Regular readers will know that when I’m not writing or consulting about mainframes, I do some work designing and coding Web sites. Now one of the most important things with a Web site is how the graphics look – and this is always different with different screens. So my problem is to find a way to ensure the colour of any photographs I use really are that colour and not another one because my screen is not showing the true colour.
This is where Datacolor’s Spyder3Express can help. Now, Datacolor produce Spyder3Elite and Spyder3Pro for professionals, but Spyder3Express is ideal for amateurs and enthusiasts (and it’s cheaper). The device measures the colours that your laptop screen produces and creates a profile. Once the profile is created, it is not necessary to re-profile for a couple of weeks – and that’s only because of the natural changes that occur in the quality of the colours produces by the screen.
When using the Spyder3Express, you have to wait for the screen to warm up – the software recommends 30 minutes – you then put the hardware against the screen while the screen displays various colours. This is what the Spyder3Express is measuring. It only takes a short while and then you get a chance to compare the new settings against the previous ones – and it’s quite surprising how much better the pictures on screen look using the new settings. And that’s about all there is to it.
Datacolor says the Spyder3Express, “ensures accurate, reliable, and consistent colours every time, so photographs, including tonal ranges in black-and-white photos, will always look their best and brightest”.
For something that is so simple, you end up with something that makes the images on screen look so much better – and so much more realistic. And this is where I started from, I wanted a quick and easy way to ensure that the colours of images that I could see on my screen, really were that colour. That way I could select other colours and tones more accurately.
Would I recommend it? Most definitely. As I said, the difference between the before and after quality of the photos was almost breathtaking. The improvement after using the Spyder3Express would be noticeable to even the most non-artistic user. Now I know there are hundreds of people out there perfectly happy with their off-colour displays, but when you’ve seen how a photo should look, you really will be glad you got one.
There’s more information at http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-mc-s3express.php.
This is where Datacolor’s Spyder3Express can help. Now, Datacolor produce Spyder3Elite and Spyder3Pro for professionals, but Spyder3Express is ideal for amateurs and enthusiasts (and it’s cheaper). The device measures the colours that your laptop screen produces and creates a profile. Once the profile is created, it is not necessary to re-profile for a couple of weeks – and that’s only because of the natural changes that occur in the quality of the colours produces by the screen.
When using the Spyder3Express, you have to wait for the screen to warm up – the software recommends 30 minutes – you then put the hardware against the screen while the screen displays various colours. This is what the Spyder3Express is measuring. It only takes a short while and then you get a chance to compare the new settings against the previous ones – and it’s quite surprising how much better the pictures on screen look using the new settings. And that’s about all there is to it.
Datacolor says the Spyder3Express, “ensures accurate, reliable, and consistent colours every time, so photographs, including tonal ranges in black-and-white photos, will always look their best and brightest”.
For something that is so simple, you end up with something that makes the images on screen look so much better – and so much more realistic. And this is where I started from, I wanted a quick and easy way to ensure that the colours of images that I could see on my screen, really were that colour. That way I could select other colours and tones more accurately.
Would I recommend it? Most definitely. As I said, the difference between the before and after quality of the photos was almost breathtaking. The improvement after using the Spyder3Express would be noticeable to even the most non-artistic user. Now I know there are hundreds of people out there perfectly happy with their off-colour displays, but when you’ve seen how a photo should look, you really will be glad you got one.
There’s more information at http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-mc-s3express.php.
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