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Buyer's Guide: 10 Essential Color Management Devices

By Matt Golowczynski | Published Dec 2, 2011 | Product Reviews & Previews

Tagged with: calibration color-management profiling white-balance

X-rite Colormunki Photo

• Street price: $449.00 (US) / £288.47 (UK) / €395.87 (EU) Check Price / Buy Now
• www.xrite.com

The Colormunki spectrophotometer can calibrate monitors and measure print targets for ICC profiling.

Despite only having been around for a few years, the Colormunki Photo - a combined display and printer calibration tool - has already become one of the most popular integrated color management devices on the market. This can be at least partly explained by its simplicity, since it uses the same device to perform both tasks. Indeed, integration seems to be a theme with the Colormuki Photo. Even the carry case with which it is provided doubles as a holder for display calibration, its weighted strap acting as an anchor when the device is positioned on a computer screen.

As the image above shows, print profiling is performed by running the Colormunki over a series of printed patches, the results of which are used to create the profile. Further clever functionality includes an integrated white ceramic tile, which quickly allows the device to be calibrated for accuracy, as well as a Spot Colour measurement option which enables it to read a colour from a physical object - such as a CD cover, magazine or other - in order for it to be transferred to a computer and used for other tasks such as image editing and logo creation. There are more advanced (and expensive) calibration devices available, but the Colormunki is definitely one of the most user-friendly.

An alternative version aimed at graphic designers, the Colormunki Design, is also available. Easily identifiable by its white casing, this is based on the same spectrophotometer as the Photo version, but it has slightly different software to make it more appropriate for use in graphic design, rather than photography.

Datacolor Spyder3Studio SR

• Street price: $424.47 (US) / £333.99 (UK) / €484.99 (EU) Check Price / Buy Now
• www.datacolor.com

The Spyder3Studio SR kit is cheaper than the combined cost of the included Spyder3Elite and
Spyder3Print devices if purchased separately, which effectively means you get the SpyderCube for free.

Designed as a complete colour management package, the Spyder3Studio SR combines three of the most popular Datacolour products: the Spyder3Elite colorimeter (the most advanced of the trio of Spyders currently available) for monitor and projector calibration; the Spyder3Print SR for generating custom ICC print profiles; and the SpyderCube to provide accurate points of reference for image processing.

The Spyder3Elite colorimeter is equipped with an ambient light sensor, so that this may be taken into consideration during calibration, while the supplied software may even be used to assess the quality of the monitor in order to determine the consistency of reproduction across the display area. The spectrophotometer used for print profiling, meanwhile, comes with its own base to act as a guide when moving it across a series of patches, the process of which now claimed to take merely a few minutes.

Finally, the SpyderCube is constructed from a fade-proof resin, to ensure its surfaces remain accurate over time, and with the integrated tripod thread and hook it can be respectively mounted or hung in the scene depending on which is easier. In addition to the above, the package comes complete with a monitor cleaning cloth and a Quick Start Guide, and everything comes in a solid metal case which is useful for more mobile users.

Understanding Color Management by Abhay Sharma

• Street price: $58.31 (US) / £59.84 (UK) / €64.92 (EU) Check Price / Buy Now
• www.delmarlearning.com

Understanding Color Management is intended intended as an introduction for
those new to color management although intermediate and more advanced
users will find plenty of useful information too.

Although obviously not a color management device, I think this book deserves a place on my list as it covers all aspects of color management relevant to photographers. Despite being originally published in 2004, much of the information within it is still as relevant to color and its management today as it was seven years ago, but as its title suggests, its focus is more on theory and basic principles of color management rather than providing a step-by-step guide for any specific tasks.

Abhay Sharma's book begins by looking at the very basics of color and the human visual system, before venturing into the purpose and differences between color spaces, the importance and basic principles of device profiling, and other key issues such as appropriate rendering intents for photographic reproduction. Those wanting a good overview of everything involved can start with the 46-page introduction which succinctly covers the book’s scope, and gloss over some of the more involved sections.

Although the reader isn’t expected to have any prior knowledge of the topics discussed, both the pace and tone of the writing allows them to quickly develop an understanding of even more complex aspects of color management. The book is logically organized to enable you to do so, while summaries at the end of each chapter quickly remind the reader of the key points discussed. True, it may not be the cheapest book on the subject, but in terms of its scope and usefulness I think that Understanding Color Management is well worth the investment.

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Total comments: 57

Can anyone advise me why when color calibrating a monitor (in my case, Spyder3 Express) the screen becomes warmer and yellowish?

0 upvotes

This is bcuz ur monitor was set to 9300K which is cooler ( blue ). when u do calibration it calibrates to 6500K which is warmer

0 upvotes

I'm getting the Spyder Cube because even if it doesn't work I can use it as a tree ornament. I think it's a very clever idea but I still don't see how any of these things address the problem of mixed lighting, other than to let you know the color varies throughout the scene. So, whereas calibrating and profiling monitors and printers can have a big payoff, in a scene with mixed light all you can do is average the colors, or pick one area that you want to be accurate color, at the expense of the rest of the scene.

I think I saw some software that does attempt to tweak different colors of light within a scene to a realistic overall balance; sort of HDR for color temperature.

1 upvote

Rant...

Awhille back, I purchased a package suite from ColorVision, now Data Color, that included the SpyderPro 2 and the printer calibrator. While the monitor calibrator worked well, the printer calibrator never worked. During the couple of months of calls to customer support, off and on, they had come out with a new print calibrator. By this time, customer support told me they no longer support the old one and they had no solution for me. In other words, bug off.

I suggested they owed me a solution and should send me the new one, which they declined. I had spent a couple of hundred dollars on something that never worked and they could care less. I felt like smashing the thing into pieces and sending it directly to their company president but ended up just throwing it in the trash. Why waste any more money on postage?

My advice... Perhaps Data Color has new management, but beware of their customer support just the same.

Cheers

1 upvote

Getting a "neutral" white balance is important if you're shooting products or artwork and need the color rendition to be true to a particular daylight color balance. But for the vast majority of images, you don't want to neutralize color to render a neutral gray. Warm or cold ambient lighting is often what makes an image work. Most photographers shouldn't bother with color targets and white balance lens caps. They're specialty tools and if you don't know that you need them for you probably don't need them at all.

1 upvote

Yes and no. Most of raw converters use colour profiles that assume neutral white balance; and often it is better to start with a neutral image and add the feel of light at a later stage, in a controllable manner.

1 upvote

You may not realize this, but people do shoot indoors, where ambient lighting can cause an ugly color cast. Since when is shooting indoors a "specialty" type of photography? Heck, sometimes shooting in deep shade can result in a less-than-pleasing blue/cold color cast. Is shooting in shade a "specialty" photography? I don't think wanting natural, neutral color balance is a "specialty" just for niche photographers. Also, don't forget that you can *start* with a neutralized image using one of these tools, then add a touch of warmth for a much better image than one where you simply rely on the hit-or-miss auto WB that a camera produces.

0 upvotes

The point of color management is to make sure that what you see on your monitor is what you get from the printer (or on somebody else's monitor, assuming it is also calibrated).

While you are correct that shooting a reference is most important for products, artwork, or natural history, having a known reference can make post processing adjustments a lot easier.

0 upvotes

The original point misses the point. The point of getting neutral white balance is /not/ to /force/ neutral white balance. The point is to know where neutral is, precisely, so that when you warm it up, you know exactly how much you're warming it up.

If you do not establish what neutral white balance is, how do you know you are looking at a reliable starting point to make your warming shift?

0 upvotes

Something for those who are new to color management to consider. You can never get print output to match the display. The color gamut (range) of CMYK printers is smaller than RGB monitors so your image editing software will map unprintable colors down into the printable range depending on it's color settings. Calibration software allows you to get consistent, repeatable results and of course you can edit your images to get the results you want from there. I run a dual monitor setup, and a Datacolor Spyder Pro gets them very close but even with that my eye can detect slight differences. The human eye is remarkably perceptive and has a much wider gamut than either RGB or CMYK and ultimately, the goal is to get the results YOU want every time.

1 upvote

i1 Pro should definitively be on the list.

0 upvotes

they should have included DATACOLOR DC SCK100 SPYDERCHECKR which is far superiror in terms of accuracy to X-Rite's Color Checker Passport. I first bought the Color Checker Passport but noticed that certain colors, specially the reddish tones were oversaturated. I did several tests and the results were the same. Worried that there might have been something wrong with the color checker card, I used 2 different color checkers by x-rite and the results were the same. Since I shoot a lot of products for some cosmetics companies, getting accurate colors is essential. I ended up trying Datacolor's SpyderCheckr and the color rendition was clearly more accurate. I even did a side by side test. I took photos of a pink sponge. Using x-Rite's color checker, the pink was so saturated that it blew out the details in the sponge. Using Datacolor's Spyderchecker, the image was very accurate.
Added to this, X-Rite's customer service never replied to my online queries regarding this problem

1 upvote

IMHO Mr. Sharma's book together with Mr. Rodney's "Color Management for Photographers: Hands on Techniques for Photoshop Users" deserve the first place; while ColorThink Pro should be the second most important tool, as some profile analysis, quality control, and comparison are very obviously needed. BabelColor and basICColor are very worth a special mention.

0 upvotes

On the wbal disc - correct me if I'm wrong, but it only corrects the general overall color; if you have multiple lightsources and are primarily concerned about one particular area (say you have a person standing under one light and a big background that is lit by another color entirely) you're going to get a wbal that's somewhere between the two, while a grey card could give you a reading for one or the other.

Also, wouldn't it be reading to the color of whatever light is falling on it (eg where you're standing) in addition to whatever is off in front if it where your shot is?

Comment edited 30 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

color management are only good for publishing, like matching a pantone color, they produce flat boring color in photography, because color in real life are nt that vivid and saturated

2 upvotes

That's possibly the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

9 upvotes

Color management isn't supposed to make your images 'exciting, vivid and saturated'. You're supposed to do that yourself.

2 upvotes

I suggest you take up a different hobby; photography isn't for you.

3 upvotes

lol thats so funny

0 upvotes

Color management isn't always about matching your images to the real world color. Most of the time, it is about matching what you see on your monitor to what you get from a print.

4 upvotes

If you mean that shooting color charts and/or using lens caps to neutralize everything to a standard daylight color temperature produces boring results, I agree that's possible. But color management is essential if you want to have any idea what you're getting and control what you and others see with any consistency.

1 upvote

That's a really ridiculous statement. Please ignore this person.

0 upvotes

Monitor calibration is the foundation of color management on the computer. Having accurate color profiles for your printer w/o a calibrated monitor won't do much good if the goal is to get prints to appear reasonably close to what you see on screen. That said, an accurately profiled ink/paper combo will look better whether or not it matches your monitor. (I use the term "match" loosely.)

For me white balance is more of an aesthetic choice but if you're doing studio product shots, for example, then an accurate white balance has to be the first step in the color workflow. Fortunately, achieving that is not an expensive proposition.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 10 minutes after posting

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hmmm... pixiq looks like their examples were reverse doctored (start with a balanced image, then shift the WB off severely (unrecoverable imho) as a 'fake' starting image, there are too many telltale signs the initial image never existed that badly white imbalanced)... it is a terrible 'simulated' example to use to promote their product.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

1 upvote

Good article thanks. Do you think there's a hierarchy when it comes to color management? For example, if you had to choose just one part of your workflow to calibrate, would it be WB, monitor or print?

0 upvotes

ClickJohnClick,
Successful color management requires an end to end characterization of devices, ie they're all important. BUT, calibrating and profiling your display is huge. You can't edit what you can't see.

1 upvote

A new alternative for the adventurous, especially for those of you who value openness: http://www.hughski.com/

2 upvotes

Based on TCS3200?

0 upvotes

To get the same colours on your prints as those you percieved when you took it is impossible, but gadgets like these goes a long way!

Most of us percieve three basic colours (most of us do - some have difficulties differentiating between green and red, some see only B&W, and some have even four basic colour receptors - a very rare condition indeed)!

But displays have come a long way since the age of CRTs (a few exceptions were even then amazing), and no doubt will progress continue, for sensors and displays, and, not least, printers!

Comment edited 24 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Dry Creek Photo performed an excellent and comprehensive review on a number of monitor calibration devices (http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/Calibration/MonitorCalibrationHardware.html). IIRC, at least 10 samples of each device were used in most tests. The ColorMunki "Design" and "Photo" were not recommended because there was so much sample variation between units that the calibration was unreliable. The new ColorMunki "Display" was a completely different story and an excellent unit.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 2 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

Control of colors is ok with me, just remember that outside in the real environment lighting changes frequently and that means colors do as well. So it's best not to spend too much money on these things as even if you got the color correct at the moment of capture, many times mother nature has already changed this color an instant later. So what's the point of spending a lot of money on this? Good enough is good enough and what we are already seeing is good enough.

2 upvotes

>> Good enough is good enough and what we are already seeing is good enough.

Maybe for you. A lot of us like the result coming out of the printer or on print in magazines being reasonably close to what you see on screen. Without proper calibration that rarely happens.

You don't have to spend a ton of money on this though; even the cheaper alternatives are 100x better than not calibrating at all.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

4 upvotes

Well, you forget that a lot of photos are taken inside, where artificial lighting, or even just shade, can cause less-than-pleasing color casts. Furthermore, you entirely miss the point that color control tools like these can neutralize and equalize changes in lighting color. For example, if I'm taking some photos outdoors where the light changes over a half hour interval but I want the color of the lighting to look consistent in all the images, if I took a color target image at the beginning, middle, and end of that half hour period it allows me to equalize and neutralize that unwanted color change.

0 upvotes

This goes against everyone that likes to say 'I like the colors of camera X over camera Y'.

0 upvotes

Nice article.

I can't imagine being without my i1 monitor calibrator and Passport. They pretty much keep me straight - - - that and the color profiles for the paper I use on my Epson 3880. Serious photography requires serious tools. :)

1 upvote

The color checker passport is, I feel, one of the most essential pieces of photography kit one can buy. It took my GH2 profiles from being a little bit green tinted to being dead on perfect, with rich, accurate color and is well worth the money.

0 upvotes

Yes, I can see this one as more useful, to get the color balance right. (not just warm or cool), and if you print, you can compare to your print output

0 upvotes

Agreed, this is a very useful piece of gear, with the very great advantage of coming self-contained in in a close-able case to protect the color swatches and gray card from light (fading) and dirt etc. I have never seen the point of gray cards on a lanyard e.g. DigitalGrayKard, that are a dangling nuisance and must get dirty. Pity its LR plugin is a bit clunky.

0 upvotes

Great article for people new to callibration. I think a lot of photographers ignore it all together.

However, I think white balance disks are a waste of time for many. It says that it might save time for RAW shooters, but I'm not sure how. No White Balance information has been done to the RAW file and most don't accept the default editor settings which might be the camera settings, so why bother? Moreover, Jpeg shooters might want warmer or cooler temps than absolute perfect WB settings. There's a white duck there. Move the slider until the duck is white. I don't know what can be easier unless I'm missing something.

Great job though on a good selection representing what's out there.

0 upvotes

You're missing something. You're missing the fact that humans can't calibrate colors by eye because the brain's interpretation of color changes based on lighting, surrounding colors, and the brain's own interpretation of what it thinks it's looking at. There are plenty of optical illusions on the web proving it. If people could correct the colors of an image by eye, then they wouldn't need any calibration tools, as they would be able to calibrate monitors and printers by eye...but they can’t.

If there's something neutral in the image then WB can be set from it, usually with an eyedropper tool...no sliders needed. Otherwise, it's practically impossible to set white balance correctly. As for wanting a warmer or cooler look...that's pretty much a myth. The best look is always achieved with correct white balance. The only time this isn't so is when the light itself is the star of the show, as with sunsets or colored spotlights.

Custom white balance is the way to go.

0 upvotes

You're missing the point. These WB tools give a neutral reference point to click on, then applied to all other images shot in the same light. For example, if you take a shot of a Spydercube under yellow tungsten light, you can later use the WB Dropper in your RAW editing software to correct for that colorcast, then apply this "White Balance information" to all the other images shot under that same nasty tungsten light. This saves a HUGE amount of time. You can do the same with the Expdisc, by shooting a "grey frame" with it pointed at the offending light source. Just open up that "grey frame" in your RAW editor, click the WB Dropper on it, get a "WB corrected" image, then copy that "WB information" to all your other images that need it. And you get TRUE neutral corrections with just a click, which you can then fine tune to your particular taste. That's the key: these are accurate, truly neutral WB targets, unlike your "white duck" that may not exist, or not be true neutral.

Comment edited 7 minutes after posting

1 upvote

Guidenet,
ACR and Lightroom, to name two, have an 'As Shot' option for WB. So if you do a custom WB with an expo disc this option saves you from making manual adjustments if, I repeat if, your goal is a Lab neutral color balance. Many times our goal is simply for pleasing, not necessarily accurate color balance. But if you're doing product shots in controlled studio lighting, this kind of tool can save time.

Comment edited 3 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

"There's a white duck there. Move the slider until the duck is white. I don't know what can be easier unless I'm missing something."

In many situations, there is nothing reliably neutral/white in the scene. Like a landscape of trees, water, and blue sky. Or autumn leaves on green grass. Or a person standing in front of a red barn wall.

When there is nothing neutral in the scene, a white balance target is something you can put into the scene to establish what neutral was supposed to be. From there, you can shift warm if you want.

But let's face it, a white duck is simply not present in 99.999% of the photographs ever taken.

0 upvotes

Do you know of any monitor/screen calibration device that can be used in a Linux environment? My understanding is that the software that comes with these gadgets works on Macs and Windows PCs only. I have read that the old Spyder 2 could apparently be used under Linux too, but I guess it is out of production.

0 upvotes

Not released yet, but should be soon:

http://www.hughsie.com/

1 upvote

See what ArgyllCMS supports. I use a a USB powered huey. Gnome also has a front end which will run Argyll to generate the profiles. Note that not all apps in Linux support profiles and you generally have to manually load them for each one. I never could get it quite perfect but I could get screens much better than stock.

1 upvote

hughski.com

0 upvotes

I wonder about this white balance approach with cards/cubes during capture. During film days, you never could adjust the white balance of a slide film. Yes, one had daylight and tungsten film, or one could put on filters to adjust color temperature. But overall, the human mind adjusts color balance, and white during a sun-set should just be more red than in white in the shade at high noon. I presume Pros still use a Color Meter to record the actual Kelvin when the picture is taken, but simply using a white/grey card, to set a scene shot at noon to the same white point on a computer screen as a scene shot in the evening seems wrong.

0 upvotes

No, I don't think there are many pros who still use a color meter these days. Too tedious and cumbersome. As for using a white balance tool during times when it "seems wrong", just like ANY tool you own, you also have to know how and WHEN to use it to get the look and results you want. Obviously, there are plenty of times when you DON'T want to correct the existing color of light.

1 upvote

Still-life folks still use colormeters to make sure that they're getting their light sources to be all exactly the same- that the head you're shooting through a softbox and the head you've shooting through the plexi table and head with the grid on it all end up dropping the same color light on your object - because if your light sources are different, wb is going to be nearly impossible.

0 upvotes

... which bring us to the following: please post an article on third pary inks! Please!

0 upvotes

And great we can buy them straight from Amazon without having to compare to pesky other vendors. ;-) ( such as cancomuk.com who are a good deal cheaper)

Comment edited 4 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Nice Writing.......

0 upvotes

Nice list, though some redundancy on the Spyder 3 stuff, I didn't know about the Print - looks like the cheapest print calibration.

I think I would have mentioned the whibal as an alternative gray card as well.

Comment edited 27 seconds after posting

1 upvote

I've been using Spyderprint for 5years or so and it does a good job. Northlight seems to think so too. I don't think it's cheap but I do think some of the alternatives are overpriced.

0 upvotes

WhiBal is a good product. With an international audience we try whenever possible to list products that can be ordered for direct shipment in a wide range of countries.

0 upvotes

I am happy with ExpoDisc Neutral Professional Digital White Balance Filter. It is really very easy to set white balance and exposure with this gadget. I can do it in 5 seconds!

Comment edited 33 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Total comments: 57