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No actually that is pennies. If you are willing to throw down 600-700 for 24" LG what is $90 for a spyder?
I hear you. For most people its a none starter. Most folks will be happy with stock colors and uncalibrated monitors simply because they don't know the difference. Look at it this way, the calibrator is likely to out live the monitor, can be used for all of the monitors in your house and heck, maybe you could make your money back by offering to calibrate your neighbors monitors for $10 bucks like the professional adjustments you had done to that old TV.
That display he had could only have been properly calibrated by an isf technician, most (but not all) of the settings on those sets will not drift, and $250 was a pretty good deal at that
(assuming it is a CRT rear-projection TV like it sounds)That's not really considered a calibration, that's just eyeballing it with an untrained eye.
Very cool. Thanks for the tip.
A better idea is to buy one, rationalize the purchase by telling yourself that you'll sell it on ebay, but really keep it because you should be using it every 6 months or so
There is a cheaper way. Sell your monitor since it cost you so much and buy a smaller $300-400 monitor then buy a calibrator, that way you'll have more money than you started with.
And if you're THAT tight on money, maybe you shouldn't be buying a $650 monitor to begin with..geez.
You won't find it cheaper than that, not even used. I know, i've been keeping an eye out, and i'm pretty good at deal hunting
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I mean to each his own, but it's arguable that this money will make the most noticeable visual difference out of all the money you spent so far, and if so, it is not money going to waste. Most 1st time calibrators are amazed at the difference. If you are not looking to tweak your display to it's fullest and are comfortable with your results so far, definitely save your money, not a big deal either way and no sweat off any of our backs
I have to say, anyone that spends $90 to calibrate their monitor(s) (when there is free software out there that will do nearly the same), is either extremely rich and foolishly throwing away their money, or their just plain stupid. If you have that much money to burn ... i'll give you my paypal email, im sure I can find a better use for it
I have to say, anyone that spends $90 to calibrate their monitor(s) (when there is free software out there that will do nearly the same), is either extremely rich and foolishly throwing away their money, or their just plain stupid. If you have that much money to burn ... i'll give you my paypal email, im sure I can find a better use for it
There's a large difference between just eyeballing it, and using a hardware colorimeter, night and day difference actually. And there are also a few good entry level hardware calibrators that range between $55-$75.
Less than half as well. There are people with very trained eyes who can get ok results, but that's about it.
He's not talking about free software that you can use with a spyder colorimeter, he's talking about software that's used with just eyeballs alone.
There's a large difference between just eyeballing it, and using a hardware colorimeter, night and day difference actually. And there are also a few good entry level hardware calibrators that range between $55-$75.
You get what you pay for in this case: free software will give you poor inaccurate results, $55 will get you a decent entry level hardware calibrator, >$200 will get you amateur/entry level professional stuff. And each product is better than the next. I'm tempted to say that you eventually hit the point of diminishing returns with the pricier stuff, but i don't know enough about the priciest products to comment, and the pro's swear by the same equipment that costs thousands
I have downloaded and used every imaginable piece of free software and imho they were barely "better than nothing", and none of them measure ambient light to boot. Not saying that everyone needs to get a hardware calibrator, not at all. But those who want to max out their displays can do so inexpensively and very effectively.
Here's a whole forum dedicated to proper display calibration: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=139
Less than half as well. There are people with very trained eyes who can get ok results, but that's about it.
LOL, you must be smoking something good. In a production environment they would much likely be using something like a the Eye One costing anywhere between $1000-3000 depending on the package. No one would every use an $90 entry level consumer calibrator in a professional environment.
Didn't have to say it, eyeballs are what's used when there's no colorimeter. It's been established that a new hardware solution can be had for $55, even less for used. Does the OP need it? Of course not, but he asked a question so i posted my take on it. Didn't realize till after the fact that he was probably referring to free software tweaks (and not $$ hardware). The rest we'll attribute to a bad bowl of wheaties