What to use to calibrate a new 27 inch iMac

[borupb]

I just got a new 27 inch iMac and need to calibrate it.  I have read several posts from various sources about doing this but now I am more confused than ever.  What calibrator would you recommend, sypder III, color munki, etc.?  I need help.

[Czornyj]

I just got a new 27 inch iMac and need to calibrate it.  I have read several posts from various sources about doing this but now I am more confused than ever.  What calibrator would you recommend, sypder III, color munki, etc.?  I need help.

ColorMunki Display is optimal choice for W-LED iMac. Or i1Display Pro if you plan to buy some additional, more advanced monitor in a future. Both share same excellent sensor, but the i1Display Pro is a little bit faster, has more advanced profiling software and will work with third party software (like NEC SpectraView II / Profiler, EIZO ColorNavigator, and so on).

[mbaginy]

I use the Spyder 3 with my 27" iMac and am very please with the results.  Simple and intuitive to install and use.  I'm running Snow Leopard (again) since Lion turned out to be a disaster: iMac kept crashing, many strange anomalies, scanner wouldn't run, ...  But I've been told by the manufacturer, that a functioning Beta version of the Spyder 3 software runs fine with Lion (as long as you can get Lion to satisfactorily).

[digitaldog]

ColorMunki Display (not to be confused with the ColorMunki, a Spectrophotometer*) or the more expensive i1Dispaly Pro**

*X-Rite has the most confusing naming conventions know to man or dog. But great hardware. IF you want to calibrate your display AND build printer profiles, you want the ColorMunki. The newer ColorMunki Display is a different kind of instrument. Cost less, only deals with display calibration.

** 1iDisplay Pro and ColorMunki Display look like identical hardware and to be honest, they are expect for the speed to measure. The extra money gets you better software which I think is important.

[howardm]

Just to clarify (since the naming convention is so poor).....

the spectrophotometer Colormunki (the *original* introduced 2-3 years ago) is properly called (by them)
the 'ColorMunki Photo' and it retails for around $350-500 depending on the place and if there's a sale/rebate going on.

I believe that the newer ColorMunki Display is the same hardware (as the i1Display Pro) but yes, it's software is 5x slower and gives you
significantly less 'Advanced' options.  In addiiton, I think XRite is dick-ish by not allowing 3rd party SDK access to
that hardware so you can't buy it and expect it to work/supported by Spectraview, Coloreyes, BasICColor whereas the
i1Display Pro (not to be confused w/ the i1 Pro) does allow that

ColorMunki Display (not to be confused with the ColorMunki, a Spectrophotometer*) or the more expensive i1Dispaly Pro**

*X-Rite has the most confusing naming conventions know to man or dog. But great hardware. IF you want to calibrate your display AND build printer profiles, you want the ColorMunki. The newer ColorMunki Display is a different kind of instrument. Cost less, only deals with display calibration.

** 1iDisplay Pro and ColorMunki Display look like identical hardware and to be honest, they are expect for the speed to measure. The extra money gets you better software which I think is important.

[Sheldon N]

I'll echo the previous comments... either the ColorMunki Display (~$170) or the i1 Display Pro (~$250) are the best options right now for just monitor profiling. The hardware is the same and produces very accurate results. The choice between i1 vs the ColorMunki is about speed of profiling, and whether you need advanced vs basic software options.

I went for the i1 Display Pro, upgrading from the i1 Display 2. It was a very worthwhile upgrade.

[Czornyj]

I believe that the newer ColorMunki Display is the same hardware (as the i1Display Pro) but yes, it's software is 5x slower and gives you
significantly less 'Advanced' options.  In addiiton, I think XRite is dick-ish by not allowing 3rd party SDK access to
that hardware so you can't buy it and expect it to work/supported by Spectraview, Coloreyes, BasICColor whereas the
i1Display Pro (not to be confused w/ the i1 Pro) does allow that

According to Graeme Gill - ColorMunki Display has some kind of a "hardware lag" that slows it down, so it's not exactly a software issue.

As for the lack of CMD SDK access - it could be much worse. You can still use CMD with ArgyllCMS, and in the beginning it wasn't even sure if i1Display Pro will ever be supported by 3rd party software...

[howardm]

probably just a delay loop programmed into the firmware (keyed off the DeviceID) of the device itself. 

Lets them use the exact same hardware but w/ different results.

[Lost]

But I've been told by the manufacturer, that a functioning Beta version of the Spyder 3 software runs fine with Lion (as long as you can get Lion to satisfactorily).

I am using the Spyder 3 with a MacBook under Lion, and everything seems to work fine. Actually, I am pretty happy with the results as well (using a 2009 17" with matte display).

[Ellis Vener]

Both Xrite's  ColorMunki Display and i1 Pro Display do a fine job. I've also used the Color Spyder 3 Elite system, the ColorMunki Photo,  and an i1 Pro photospectrometer with i1 Profiler (the same software the i1 Display Pro uses). With my 27" iMac and Eizo (using Eizo's Color Navigator 6 software)  displays the Color Spyder 3 profiling results are on the slightly warm side of neutral compare to all four of the Xrite products.