Novice looking for budget colorimeter

[AlterEgo]

but some displays for color critical applications

even some me-too displays like from Samsung or LG or even from Dell itself, even they are not as good as top NEC/Eizo

[GWGill]

so what if the driver is altered to present the device as i1DPro ? so that the software in question will be tricked into using it ...

It's theoretically possible, but may well be an either/or (i.e. if you substitute the ColorMunki Display unlock key, then it won't
recognize the i1pro Display), and some software has anti-tamper or signing that would make it difficult to patch.

[GWGill]

Which displays (monitors) do not allow creating a profile using CM + Argyll?

Some displays have internal per channel LUTs that may be of higher resolution than those in the graphic card. Without having access to examples of those displays, I can't add support for installing the calibration to the internal LUTs.

[mouse]

I did a quick check, timing how long it took to run the first 9-patch part of the calibration.  I've redone this, and it took just over 10 seconds with the i1 Display Pro, and 36 seconds with the Colormunki Display. 

Simon, thanks for the info.
For my purposes speed is a non-issue, profile quality is!  I suspect the same is true of the OP.
Have you looked at the measurement report I posted (reply #15).  I could hardly expect much better numbers, but more important, the prints match the monitor.

[Lundberg02]

I work digital-only and am on a budget. My monitor is a Dell u2415. I'm beginning to take my work more seriously and am interested in finally getting a colorimeter, however I feel my education is lacking in making a proper decision. Do some not work so well with non-PWM panels? Should I avoid the datacolor models altogether?

I've narrowed it down to the colormunki display or the spyder5, as that is in my budget. I'm considering the spyder5 because it seems I could avoid the software limitations and simply use argyll, but I have no experience with that software. Any tips would be appreciated.

Don't you mean the Dell U2413?
The i1Display Pro, i1Pro, and i1Pro 2 can be used to calibrate that monitor's internal LUTs. Nothing else can.

[AlterEgo]

i.e. if you substitute the ColorMunki Display unlock key, then it won't
recognize the i1pro Display

but if I am using this that means that I have only CM otherwise why 'd I do this

and some software has anti-tamper or signing that would make it difficult to patch.

but it is your driver, what I meant is that the driver detects CM (which is in fact connected to USB port) and then passes the data back to OEM calibration/profiling software saying that i1DPro connected to USB port, not CM...

[Simon Garrett]

Simon, thanks for the info.
For my purposes speed is a non-issue, profile quality is!  I suspect the same is true of the OP.
Have you looked at the measurement report I posted (reply #15).  I could hardly expect much better numbers, but more important, the prints match the monitor.

Agreed, the CM Display is just as accurate as the i1 Display Pro, and speed isn't a drop-dead issue for me either.  But when I bought an Eizo CS240, only Eizo's ColorNavigator s/w will calibrate and program the internal hardware LUT, and that software works with the i1 Display Pro but not the CM Display. 

[howardm]

but if I am using this that means that I have only CM otherwise why 'd I do this

but it is your driver, what I meant is that the driver detects CM (which is in fact connected to USB port) and then passes the data back to OEM calibration/profiling software saying that i1DPro connected to USB port, not CM...

But that is exactly the point.  Since most/all drivers operate in 'kernel space' (and that's a dangerous place for software to operate) the OEM software may well not work w/o it's 'official' (digitally signed by XRite) driver.

[GWGill]

but it is your driver,

If you are using X-Rite software or NEC or the display manufacturers calibration software, then you are not using my driver.

what I meant is that the driver detects CM (which is in fact connected to USB port) and then passes the data back to OEM calibration/profiling software saying that i1DPro connected to USB port, not CM...

Not something I have time or motivation to create.

[GWGill]

But that is exactly the point.  Since most/all drivers operate in 'kernel space' (and that's a dangerous place for software to operate) the OEM software may well not work w/o it's 'official' (digitally signed by XRite) driver.

The i1d3 unlock key is supplied by the user mode software. But some of that has it's own tamper/corruption checking.

[AlterEgo]

not something I have time or motivation to create.

that is understandable of course, but we just discuss technical possibilities - this is not a feature request for you to implement, not at all... when one can remove OEM drivers if installed and replace with USB driver that misrepresent CM as i1DPro... granted if somebody buys Eizo - no sense not to have i1DPro  in the first place - but buyers of 2nd tier displays (Samsung/LG or Dells) might still have budget in mind.

[mouse]

...granted if somebody buys Eizo - no sense not to have i1DPro  in the first place - but buyers of 2nd tier displays (Samsung/LG or Dells) might still have budget in mind.

Granted, if someone springs for a high end monitor it makes no sense to skimp on the calibration hardware.  However this thread was started by someone on a tight budget.  So I have been trying to make the point that he can save a few bucks by getting the ColorMunki Display and using it with Argyll/dispcalGUI to produce as good (or better) profile as could be obtained with more expensive hardware.

[AlterEgo]

Granted, if someone springs for a high end monitor it makes no sense to skimp on the calibration hardware.  However this thread was started by someone on a tight budget.  So I have been trying to make the point that he can save a few bucks by getting the ColorMunki Display and using it with Argyll/dispcalGUI to produce as good (or better) profile as could be obtained with more expensive hardware.

sure, did anybody say that CM will not do the job with Argyll ? again people were explaining the strings attached (to CM).

however if the said OP get CM and then some time later happen to upgrade to h/w calibrate-able display like from Dell/LG/Samsung (and they might be still considered as a budget category vs Eizos of the world) then he might find himself in less then optimal situation - hence the question "what if" (about using some driver to misrepresent CM as i1DPro) is quite reasonable to ask... 

[mouse]

...however if the said OP get CM and then some time later happen to upgrade to h/w calibrate-able display like from Dell/LG/Samsung (and they might be still considered as a budget category vs Eizos of the world) then he might find himself in less then optimal situation - hence the question "what if" (about using some driver to misrepresent CM as i1DPro) is quite reasonable to ask... 

This brings us to the question: How much improvement can one expect in the profile of h/w calibrate-able displays when using a compatible (or a misrepresented) colorimeter as opposed to straightforward use of the CM + Argyll software? 

[Czornyj]

however if the said OP get CM and then some time later happen to upgrade to h/w calibrate-able display like from Dell/LG/Samsung (and they might be still considered as a budget category vs Eizos of the world) then he might find himself in less then optimal situation - hence the question "what if" (about using some driver to misrepresent CM as i1DPro) is quite reasonable to ask...  

You can also calibrate budget NEC models internally using SpectraView II - I suppose that EA224WMi is the world's cheapest monitor with hardware calibration support. Cheap EA displays like EA224EMi, EA234WMi, EA244WMi, EA274WMi and EA294WMi only feature 10bit 1DLUT, so hardware calibration gains only small (but noticable) quality improvements. EA244UHD and EA304WMi have 14bit LUT, so you get perfect tonal quality without banding and color casts. There's also a new 3840x2160px EA275UHD with 10bit AH-IPS panel and internal 14bit LUT that only costs 800$, so there's a trend to put high bit LUTs to low/mid-end NEC models.

[AlterEgo]

There's also a new 3840x2160px EA275UHD with 10bit AH-IPS panel and internal 14bit LUT that only costs 800$, so there's a trend to put high bit LUTs to low/mid-end NEC models.

I think it shall be a reasonable for X-Rite to at least allow companies like NEC to unlock CM in their OEM software for that kind of price range of monitors... and try to replace Spyders in OEM bundles