Greater utility with dispcalGUI

When attempting to enter as a hobby photographer in color management, you quickly realize that this can be a pretty costly affair: The forums like recommended X-Rite i1Display Pro costs more than twice the Smile, thus more than half of the best for EBV beginners suitable sRGB-enabled monitors to 24 "(often called: Eizo FS2333, Asus PA238Q ... I have chosen for special reasons for a NEC EA244WMi and am very satisfied) Not everyone is willing, or financially. . location, the color management to attach such a budget Determines obtained for even better results - but how much does that mean in practice in the eyes of a layman noticeable The Purists may beat me for this statement, but I think also not 100? % optimum calibration is usually better than none, and perfection can not be achieved with a monitor in this price range anyway.

First of all: Before buying a colorimeter should be read in the subject, even if it is really complex - highly recommended for this purpose are the Prad.de forums and fotovideotec.de. Unfortunately, many misconceptions and half-truths are widespread about color management, which include the marketing of the manufacturers also contributes abundant.

A one-click solution, as promised here (or even with a direct competitor Spyder4Express), can not be more than a crutch - which recognizes the educated layman quickly and already rejects the product usually reason alone as useless. The error actually is only in the software. It was artificially restricted by the manufacturer, for reasons of market placement, not to say crippled: Among other things, they calibrated solely at a target of 6500K with Gamma 2.2 and does not live measurement for adjusting brightness and R / G / B on the monitor itself. In addition, you do not install or difficult can be according to the reviews on many systems.

I have therefore no longer using the software stopped by ColorMunki (a test installation on Windows 7 x64 but it worked) and the free open source tool dispcalGUI (dispcalgui.hoech.net) installed. In order for the Smile wins the usefulness of a much more expensive device without the limitations mentioned above. In practice, the installation according to the (English) instructions as well as the operation proved to be with me surprisingly easily, though not necessarily beginner-friendly: Argyll brings eg own driver and a little intimidating with functionality.. DispcalGUI defused the preset with presets and assistants largely, but you should reasonably understand what you are actually doing anyway.

The puck itself is almost identical to obsolescence i1 (or Eye-One) Display 2, which under different brand names (GretagMacbeth, Pantone, X-Rite) long was available at a much higher price. A few years ago this was the colorimeter prosumer area quite standard. The limitations of this hardware compared to more recent developments should however know and choose for yourself:
- The Smile is not wide color gamut capable. But appropriate monitors playing priced in a completely different league, as the use of a more expensive calibrator is clearly justified.
- An ambient light sensor looking in vain. But the benefit of this feature is also quite controversial, I can not live well.
- And often in a large series dispersion is claimed. This is inherently difficult to prove from a user perspective or disprove. If you feel to have drawn a blank, you should exchange the unit definitely just within the return period.
- The surely largest disadvantage compared to current high-order devices like the i1Display Pro are the organic gelatin filters, which are subject to aging and can give false results over time. However, even the more expensive Datacolor Spyder4 models still use (albeit improved) organic filter. To minimize this aging effect, you should use the sensor from dust and protected from light and stored in a cool, dry place. Even though he looks like a mouse, it is just a sensitive instrument. After using the Smile travels therefore with me back in the original packaging that comes with a relatively large packet of silica gel. Unfortunately, aging is a gradual process, which is difficult to determine. One has to ask the question whether a higher initial investment does not come cheaper in the long run in any case. But who knows how the market looks up in a few years? The i1Display 2 fell within a few years from the prosumer in precisely this budget class. Some devices previous generations like the Spyder 2 are even no longer makes sense to use with the current display technology.

Assessed subjectively I after calibration and profiling, a better result, even if the profile has failed significantly warmer or slightly brownish like some other reviewers. But that's not surprising. In the delivery are ordinary notebook displays, office and all-round monitors anything but neutral in color. The eye gets used to such a remarkably fast tint and corrected it automatically. Any change comes one then for a certain period before and funny maybe even feels wrong. Unfortunately I have no other / better colorimeter in order to objectively compare the measurement results. Also in the network in finding does you look hard for a comparison test. In any case, now I have a better feeling and the relative security, not like last time to generate during RAW development with my new monitor by mistake in my notebook display completely oversaturated images. My claims satisfies the.