Put simply, when you are working with your images on your monitor, unless you have calibrated it, you are probably not seeing the image the way the camera took it. Monitor calibration used to be an expensive and time-consuming procedure, but these days it should be regarded as an important part of any photographer’s workflow. When my Pantone Huey decided to not work anymore, I foolishly labored on for a long time without color calibration. However, recently I returned to the fold with at the purchase of the basic but very useful ColorMunki Smile and today I would like to share my experience of it. The Smile comes from X-Rite, one of the leading names in color calibration tools. In the box you get the calibrator itself. This is surprisingly hefty when compared to my old Pantone Huey and has a reasonably long USB cable complete with a useful counterbalance weight. The only other item is a CD with the drivers and calibration software. Installation is a breeze, you install the drivers and software before plunging in the calibrator. The software will connect to X-Rite allowing you to register the product, download updates and get useful tips and information. ColorChecker Display (X-Rite i1Display Studio) (ColorMunki Display) ColorChecker Studio (X-Rite i1Studio) (ColorMunki Photo/Design) ccStudio Latest Release 1.1.1 Macintosh 1.1.2 Windows Operating System: MacOS 10.15 12.x (with latest updates) Windows 8. Simple and effective, the ColorMunki Smile. The ColorMunki Smile is aimed at enthusiasts and perhaps freelancers who do not have the budget or the desire to use more advanced calibration tools. As such it lacks some of the more advanced features as ambient light correction, manually setting white balance or controlling gamma. With that said, from what I understand, the Smile’s underlying technology is based on older versions of X-Rite’s more advanced calibration hardware and it can produce results on a par with those products, albeit without the bells and whistles. The calibration process itself is a simple 4-5 minute procedure. When you start the software, it will switch your monitor to full screen mode, with setup icons at the bottom. Pressing the Green start button will check to see if you have the calibrator plugged into a USB and then display a reference outline for you to position it on the screen. I found that it was not easy to get the calibrator to balance exactly in the right position even by moving the counterweight on the cable. It also tended to twist away from the screen. I suspect that I can sort this issue out by removing any twists in the cable and spending some time placing the counterweight properly. For the first calibration, I simply lightly held the hardware against the screen.X-Rite ColorMunki Display incorporates technologically advanced filter and optical systems, fast measurement speed, and unrivaled color accuracy on all modern display technologies including LED and wide-gamut LCD displays and mobile devices. It's also spectrally calibrated, which makes it field upgradeable to support future display technologies. No knowledge of color science is required.The wizard driven interface guides you through the profiling process in small, easy-to-understand steps.The ColorMunki software provides two user modes for use with the ColorMunki Display device: "Easy" and "Advanced", both designed to give high-level professional color results for your displays and projectors. Easy to follow on-screen help guides and videos - no extra manuals needed.Profile reminder notifies you when it is time to re-profile your display.Before and after images show instant results - using one of our images or your own."Easy" mode is as simple as pushing a button, while "Advanced" mode provides additional predefined options for those users who want more defined color control.
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