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by anupbunny on Wed Dec 18, 2013 2:05 pm
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Hi,

I am in the process of receiving my iMac 27" 4th Gen in couple of days and I wanted to ask a question to the experts or who have been using MAC. Do I need to calibrate my monitor? When I chehcked with the engineer at the Apple store they suggested the MAC monitors dont need calibration but I got confused since they were selling Calibrators for monitors too? :) 

If someone can help me what is the best way to calibrate the monitor that will be helpful. I do have a Spyder with me which I used on my previous windows computer to calibrate.

Thank you so much and wish you and your family a very happy holiday season and new year.
 

by Royce Howland on Wed Dec 18, 2013 2:30 pm
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All monitors need to be calibrated, if you care about accurate colour, contrast and brightness. (E.g. for matching to prints or just to ensure that people with a "standardized" display will see your images close to the way you do.) This includes top of the line large displays from companies like NEC and Eizo that cost thousands of dollars.

Anybody who tells you otherwise is either ignorant, or simply doesn't care about accurate colour display, and doesn't care if you can get it or not. There is a myth that Apple likes to perpetuate, that their displays are somehow "awesome" or whatever, compared to everything else. But that's a crock; they need calibration as much as any other monitors, and more than some. The fact that the Apple store was selling monitor calibration tools despite the advice they gave you tells you everything you need to know about their level of trustworthy expertise on this topic, either way you slice it. :)

What Spyder model do you have? If it's a Spyder4 it should be suitable for the new iMac. A Spyder3, maybe or maybe not... early versions of the Spyder3 had trouble. The Spyder2 is not worth using at all, IMO. Note that your new iMac is going to be running the latest Mac OS X, so software compatibility could be your other issue. Chances are good that if your Spyder is older, the vendor won't support it with software for current Mac OS X. But it depends on the specific model.

If you need to upgrade, the display calibration tool I most often recommend is the X-Rite i1 Display Pro.

Alternatively you can look into a software-only product called ColorEyes Display Pro which is probably the best software calibration tool for Mac OS X. It still needs a hardware colorimeter, and doesn't have its own hardware. But it can work with most other devices out there like the various Sypders and X-Rite i1's. The caveat I mentioned above still applies, though... the Spyder2 (and perhaps older Spyder3) likely are not suitable choices for your new iMac, regardless of what software.
Royce Howland
 

by anupbunny on Wed Dec 18, 2013 2:57 pm
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Royce Howland wrote:All monitors need to be calibrated, if you care about accurate colour, contrast and brightness. (E.g. for matching to prints or just to ensure that people with a "standardized" display will see your images close to the way you do.) This includes top of the line large displays from companies like NEC and Eizo that cost thousands of dollars.

Anybody who tells you otherwise is either ignorant, or simply doesn't care about accurate colour display, and doesn't care if you can get it or not. There is a myth that Apple likes to perpetuate, that their displays are somehow "awesome" or whatever, compared to everything else. But that's a crock; they need calibration as much as any other monitors, and more than some. The fact that the Apple store was selling monitor calibration tools despite the advice they gave you tells you everything you need to know about their level of trustworthy expertise on this topic, either way you slice it. :)

What Spyder model do you have? If it's a Spyder4 it should be suitable for the new iMac. A Spyder3, maybe or maybe not... early versions of the Spyder3 had trouble. The Spyder2 is not worth using at all, IMO. Note that your new iMac is going to be running the latest Mac OS X, so software compatibility could be your other issue. Chances are good that if your Spyder is older, the vendor won't support it with software for current Mac OS X. But it depends on the specific model.

If you need to upgrade, the display calibration tool I most often recommend is the X-Rite i1 Display Pro.

Alternatively you can look into a software-only product called ColorEyes Display Pro which is probably the best software calibration tool for Mac OS X. It still needs a hardware colorimeter, and doesn't have its own hardware. But it can work with most other devices out there like the various Sypders and X-Rite i1's. The caveat I mentioned above still applies, though... the Spyder2 (and perhaps older Spyder3) likely are not suitable choices for your new iMac, regardless of what software.
Hi Royce,

Thank you for taking time out to reply. I have a Spyder 2 actually. It looks like I will have to spend some more money for the calibrator I need.

Thank you so much.

Regards
 

by Royce Howland on Wed Dec 18, 2013 4:52 pm
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Yes, I'd recommend getting a new calibration kit. The Spyder2 software will not run on Mac OS X following 10.7, due to Apple's elimination of the "Rosetta" system that allowed old PowerPC Mac apps to run on Macs with Intel processors. Datacolor (the vendor) did provide some limited support for the Spyder2 device in the Spyder3 Express software, but even that is outdated for some time now by the Spyder4 product line. Plus, Datacolor have stated that the Spyder2 hardware device is not suited for modern LED-based monitors, or ones with wide gamut. My past testing supports that; the Spyder2 is not a good choice for a modern display.

So your best bet is to upgrade. Either a Spyder4 if you want to stick with that product line, or an X-Rite i1 Display Pro; these are the two most common packages.
Royce Howland
 

by E.J. Peiker on Wed Dec 18, 2013 4:57 pm
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Another option is to buy ColorEyes Pro.  Then your old calibration puck will work with the new OS but Royce is right, it's not the greatest puck out there.
 

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