Computer display is a very important and basic peripherals of our digital workstation and for those who are dealing with photography, illustration, or digital artist, it is necessary for our monitor to always display the right color. This is why display calibrators like Spyder5PRO Vs X-rite i1Display Pro are a useful tool to have in your drawer and use from time to time. If you also feel the need to have and use one, see what these two models can offer below before shopping.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
– Why Calibrating the Display
– How to Calibrate Display
– What are Spyder5PRO and X-rite i1Display Pro
– What Spyder5 PRO and X-rite i1Display Pro Look like
– What Spyder5 PRO and X-rite i1Display Pro can offer
– Are Spyder5 PRO and X-rite i1Display Pro Easy to use
– Spyder5 PRO Vs X-rite i1Display Pro
Display Calibration
Many of us are working in an office or at home and with the help of a very useful tool we called computer which as time goes by becoming more capable and more reliable for many things. Computers have processing function, input, and then output so all of them are equally necessary to perform properly but display is something we often don’t notice when something is not supposed to be. Display is viewing many things and sometimes it is full of color.
If our work is only centered around text, it may not be a great deal for our important information is described by words or numbers and simple graphic but things will be different when you are a photographer or someone who is working with lots of color on the display. The problem is our screen actually doesn’t always show the actual color and it can mess our work if not addressed correctly for example viewing picture with seemingly correct shades but when printed turns out to be different.
This is because the screen on our computer in the office and laptop or PC in the house are not always the same and in general it is known that most screens are too bright or have whatever color the monitor happens to be preset with. If it is correctly then everything is good but unfortunately it is not always the case and as the monitor gets older, these colors will alter as well especially with older bulb monitor and less with LED yet, it still change overtime.
Display Calibration Methods
Display or monitor calibration can be done in two methods by software and hardware depend on which you see more possible in the case but many people go for the latter because the former may cause problems in some cases since it goes through the graphic processors while the hardware adjustment are those bypassing the GPU and addressing your monitor directly. Today, we have many OEMs available in the market and most of them are quite affordable as well, so almost everyone can get one.
We also like this type of calibrator because in general they are easy to use and pretty straightforward because what we need to do is installing the software they have come with and then run it. The next step usually include using the physical tool and deciding the setting but it is easier due to some suggestions made such as 120cd/m2 or less in brightness and D65 or Native for Illuminant and 2.2 for Gamma. The whole process commonly will take more than 30 minutes before the monitor settle.
About Spyder5pro and X-rite i1Display Pro
If your job is dealing with color accuracy, getting one of those calibrator will be a great decision so then we don’t have to worry whether those videos have the blues and red properly displayed or not, more importantly if you work with more than one computer. As options we have quite the amount in the market but if reliable is the first thing to consider, Spyder5 and the new X-Rite calibrator will be a very ideal brands to look at. Read also: Spyder5PRO Vs Spyder5Elite here.
We are sure most people are already familiar with both of them because they are highly seek and rated by most users and in this article, we are going to see what the new Spyder5PRO compared to similar model from its competitor X-Rite i1Display Pro. The former is also the direct competitor of Colormunki and this new model is very interesting to check because it is using the same colorimeter as the more expensive Elite and Express version but the price gap is justified with the software difference.
This upgrade makes a possible improvement without us having to buy a new tool and as you can expect, now we don’t have the software comes in the box anymore and it can only be downloaded from the official site. What you may want to take note is this PRO version doesn’t allow its users to calibrate a projector so if it is what you need we will still need to get the Elite version license.
The latter by X-rite on the other hand was released back then in 2011 as a replacement of the other popular Display II and together comes with i1Profiler software so everything was new in this tool including the colorimeter which is actually similar to the one used in Colormunki. The problem is, it seems that this very capable calibrator especially the software is not very friendly with beginners or any novice users because many said that even at the basic setting, some parts are hard to understand.
Spyder5pro and X-rite i1Display Pro Design
When purchasing Spyder5PRO and X-rite i1Display Pro we will get the colorimeter inside and in the former package we are shipped with 7-channel RGB colorimeter which now have much wider reading window while the latter has 3-channel RGB colorimeter with organic glass filters for longer usage as well as a small mobile counterweight for USB cable. In addition, the i1Display Pro sensor has a conventional screw thread for mounting on a tripod when you need to calibrate projector as well.
This calibrator have CD inside that we can install on our computer but if your PC or laptop have no driver anymore, we can just download the software for free from the brand’s official site. Spyder5PRO on the other hand have no CD inside and we can just download it from their site as well which we do like better for both cost savings and make sure that we will get the newest version.
Spyder5pro and X-rite i1Display Pro Features
On the main features, both of these calibrators will seems to be very promising because they come packed with fairly easy to use and new technology from both companies. As it has been mentioned above the new PRO model from Spyder5 series is coming with the new colorimeter like those in Elite version and now it also have 7 new filters with 27 mm opening. The ambient light management has been simplified with many possible setting and faster calibration at 2.5 minutes.
As for X-Rite i1Display Pro, this calibrator is even more promising because it uses the latest generation of profiler screen, projector calibration and characterization software. It is compatible with all modern display even those LCD screen with extended gamut, iMac, and iPad screens. It also has infinite adjustment of white point, contrast ratio, luminance, gamma, and many more. It is offering intelligent ambient lighting control with both measurement and compensation as well as continuous monitoring of ambient light.
The prominent different from the capabilities of these monitor calibrator is because X-Rite is also useful for projectors and iPad in which the former is not yet capable of offering the same versatility.
Spyder5pro and X-rite i1Display Pro Ease of Use
When it comes to ease of use, people’s opinion may differ from one another and both of them are not friendly with just any user because we still need to follow quite a long steps before done and it can be frustrating for first timer. First is dealing with the software and it is always better to get the latest updates from any of these manufacturers then run and choose your preferred setting in this case is between Basic mode and Advance mode in X-rite.
There is also Advance setting in Spyder5PRO but it is meant to allow users to decide the level of Delta E warning. Basic mode in X-Rite is used to both calibrate processor and screen or a printer but a more complete adjustment can be done in the Advance mode. The rest are adjusting the settings manually like choosing which monitor you want to calibrate and start determining the white point, gamma, brightness, contrast and similar profile following your needs.
The overall process seems to be shorter with Spyder5PRO but it is more detailed in X-Rite i1Display Pro and it also means we can finish early with this calibrator than the other one while the result is nice in any option.
Comparison
These two direct competitors are equally a nice option for anyone who are in need to calibrate their display from time to time but in general X-Rite i1Display Pro is a more capable device with its suitability with projectors and tablet as well. However, calibration finished earlier with Spyder5PRO and in our opinion its UI is more novice friendly but detailed setting does seems to be offered well in i1Display Pro.
Spyder5PRO vs Spyder5Elite
Conclusion
Choosing between the two can be very confusing because not all of us will have the same needs and our recommendation is users should go with X-Rite i1Display Pro when also need to calibrate their projector and are more into detailed adjustment while those who want a quick calibration will be more suitable with Spyder5PRO.
