Differences between calibrators using DisplayCal

[paris]

Hi all,

I am trying to get all my monitors sorted for photographic purposes, but am a little unsure on what calibrator to buy.

It is my first time getting one, but by all accounts on the internet this software will blow the packaged stuff out the water so it will be my primary use of the new calibrator.

So my question is how much difference does the calibrator make on the calibration accuracy if I am using this suite ?

Will all of these products produce similar results as they are all listed as compatible?

I am looking at:

• Panotone Huey – second hand £25
• Lacie Blue eye vision – second hand  £35
• Xrite Colormunki  smile – new £79
• Xrite Colormunki  display -new  £139.99

I am looking to use it on a variety of screens which include a back-lit LED IPS Monitor (Samsung s24d390) in a dual screen set up, laptops etc.

I have thoroughly read the guide and it says that some colorimeters would have accuracy issues on such a monitor, but the later two are listed as compatible with them by the manufacturer.

Would I be shooting myself in the foot buying an old one ?

is there any difference between the two colormunki units in this suite ?

Sorry for the trouble, I just want to make sure I buy the correct thing to get accurate results without breaking the bank !!!

Thanks for any help or advice that can be offered,

Paris

[Florian Höch]

Hi,

I am looking to use it on a variety of screens which include a back-lit LED IPS Monitor (Samsung s24d390) in a dual screen set up, laptops etc.

That would weed out the Huey and Blue Eye, which I don’t think have w-LED backlight support (although user-contributed corrections may be available, but it’s impossible to determine whether they would help without a spectrometer).

Would I be shooting myself in the foot buying an old one ?

Another problem with these old instruments is that they use organic (gelatine) filters that deteriorate over time. Buying them used also plays into this.

is there any difference between the two colormunki units in this suite ?

Yes. The ColorMunki Smile doesn’t have shielded filters like the ColorMunki Display, and no light gathering lens like the latter, making it also less sensitive and thus less precise. I would recommend the ColorMunki Display. A quick search suggests you may be able to get it for as low as £119 new (price as of 2016-10-05 19:05).

Calibrite Display SL on Amazon  
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[paris]

Hi Florian,

Thank-you so much for getting back to me about this. I have been searching around for hours trying to answer these questions !

And you saved me £20 !

I will follow your advice & eagerly await its arrival to get going with your software 🙂

Thanks again,

Paris

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