Calibrite profiler review. New monitor calibration software - how it works

[@giorgio4407]

Hello Keith. It’s always a pleasure to see and to listen to your videos. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and time…😊

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks!

[@dummatube]

Thanks Keith, I just bought a spare calibrator to loan out to clients so I’ll also refer them this video. I also mention to my clients that it is best to lower the room lighting, close out window lighting and choose a neutral grey desktop background to help when assessing the neutrality of images for print.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I've got a new monitor settings/print viewing video to publish this weekend. It's a wider ranging version of the one I did recently about the viewing cabinet.

[@kevins8575]

Great video. Also, I liked your reference to dials that go to eleven.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks! ;-)

[@bryangoldbergphotography]

@@KeithCooper These go to eleven.

[@gosman949]

Thanks. I'm about to buy a used 2019 iMac from a friend. This is a timely video to help with calibrating that iMac.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - should be just the same...

[@arampan]

I went to a friend's house and he showed me the calibration done by a spyder and by a calibrite and we both noticed some visible difference. It made us wonder then who is the actual industry standard? I'm planning to buy a screen calibrator myself for my content creation so I was hoping you could recommend a brand

[@KeithCooper]

Ah, which model calibrators and which screen? And of course, what calibration settings... [I don't want to know - just pointing out variables] There are lot of factors which mean some perform better with some setups The secret is that you have no way of knowing how accurate the calibration is without much more [$$$] accurate and precise measurement kit... The higher end X-Rite [Calibrite] and Datacolor models have software to judge the quality of the calibration of your screen. The software uses different techniques to get towards a better calibration, but it is the settings which make standards, not the results. Just to add more confusion, two different monitor models could both be optimally calibrated to a standard and still look different ;-) Not enough info... Get a copy of 'Real World Color Management' by Fraser et al. ;-)

[@arampan]

@ I was under the assumption that running color calibration will produce the same look, regardless of the brand used. Kind of like how there’s an international weight to represent 1kg and all machines have to be calibrated to that weight. So you can imagine my surprise and confusion when two calibrators produce slightly different results. So basically the idea is to get a monitor as close to an ideal but still expect some variation

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - just as printer profiling does not make all papers/printers look the same. Quite complex once you get past the basics - hence the book! Thanks for asking - I might cover this in a video ;-)

[@arampan]

@ yes 🙌 I think it’ll be a cool video to show how different brands of calibrators look slightly different

[@KeithCooper]

@@arampan Nope - it won't 'show it' at all - not on a YT video! It's incredibly difficult to show colour differences/variations in any accurate and meaningful way via video - I mean, people watch on phones for example [utterly useless for any colour management] It will just be me explaining it... maybe with a few fake graphics to make the point... ;-)

[@RJ-pb1qx]

Program is hanging for me at the end of the calibration where it shows a grey screen and never finishes, its stuck indefinitely and using ccprofiler after Calibrite PROFILER is a huge pain as ccprofiler now wont load at windows startup, what a mess. And i got WILDLY different results using the same coloimeter trying out both Calibrite PROFILER and ccprofiler, even after factory reset on the monitor. Example, I only get as far as @15:03, I click ok and grey screen for eternity

[@KeithCooper]

This is one to contact Calibrite about - I've not used any windows stuff for many years. If you are in the UK, email me with full details and I can pass it on to Calibrite. I do testing work with them, but I'm not part of the company at all...

[@aelliott-h9v]

Kieth thank you so much for your informative videos such a plethora of information, has been a great help. I have a question I hope you can help with. I purchased a Spyder Print calibrator because I already have their monitor calibrator and color checker. But sadly the print target portion is having trouble disengaging Color Sync. Their cost support has be far from helpful sending e Maile for over a week to Sweden and NY. Im on the west coast. The targets I did print have a very considerable un usable blue cast. I don't know if it's the targets or the scanning procedure. Datacolor is not helpful. I have an Art Show coming up in a few weeks and I need to get some printing done. Im considering the new Calibrate Studio as an option. What is your recommendation? It's confusing understanding their software (upgrade?) to do printer calibration. Can you help? Thanks in advance. Art

[@KeithCooper]

ccStudio is a very distinct improvement for print profiling... Remember you calibrate and profile monitors, you only profile printers. The ccStudio software is the one for print Calibrite Profiler does not yet support print IIRC

[@aelliott-h9v]

@@KeithCooper Thanks Keith I have sent back the Spyder print, im in the process of using the color checker studio. Have you done a video run through of this device?

[@KeithCooper]

@@aelliott-h9v Probably... did you check the index? www.northlight-images.co.uk/keith-cooper-photography-videos-index/ Have certainly covered the i1Studio in written articles...

[@ChrisW444]

Thanks for this, I am a bit confused though. I have an iMac 2017 27" 5K retina screen and you mention 5000 white point and say that is just for the video post here but what setting do I use for the room where my monitor is? I really want to make sure that what I see on screen is what I see in print? any advice would be helpful. I currently have the Monterray system for iMac. Thanks.

[@KeithCooper]

Ah - the approach I use is not to bother with room lighting temperature - what I have here is purely a kludge to make screens on my videos look good. Just make sure your screen is not too bright and the room not brighter in the direction you are looking See several of my recent videos covering this [colour management play list] You can never ever match screen and print - that matters not one jot though in practice ;-)

[@ChrisW444]

@@KeithCooper thank you for getting back to me. Appreciated.

[@nastenadhaya]

Thank you so much for your videos ❤

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - glad you like them

[@stuffstuffstuffyay]

I just did this on my new mac laptop using the x-rite device- weirdly it made the screen look kinda warm- in comparision with the RGB 1998 profile. hmm. Not sure if this is how it should be...

[@KeithCooper]

Leave it set at the new profile, go away for a bit, come back to the laptop and see if it still looks 'wrong'. Canned profiles like the a98 are not that great for monitor setting. I'd personally profile the Macbook to a native gamut - also check the display type is accurately set (my Macbook is from 2012, so no high spec in the display)

[@gosman949]

Keith, one potential topic of discussion could be the color space of P3 in a Mac VS Adobe RGB in a windows PC! Since I will now have both, will my prints be different from each other.?

[@KeithCooper]

The win PC bit should make no difference AFAIK [not used one this century though] The monitor gamut is the monitor gamut whatever you are using. Whether the prints look different will depend on the original image, the editing and the printer/paper profile So ... it depends ;-)

[@brightboxstudio]

Another review of the Calibrate Profiler beta showed a 3D gamut view. I wonder if that might be used to answer this question, as other color utilities can, by comparing the gamuts of P3 and Adobe RGB against a user’s typical photo, and also against a profile of that user’s favorite printer ink/paper combinations. That might help work out how well the color gamut of a user’s typical photos and printer can be reproduced by P3 vs. Adobe RGB. It may turn out that one is better than the other, or that both work just as well.

[@gosman949]

@@brightboxstudio this could solve the age old question! Apple P3 color space or Windows Adobe RGB 98 ?

[@KeithCooper]

@@brightboxstudio There is a 3D gamut view in Profiler - it's just relatively poor quality graphics and like most features, of this sort, of little practical use. It doesn't offer the sorts of comparison you mention. That said, such comparisons can be of limited value without detailed explanation of what they mean and how to interpret them. See the detailed feature list in the main [written] Profiler review at www.northlight-images.co.uk/calibrite-profiler-monitor-calibration/ Most of my review videos are supplements to the detailed written ones.

[@jamilabbasy]

Great video. Thank you. My new computer has come with Ventura. Do you know if the older ccProfiler works on Ventura for use with my old i1 Display Pro? Their website lists the download only compatible with 12.x. Thanks!

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - for this software I think it will need an update - see the full specs for all this in the tables in my main [written] review www.northlight-images.co.uk/calibrite-profiler-monitor-calibration/ The Mac in the video is one I've set up specially to see what still works on MacOS 13...

[@brightboxstudio]

@jamilabbasy I just downloaded ccProfiler 1.1.1 on my MacBook Pro running macOS 13 Ventura, and it was able to calibrate the display with my old ColorMunki so it’s worth a shot since it’s still free. However, that MacBook Pro I tested it on uses an Intel processor, so if your new Mac is Apple Silicon I am not as sure how well it works. For what is’s worth, ccProfiler 1.1.1 does run on my newer Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 12 Monterey.

[@jamilabbasy]

@@brightboxstudio It turns out the problem is not with Ventura but with the the M2 Pro / Max chips. Calibrite has a statement on their download page saying they are working on the update.

[@edphi]

Calibrite Profiler doesn’t calibrate for Adobe Rgb . Why is that so ?

[@KeithCooper]

Perhaps an option in the higher end models where you can set actual primary values? But more to the point, why would you want to calibrate to A98?

[@edu9494]

Thank you for the great video! I've liked it. Do you know whether new branded devices like "Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro" would work with old "i1Profiler" software like "i1Profiler V3.2.0" from X-Rite?

[@KeithCooper]

V3.1 works with a Colorchecker Display plus - I've not tested many models/version though

[@edu9494]

@@KeithCooper Thank you very much!

[@juho1109]

Is this software a one-time purchase, or does it require a subscription?

[@KeithCooper]

One off as far as I know - definitely not subscription

[@jasonlamarking]

For the hardware itself, should a serious photographer buy the PRO version or is the standard version good enough?

[@KeithCooper]

My feeling is that the 'pro' version might offer functionality little many people will need - the hardware is quite likely the same at heart

[@ditchcomfort]

I have an 2019 iMac, running Ventura and have 128GB RAM, 1TB SSD. But my machine sounds like a f**** airplane when I start/use this new software. Have you noticed any of that?

[@KeithCooper]

Not seen it and the iMac in my test is a 2012 one! If it persists, raise a support ticket with Calibrite

[@ditchcomfort]

@@KeithCooper Yes I will (and have). You know most apps these days are based on Electron etc. and I don’t like it at all. Not from a photographer standpoint, but from a Apple bum standpoint. I wish people would do more natively developed applications.

[@ditchcomfort]

@@KeithCooper Anyway, I can calibrate my screen without problem, but my fans go crazy.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - I try and emphasises this whenever I'm doing testing, but there is little interest :-( Mind you there was never a user interface as bad as the old i1Match [I've reviews on my site]