitor, so here I select Desktop.
Here you will be prompted, you need to enter the brand and model of the monitor, the brand is easy to choose, drop down and select the brand of your own monitor. The monitor model, if you only know the general model can enter the general model, here only for the later calibration file name; of course, we can also view the system's "Advanced Display Settings", to see the specific monitor model, and then enter the color calibration software.
Follow the prompts to select the controls that come with the monitor.
Continue to select the backlighting method for your monitor.
The software guides you through the process, suggesting the Progressive Assistant if you're new to the process; Studio Match Mode for multiple monitor calibration; and Full Custom Settings Mode for professional consoles if you're already an expert.
The parameter information that will be recommended here to set up, try to adjust it before calibration, the process will be faster when testing.
After confirming that all the steps are OK, you will be able to near the screen color correction action!
The first step is to place the SpyderX device on the desktop to check the ambient brightness.
It's best to do this in a dark environment, otherwise the software will pre-determine that the room brightness level is "high". Adjusting the ambient room light level will also make subsequent calibrations more accurate. Or if your monitor has a light shield, you can install it beforehand.
Next, hang the calibrator on the monitor and follow the guidelines to place it on the display, and you can start calibrating!
During the calibration process, the software will prompt you to adjust the brightness setting.
At this point, the screen will display different colors in sequence to judge and record data. Once the calibration is complete, you can save the file and be sure to archive it!
After the calibration is complete, you can view the before and after calibration through the built-in software images (16 images) or load local images to see the before and after calibration comparison. Through the comparison of different images, you can see that the overall color tone after calibration is a little warmer than before calibration, the saturation and contrast of the colors are also improved, and the brightness and details are also slightly changed. Of course, the effect of color correction is closely related to the quality of the monitor itself, and the contrast between different monitors after color correction is definitely different.
Before and after calibration (left: before calibration; right: after calibration)
Before and after calibration (left: before calibration; right: after calibration)
Before and after calibration (left: before calibration; right: after calibration)
After the calibration, a new profile is generated and the gamut of information is displayed, White Point, Phosphorescent Point, DeltaE, and Luminosity before and after calibration, we can see that the basic color calibration has completed the target value.
In addition to basic color calibration, SpyderX Elite has a very useful feature called Monitor Analysis! This visualizes the basic qualities of a monitor in a graphical format, which is very useful.
Display analysis options include: color gamut, tonal response, brightness and contrast, white point, screen uniformity, color accuracy, and more. When testing, you can select the items you need to test separately.
When analyzing a monitor, we also need to follow the prompts to complete the operation. Move the colorimeter to the designated location as needed, and wait for the rest.
Color gamut test
Tonal response test
Brightness and contrast test
White point test
Screen uniformity test
Color accuracy
You can save the file when you're done analyzing the display, so be sure to archive it here!
Once all the tests have been analyzed, the software generates charts for each test, which are easy to view. Of course, the effect of color correction is closely related to the quality of the monitor itself, and the contrast between different monitors after color correction is definitely different. This is only for demonstration purposes.
First of all, in the color gamut option, you can display sRGB, Adobe RGB, P3, and NTSC color gamut. The author's monitor has been analyzed by SpyderX Elite, which shows that it has 100% sRGB coverage, 88% AdobeRGB coverage, 93% P3 coverage, and 83% NTSC coverage. This color gamut coverage allows for an out-of-this-world sense of color experience regardless of the operating system used.
The curve for measuring tonal response is the closer to 2.2 the better, and after real-world testing, the monitor's response curve is very close to Gamma 2.2, so that the contrast of the screen presented and the accuracy of the colors are guaranteed, but the color temperature is slightly cooler in SRGB mode.
The contrast performance of the author's monitor is stable at different brightness levels, and the color temperature value is stable at 6600, with an overall cooler color temperature.
Color Brightness Uniformity test, to test whether the color is consistent in each area of the display, I have this one closest to the center of the D65 (standard value), in the state of 83% brightness, the monitor panel's color performance is excellent, the maximum difference quadrant appeared in the upper left side of the screen, the difference of 2.5. Brightness balanced performance, 83 brightness, the panel shows the regular middle brightness overflow, maximum value of 2.5. The maximum quadrant appears in the lower left corner at 12%, which is good enough to be almost unnoticeable in daily use.
The color accuracy test, the smaller the better, the standard value is Delta E less than 2. This is a very big surprise to me, 48 color testing, the average color accuracy value is 0.67, the highest difference is 1.48, the lowest difference is 0.22, the average value of E is much less than 2, color accuracy is excellent.
By testing the screen, SpyderX can analyze the various qualities of PC monitors (notebooks, projectors, and other display devices) and calibrate them so that we can more accurately understand our own monitors. For professional use monitors, color calibration is essential!
Three: Spyder Checkr Calibration Spider 24 color card
Calibration of the color three-piece set, SpyderX calibrator, 24 color card and cubic spiders, the latter two are mainly corresponding to the shooting side of the color calibration. One of the 24 color card (Spyder Checkr) is a double-sided color card of about 20 14 square centimeters, for A5 size. One side of the 24 reference color color card, the other side of the neutral gray card (used to calibrate the white balance).
The front side of the 24-color card is a standard 24-color reference color card, with all colors in the sRGB color space, ensuring that it can be used on a wide range of camera and camcorder output devices.
On the back is an 18% gray plate. Because color temperature and exposure are different for each shot and each scene, a single product with a gray map provides on-the-spot light color and light density data that can be used to adjust camera settings.
The Spyder Checkr color correction spider works with the Spyder Checkr software, which is supported on both Windows and MacOS. The installation and activation steps are the same as for SpyderX Elite, so I won't repeat them here, just follow the installation instructions step by step.
Here is an example of a standard 24-color swatch on the front of a swatch. We first took a picture of a normal swatch with normal exposure, and then cropped the swatch in Lightroom, and the cropping position was stuck to the black edge.
After cropping, select Photo - Edit in Apps - SpyderCHECKR Edit in the Lightroom software menu. If you don't find this software, you can add the SpyderCHECKR software to the Lightroom software preferences.
At this point the SpyderCHECKR program will launch automatically.
The cropped swatch image is automatically imported into the SpyderCHECKR program. As you can see in the picture, there is a blue label on all four sides of the swatch. We let the captured squares align with the sampling points as much as possible to achieve the center alignment and ensure accuracy, and finally tap Save Calibration and name the file.
The SpyderCheckr software automatically reads the values of the swatches and compares them to the presets to output a calibration file. SpyderCheckr has three modes: Saturation, Chroma, and Portrait, with the last two modes optimized for shooting products and portraits, and it can output the presets from Lightroom, ACR, and Phocus.
In the new open Lightroom software, we will be able to see the preset files on the left to find the color card preset just saved. Then re-take some photos and use the color card preset to compare the results.
After using the color card preset, you can see that the HSL/color part is changed.
Comparing the original Lightroom image (left) and the color-calibrated image (right), the red, magenta, and purple parts of the image after using the swatch preset are closer to the real situation, and the saturation is higher.
Four: Spyder Cube Cubic Spider
Cubic Spider is actually a professional photometric tool, it is a miniature, durable and waterproof. Equipped with a lanyard, it is small and easy to carry around!
Detailed features:
Although it is a small object, but there is a difference with the traditional gray card. Traditional gray card is the first metering and then take pictures, if you need gray, white, black three colors, then you have to repeatedly try to shoot. And Spyder Cube Cubic Spider just need to shoot a photo with Spyder Cube Cubic Spider, Spyder Cube Cubic Spider will record a wealth of light information, post-processing photos can be a wealth of white balance value adjustment.
So to use it, we first need to take a photo with the Spyder Cube in the scene.
After opening the software, we choose the lightroom's white balance selection pipette tool to calibrate the white balance in the photo with the Spyder Cube cubic spider. Use the pipette to calibrate the white balance by picking up the gray, white, and black sides of the cubic gray card, and then you can adjust the effect you want through the highlight and exposure options in the upper right corner of lightroom, which is really fast and accurate.
Once you've calibrated the white balance of your first photo with the Spyder Cube Cube Spider, you can calibrate the white balance of all photos taken in the same scene in seconds by selecting Auto mode for the white balance of subsequent photos.
Summary:
This SpyderX Cube 50th Anniversary Photography Kit is great for color management. Whether it's still life photography or advertising photography, to calibrating display devices, being disciplined about the color and white balance of your photos or movies is a must. So for the combined experience so far, I think the SpyderX Red Spider 50th Anniversary Photo Kit is a great value!