# Best $70 I have spent on digital photography



## dxqcanada (Sep 23, 2011)

For those of you that are really getting into Digital Photography ... buy a monitor calibrator.

I use laptops ... yeah, not the best thing to use ... and I had a heck of a time visually calibrating the colour.

I decided to spend the cash and get a calibrator ... so for $70.00 I picked up the Datacolor Spyder 3 Express from B&H ... now I don't see everything in blue.

It made a big difference when editing.


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## H4X1MA (Sep 23, 2011)

Proof! Re-edit an old pic taht you have already done and let's see the difference


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## Bitter Jeweler (Sep 23, 2011)

Old: old monitor whichnhad brightness maxxed, making white look gray, or even under exposed on a calibrated monitor.
Old New: new monitor, pre calibration, notice the greenish bluish tint?
Newest: calibration success. Notice the white background matches the forum background?


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## H4X1MA (Sep 23, 2011)

Bitter Jeweler said:


>



Is that one really after calibrating? Maybe I have to do this >.<


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## dxqcanada (Sep 23, 2011)

Old image that I tried to colour balance when LCD was blue.






After calibration ... this was under a bright blue sky in the shade so it should have a slight blue cast.


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## dxqcanada (Sep 23, 2011)

I will have to admit that I am not the best at colour balancing.


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## H4X1MA (Sep 23, 2011)

and the investments keep adding up lol


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## KmH (Sep 23, 2011)

Many of the top print labs recommend the i1 Display 2, for a reason.


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## BlackSheep (Sep 23, 2011)

Off topic (apologies), but I have to say - Bitter, that ring is gorgeous!


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## Garbz (Sep 24, 2011)

KmH said:


> Many of the top print labs recommend the i1 Display 2, for a reason.



Discontinued.

Probably good too. I'm on my second i1 Display 2 and it's on the way out. It's picking up a purple cast.


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## dxqcanada (Sep 24, 2011)

As we have multiple computers here, it became evident that colour / contrast / brightness balancing was required as the same image looked very different on each screen.
This puts question into what it should be looking like, thus the need for a calibrator ... now we see things the same way (well at least concerning the images).

That is also one of the reason's why I never really gave C&C about those aspects of the image on the forum ... I could not trust what I was seeing on screen.


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## MADphoto (Sep 24, 2011)

My friend just picked up one of the Datacolor Spyder 3 Express from B&H and I have to say it's a great investment!


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## dakkon76 (Sep 28, 2011)

dxq, it looks like there's a hell of a lot more going on between those 2 pictures than just color correction. The first looks much flatter and washed out than the second. Is the first unedited, or an attempt at correcting without your monitor calibrated?


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## molested_cow (Sep 28, 2011)

Funny how mine looks bluish after calibration, but it's definitely a big improvement from before.


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## 12sndsgood (Sep 28, 2011)

ive thought about montier calibration and am thinking allot more about it. i have two moniters side by side at work you look at the pic on one it looks brownish u slide it to the other and it looks red. when your color is off on your moniter what you think your editing to look right can be coming out all wrong.


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## dxqcanada (Sep 28, 2011)

Yeah, there were other things I adjusted when I re-edited after the calibration ... but it did adjust things other than simple colour.


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## kojack (Oct 2, 2011)

It makes a huge difference.  Now I have to get the Mac softwRe for the spider we have.


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## dxqcanada (Oct 2, 2011)

It is a small investment, but it is vital if you are using your computer for editing.

I should have done this long ago ... when I used to work in a Photo Lab, calibration (monitors and chemistry) to an accurate reference was the most important thing that was performed daily.
If you use a single Printing Lab you should also obtain their reference to match their printers.
example: How To - Download Output Profile


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## marcy (Oct 4, 2011)

interesting!i've never used that before but i'm gonna try that...


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## Crollo (Dec 19, 2011)

Meanwhile I'm the little guy in the corner with a film camera, not having to throw money at these problems. :/

I'm looking to get a DSLR so this may be a pain in the ass to deal with.


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## o hey tyler (Dec 19, 2011)

Crollo said:


> Meanwhile I'm the little guy in the corner with a film camera, not having to throw money at these problems. :/



Instead, you're throwing money away at film. What's the difference?


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## Sonja (Dec 20, 2011)

o hey tyler said:
			
		

> Instead, you're throwing money away at film. What's the difference?



Agree with tyler. Best money spend. I suggest investing in a very good lens.


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## Dominantly (Dec 20, 2011)

Yeah, the spyder made a HUGE difference for me on my laptop. When my computer comes off hibernate, I get the OEM color profile for a second (very blue), then it switches to the calibrated profile, which makes everything nice and natural.


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## unpopular (Dec 20, 2011)

Crollo said:


> Meanwhile I'm the little guy in the corner with a film camera, not having to throw money at these problems. :/
> 
> I'm looking to get a DSLR so this may be a pain in the ass to deal with.



You haven't read "The Negative" by Ansel Adams, have you?


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## Crollo (Dec 20, 2011)

o hey tyler said:


> Crollo said:
> 
> 
> > Meanwhile I'm the little guy in the corner with a film camera, not having to throw money at these problems. :/
> ...



The difference is film isn't a 'problem' that I'm throwing money at?


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## o hey tyler (Dec 20, 2011)

Crollo said:


> o hey tyler said:
> 
> 
> > Crollo said:
> ...



Ah, I get it now. It's an (outdated) medium you're throwing money at. Just like with digital, but the cost is spent in different ways. Larger upfront cost with digital, longer (more expensive) small-term costs with film. 

Film is, for most people without a darkroom, a burden. But I suppose if you're a hipster, everything is gauged by how vintage/thrift store-esque the item is. So film would be at the top of the list. 

I would reckon that if you shot $70 worth of film, you'd have shot ~14 rolls @ $5 per roll (not including fuel costs to get it developed). Whereas I can take double that amount in RAW format (see: Digital Negative) on an 8gb memory card, and I can do it as many times as I want.  

But hey, if buying film regularly and going to get it developed isn't a "problem", keep it up. :thumbup:


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## Destin (Dec 20, 2011)

Crollo said:


> o hey tyler said:
> 
> 
> > Crollo said:
> ...



Neither is a calibrator. It's the equivalent to dark room chemicals... just a neccesary part of post processing.


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## Crollo (Dec 20, 2011)

o hey tyler said:


> Larger upfront cost with digital, longer (more expensive) small-term costs with film.


Yes, now you get it.

There is *nothing wrong with digital*, other then the amount of money you have to have at one given point. 
I don't have a job and any money I get is in small amounts and isn't really worth saving up, so *for me,* film works perfectly fine. In total I've payed less then 100$ on equipment, film, developing costs... And I've payed less then 100$ because I don't _need or want _to take 300 pictures that I'm going to delete immediately after, I'm taking pictures _I __genuinely would like to keep.
_For others want to experiment, are just learning or whatnot, digital is perfect. I just don't need it and can't afford it, so it's not for me right now. It's just all about what your financial situation is and what you want.


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## unpopular (Dec 20, 2011)

Crollo said:


> o hey tyler said:
> 
> 
> > Larger upfront cost with digital, longer (more expensive) small-term costs with film.
> ...



sh*t. Do I have to pay for the hot water heater when it goes out too?


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## Garbz (Dec 20, 2011)

Crollo said:


> I just don't need it and can't afford it, so it's not for me right now. It's just all about what your financial situation is and what you want.



And for everyone else who has already gone down that road you now feel superior because you don't need to buy a colour calibrator? 

For what it's worth I'm happy that you're happy with what you have, but your original comment made you look like an incredible pompous git, which is probably why the negative comments are directed towards you.


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## unpopular (Dec 20, 2011)

yeah, uhm... anyone remember these:







which you would use to make these:






so that you had a better idea of how long to do this





based on what you've read while using this thing:







You people make it sound like this is something new...


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## BlairWright (Dec 20, 2011)

I use the datacolor Spyder 3 Elite. Great tool and it will do multiple monitors.


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