Spydercube: Monitor Calibration Made Easy And Accurate

Calibration is a crucial step in ensuring that your monitor displays colours accurately, which is especially important for photographers, graphic designers, and videographers. While most computer screens deliver a vibrant and dynamic picture, this isn't ideal for editing photos. Using a monitor that hasn't been calibrated can lead to unintentionally oversaturated or muted images with obvious colour casts. This is where the SpyderCube comes in. The SpyderCube is a 3D advanced calibration tool that helps photographers and illustrators correct colours and white balance issues. It is a small cube with white, grey, and black sides, along with a stand and a lanyard. It is placed on the monitor during calibration and, when used with the appropriate software, helps adjust the monitor's colour by offering a universal colour grading scale.

What is a SpyderCube?

The SpyderCube is a small, portable device that helps photographers and videographers set the exposure, white balance, white and black points, and contrast at the beginning of the image-editing process. It is designed to be included in a reference shot, taken under the same lighting conditions as the photos, to provide accurate correction across shadow and highlight tones.

The SpyderCube is constructed of ABS Cycoloy, a hybrid resin that is fade-proof, shock-resistant, water-resistant, and spectrally neutral, allowing it to respond to all lighting conditions. Its unique 3D design allows it to mimic the way light falls on the subject, providing more precise white balance correction. It includes a black trap for an absolute black reference and a chrome ball to show specular highlights.

The SpyderCube is easy to use and can be hung or attached to a tripod during a photo shoot. It is a valuable tool for photographers to ensure accurate colour balance and good exposure. It is not used to calibrate monitors but is used to calibrate images.

How does Spyder calibration work?

Spyder calibration tools are designed to help you achieve true-to-life colours on your monitor. The calibration process involves using a Spyder device, such as the Spyder 4 Express or Spyder 5 Pro, in conjunction with specialised software. Here's a step-by-step guide on how Spyder calibration works:

Prepare Your Monitor:

Before starting the calibration process, it's recommended to let your monitor warm up for about 30 minutes. Ensure that there is no intense light falling on the screen, as it can affect the accuracy of the calibration. Adjust the contrast setting to the maximum level and set the white balance to 6500K if possible. These settings are not available on all computers, particularly laptops, so don't worry if you can't adjust them.

Run the Calibration Software:

Install and launch the calibration software provided with your Spyder device. The software will guide you through the calibration process. It will ask you to select the type of display you have and provide information about your monitor, such as the manufacturer and model. This information is crucial for accurate calibration.

Place the Spyder Device:

The software will then instruct you on where to place the Spyder device on your screen. The Spyder device typically has a counterweight to hold it in position. Make sure the sensors on the device are facing the display.

Display Colour Patches:

Once the Spyder device is in place, the software will display a series of colour patches on the screen. These colour patches are used as a reference for the device to measure and analyse.

Measure and Analyse Colours:

The Spyder device will measure the colours emitted by your monitor and compare them to the true colour values of the displayed colour patches. This comparison helps identify any discrepancies or inaccuracies in your monitor's colour reproduction.

Create a Colour Profile:

After analysing the colours, the software will create a new colour profile for your monitor. This profile compensates for any inaccuracies and ensures that your monitor displays colours as accurately as possible. The profile is saved on your computer and used by the operating system to control colour output.

Adjust Display Settings:

The calibration software will recommend settings for gamma, colour temperature, and brightness. These settings may be influenced by the ambient room light, especially if your Spyder device has an ambient light sensor. You can choose to apply these recommended settings or customise them according to your preferences.

View Calibration Results:

After the calibration process is complete, you can view sample images with and without the applied profile to see the difference. You may notice that the colours appear more accurate, and the overall appearance of your monitor may be warmer and less bright.

It is important to note that Spyder calibration tools only calibrate the monitor and do not calibrate mobile or tablet devices. Additionally, it is recommended to calibrate your monitor regularly, ideally once a month, as colour accuracy can drift over time.

How often should you calibrate your monitor?

Calibration is an important step in ensuring that your monitor displays colours accurately. It is particularly crucial for photographers, video editors, and other professionals working with images and visuals. Calibration compensates for any discrepancies in the monitor's brightness, contrast, and colour, allowing you to trust that what you see on the screen is an accurate representation of the image.

So, how often should you calibrate your monitor? The frequency of calibration depends on the type of work you do and the stability of your monitor. If you are a professional working with colour-critical tasks, such as photo or video editing, it is recommended to calibrate your monitor regularly, roughly once a month. This ensures consistent colour accuracy in your work. However, for casual users who are not doing any image editing or colour-critical work, calibrating once or twice a year may be fine.

It is worth noting that even high-end monitors can drift from their calibrated values over time. Therefore, it is a good idea to set a reminder to recalibrate every few months, even if you are not a professional. The calibration process itself is relatively quick, taking about two minutes per monitor with tools like the Datacolor SpyderX Pro.

Additionally, it's important to consider the type of monitor you have. OLED monitors, for instance, may require tuning about once a year due to pixel damage over time. On the other hand, a typical LCD monitor can be tuned once and may not need frequent recalibration unless you are a professional requiring highly accurate colours.

In summary, the frequency of monitor calibration depends on your specific needs and usage. For professionals in colour-critical fields, monthly calibration is ideal. For casual users, a yearly or bi-yearly calibration may suffice. Regardless, it is beneficial to invest in a good calibration tool to ensure the accuracy and consistency of your monitor's display.

What are the best monitor calibration tools for photographers?

Monitor calibration tools are a must-buy for photographers to ensure that the colours on their screens are accurately displayed. Without calibration, photographers run the risk of editing images that end up being unintentionally oversaturated, too muted, or have an obvious colour cast.

Datacolor SpyderX Pro

The SpyderX Pro is an overall fast calibration tool with a new lens-based sensor system, ambient light monitoring, and multi-monitor support. It is available in Pro and Elite versions, with the latter offering projector profiling and advanced calibration options.

Calibrite ColorChecker Studio

The ColorChecker Studio is an all-in-one calibration tool that can calibrate both a monitor and a printer, which typically require separate devices. It is bigger than a typical monitor calibrator and comes with a case to hold it on your screen during operation.

Datacolor SpyderX Elite

The SpyderX Elite is an advanced calibration tool that can quickly calibrate to colour space standards like sRGB, Adobe RGB, NTSC, and Rec 709. It is ideal for photographers who need to calibrate their monitors to suit video colour spaces.

Datacolor Spyder X2 Ultra

The Spyder X2 Ultra offers excellent calibration accuracy and is a marginal upgrade over the original Spyder X. It supports very high brightness monitors and is ideal for photographers with high-brightness and HDR monitors.

Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro

The ColorChecker Display Pro is designed for image quality purists who want top-notch calibration as quickly as possible. It is a comprehensive monitor calibration tool with extensive options for setting the desired brightness, gamma, and white point.

Datacolor SpyderX Studio

The SpyderX Studio is an all-encompassing calibration kit that includes the SpyderX Elite monitor colourimeter, a separate SpyderPrint spectrocolourimeter, and a small SpyderCube. The SpyderCube helps set the white balance, exposure, black level, and brightness when shooting raw images.

Calibrite ColorChecker Display Plus

The ColorChecker Display Plus is Calibrite's top-of-the-range model, specifically designed for professional filmmakers, editors, colourists, and photographers using super-bright HD and HDR monitors. It can measure luminance/brightness levels up to 2000 nits and offers higher accuracy in dark colours.

How much do monitor calibration tools cost?

Monitor calibration tools vary in price depending on their features and the brand. Basic calibration packages are available at lower prices, and you can pair the included device with DisplayCal software, a free program that is compatible with many calibration devices on the market.

The Datacolor SpyderX Pro is a popular choice for monitor calibration, offering features like ambient light monitoring and multi-monitor support. The Pro version is generally considered to offer the best value for money, but the Elite version includes additional features such as projector profiling and advanced calibration options. The price of the SpyderX Pro is not specified, but the Elite version is available for $494.95.

Other monitor calibration tools include the Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro, which is designed for image quality purists who want top-notch calibration as quickly as possible, and the Calibrite ColorChecker Studio, which combines monitor and printer calibration into a single tool. The Calibrite ColorChecker Display Plus is the company's top-of-the-range model, with a price tag to match.

The X-Rite i1Basic PRO 3 is another option that supports colour matching for up to four displays and has a brightness of up to 5000 cd/m².

While some monitor calibration tools can be expensive, there are also free software-only calibration programs available, such as QuickGamma and Calibrize. These programs create a generic profile for your monitor based on its EDID data or the sRGB alternative.

Frequently asked questions