Huey or Spyder or none?

[Eia]

I hope this is the place to post this....

I have worked to get the colors on this monitor really good... to match most of the prints I get from Smug and my local photo printer. But if it can be more exact then I would like to have it.

Do you recommend the Pantone Huey or Spyder Express and which one is best if either? Do they really make that much difference? :dunno

Your knowledgable advice would be most appreciative.

Thank you,
Eia

[arodney]

Do you recommend the Pantone Huey or Spyder Express and which one is best if either? Do they really make that much difference? :dunno


I'd actually recommend an X-Rite EyeOne Display.

[gregneil]

I had the huey and got poor results. I've had much better luck with the Spyder3 Pro. My smugmug and home prints are almost a perfect match to the monitor. Maybe not quite 100%, but very very close.

[pathfinder]

A properly calibrated monitor is fundamental. I hear too many folks with problems with the Huey to rec it.



Andrew is giving excellent advice here.

[arodney]

The huey is better than nothing or eyeball calibration but keep in mind the market it was intended for. Someone that just barely knows they need to calibrate a display, don't have any idea what target calibration aim points to use and simply wouldn't spend more than say $80 for such a device. It was really intended for the graphic arts (designer) market, not the photo market space. If you're printing anything yourself, the cost of a calibrated display will pay for the colorimeter in short order. I also think the idea of altering the display because the ambient light around the unit is changing hourly is a mistake with huey, but again, that's due to the market it's been designed for.

I suspect some day, you'll find units like this free in the box when you open your $99 ink jet printer.

[speric]

i'm bought a spyder2express and the prints i get from it on my canon printer and what i see on my screen are very, very close. it's not an expensive device, i think i payed about $60 for it. i read mixed results on the huey devices and really couldn't afford for a $300 device when i'm not sure i needed all of the features.

[Blackwood]

I have a spyder2express.

I've yet to make any prints, but now my laptop (LCD) and my desktop (CRT) present the same colors, so I think it's working.

[k2bikerider]

I've had great results with the Spyder 3 Pro, heard of too many issues with the Huey....