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| Spyder2Express Color Calibration |
From the moment you click the shutter to make a photo until the final place where the photo is to be viewed, everything can make or break a photo.
After you transfer your images from your digital camera to your computer, you can view them on your computer’s screen. If you choose to change the photo’s colors, if your monitor is not calibrated correctly, you could be changing colors that need no change at all.
I use the DataColor Spyder2Express to calibrate my monitor. However, many different tools can also be used to calibrate, including Pantone Huey, X-Rite Eye-One, and other devices.
The difference between the devices is the number of monitors and the color choices that can be calibrated.
If you use Photoshop, Lightroom, or any other software to manipulate images, you need to calibrate your monitor so that you see the most accurate color possible as you work.
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| Calibrating the blue channel |
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| Calibrating the red channel |
If you had PhotoShop CS4 and now have CS5 it would look different. What you are addressing is really how each software is written makes them handle color a little differently. Believe it or not some of the chips in the cameras are actually the same chips but in different manufacturers cameras. While the chips are the same the software to write the information onto you card is different and will give you a different color.
The one thing you have that you didn't have before calibrating is knowing your monitor is giving you the best and most accurate color it can give you. Hey, but even this can vary depending on which monitor tool you use. Try the Pantone Huey and it will give you a slightly different look. Only when the tools all try and give you the exact same color temperature, gamma and use similar targets will you get almost identical color.
So, why do this, well without doing it you are even further in the dark and now you are within some sort of a tolerance. The difference was even more dramatic with CRT monitors (Old Tube Monitor).
That's so funny, I just used the spyder to calibrate my monitor not even a half hour ago. I'm having a lot of trouble with the color being consistent between Bridge, Photoshop and Lightroom. Do you have any tips? The spyder helped a lot, but there's still some inconsistency.