X-Rite Eye-One Display LT by Xrite
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Digital camera reviews of X-Rite Eye-One Display LT
Digital camera Review: WYSIWYG - What you see is what you get
Summary: 5 Stars
Recently, I've read several books about Photoshop CS2 and digital photography and the general consensus of the authors relating to color management is that calibrating one's display device is essential. The overriding recommendation is to use hardware calibration (colorimeter) or, at the very least, an eyeball method (Adobe Gamma, QuickGamma).
Mindful of this information, I calibrated my home CRT, LCD and laptop and my work CRT with free a software program (QuickGamma) that was recommended by several digital camera and Photoshop sites. Previous to this I had used Adobe Gamma but I quickly found that QuickGamma produced superior results. Another thing I noticed was that it was much easier to calibrate the CRT's than either the LCD or the laptop using either eyeball method. When I printed photographs with my home inkjet there seemed to be a pretty good match between the CRT display and output but when I moved pictures from different computers there were noticeable shifts.
With my interest piqued, I decided to purchase a hardware calibrator the Eye-One Display LT (Light?) to see if I could match images between displays and to determine if I could achieve a closer color match between my printer and displayed image.
The Eye-One was easy to use and set up on all displays once I got the hang of the wizard that explains each step. As other reviewers have mentioned a software update is available from Pantone's site and this adds some functionality to the software and is a recommended update. Depending on your displays capabilities the Eye-One allows the user to optimize the, brightness, contrast, color temp, gamma, and RGB set points and then creates a custom profile for your display. With the LT version the color temps available are 5000, 6500 and 7200 and the gamma points are 1.8, 2.2. The next version up allows greater flexibility in these areas but the LT's numbers should be adequate for most users.
Using the updated software, I was able to compare before and after pictures. I also printed several pictures out using the new profile and checked them against my monitor. The results showed marginal improvement over the QuickGamma profile (approx 5%). So with my home CRT, I was not greatly impressed with the results. After profiling my laptop and LCD, however, my feelings changed. Both displays became more vibrant and accurate and, in addition, there was greater consistency between all my displays with regards to color reproduction.
Overall, a nice piece of hardware and software that is intuitive to use and is particularly effective at creating profiles for LCD's and Laptops.
Note: The calorimeter included with the LT is the same as the one included with the more expensive Eye-One Display 2. The only difference between the 2 packages is the included software, which can be upgraded if needed.
Update 1/7/10: I just recently used the Eye-One to calibrate my Panasonic HDTV. Along with the free software Color HCFR and Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics disc (which I rented from Netflix), I achieved excellent results with little to no hassle. Just Google "GREYSCALE & COLOR CALIBRATION FOR DUMMIES" and you will be provided with an excellent walk through. This additional functionality has made a great product even better.
Digital camera Review: Waste of time - useless product made screen worse
Summary: 1 Stars
I spent too much time with this product as it continued to make my screen colors worse than when I started. Little documentation, weak bloated software and 5 tries, even with different computer screens (I have 5 I wanted to match). This product is a waste. I noticed it's made by X-Rite, who also makes the Huey. Another weak product. When will there be a GOOD color/screen calibration product??Digital camera Review: Works Well With Linux
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this product specifically because Argyll CMS supports it. Setting up and calibrating the screen on my laptop was very simple: I followed the instructions on this page[..] and was up and running in about 15 minutes. Having a correctly calibrated monitor has made all the difference in the world, reds would be too saturated and shadows would print too dark. Now all the colors look the same on the screen as on the camera. I have not tried printing, but since the colors now look "right" with little adjustment, I suspect this will mean that the prints will no longer have off colors. The images look the same on both GIMP and Digikam, which was not the case before. The only problem is that the screen looks a little too dark now, but I figure that will be resolved once I correct the lighting in my work area and re-calibrate the monitor in a couple of weeks.
Overall the price was good and the device was recognized immediately by Ubuntu without any extra drivers needed, so no headaches there.
Digital camera Review: Works as advertised
Summary: 5 Stars
I use with a MacBook Pro glossy screen and a secondary Dell matte display. I've tried the Spyder Pro 2 and always got a red tint on my MacBook Pro, so thought I'd try this one. I still get a slight red tint and if I set solid gray to background on both monitors they do not match at all. The glossy display on the MBP is a pita and I wish I had not gotten it. I don't blame the i1 Display2 for this problem. When working on images, they are very close, much, much better than with the calibration from the Spyder. For me, good enough, but if I did this professionally I would never again look at a glossy display. I use ColorEyes Display Pro 2 for software, not the included software, which was not user friendly but seemed to work fine. You will need Rosetta installed if using the iMatch software, not cool.Digital camera Review: Works as expected
Summary: 4 Stars
I used the Eye One Display LT for calibrating the gray scale and color management system on my plasma TV. That is not the intended purpose of this meter, and I had to download the free software program Colorimeter HCFR and learn about calibration by reading online guides. But with some effort, I was able to do what I really wanted. The picture quality on the TV is visibly better after having calibrated it.
Pros:
Fast for above IRE20 readings
Supposedly more accurate that Spyder 2, which is the only other meter option below $150
Supported by free software to extend it beyond the intended purpose
Cons:
The USB cable is too short when working with a big plasma