Ron Martinsen added to X-Rite Coloratti

X-Rite is well-known as the color management experts in the business. From color calibration tools from colorimeters to spectrophotometers and industry leading software – nobody is more respected in the business than X-Rite. To help recognize industry experts who understand color management, X-Rite has the prestigious Coloratti program.

I’m very pleased to have been added as an official member of the X-Rite Coloratti for recognition in my work on educating my readers on Color Management as part of my ongoing Printing Series.

Related Articles

To learn more about color management products and printing, you might enjoy these articles:

• X-Rite ColorMunki Photo Color Management Solution
• X-Rite ColorChecker Passport
• X-Rite i1Display Pro and ColorMunki Display Colorimeters
• ILFORD GALERIE Prestige Gold Cotton 330gsm & Fine Art 220gsm Papers Review
• ILFORD GALERIE Prestige Smooth Pearl Photo Paper
• Printing Series
• NEC Adds Ron Martinsen to the SpectraViewII™ PA Series Testimonials
• Ron Martinsen Guest Blog on ScottKelby.com

Disclosure

This is a honor provided by X-Rite. I do not get paid nor am I bound by any restrictions or contracts for this honor. While I do believe their products are class leading, this does not preclude me from reviewing competitive products which I have previously done and will continue to do. As such, if a better product comes along to solve a problem I will state so on this blog as I have always done.

X-Rite ColorMunki Smile Color Calibration Solution

X-Rite ColorMunki Smile Color Calibration Solution

In my article, Choosing The Right Display Calibration Device, I listed out several solutions for calibrating your display but some people have complained that they needed a cheaper solution.

Wondering why you need this?

Check out this helpful site to learn why display calibration is super important, and get more in-depth info on this device here. Please be sure to come back to this blog for more info!

Where to Buy

I recommend Adorama and B&H, and your purchase helps to support this blog without costing you anything more.

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may enjoy these as well:

• X-Rite ColorMunki Photo Color Management Solution
• X-Rite ColorChecker Passport
• X-Rite i1Display Pro and ColorMunki Display Colorimeters
• A comparison of all X-Rite Calibration devices

Disclaimer

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission.

Choosing The Right Display Calibration Device (Updated 2/9/2012)

The X-Rite i1Display Pro, ColorMunki Display, NEC SpectraSensor Pro and Eizo (DataColor) EX1 are all current wide gamut colorimeters NOT spectrophotometers. The purpose of this article is to demystify a lot of confusion about display calibration devices on the market and educate you on some new models to let you know which display calibration device is right for you.

WARNING: I go super geeky at first to help clear up terminology and massive confusion, so if you know what you want and can’t deal with the geeky stuff then page down until you see a picture of the product you want to buy or research.

Profile vs Hardware LUT Calibration

What this means is that they are designed to calibrate your display against a series of colors swatches for which the display calibration software used knows exactly what value the sensor should read for each swatch.

The results of this data obtained by the sensor is used by the display calibration software in one of two ways:

1. To create a display profile (most common) – this is where the display calibration software does what it can to adjust your display to show colors accurately and it creates a lookup table of differences in a file a profile. In simple terms it’s like having yellow paint that is supposed to look green so you keep a measurement of how many drops of blue you mix into the yellow paint until it is the shade of green that you want. The profile is that sheet of paper where you jotted down the information about how much blue is needed. Your computer operating system uses these profiles to work with your display card and monitor to make color adjustments to the red, green and blue channels to render color more accurately. This method works well, but it is system dependent and can’t be dynamic.
   
2. To perform a display LUT Adjustment (a.k.a., programming the LUT) – Expensive and advanced displays improve upon the model above to actually write this data into the monitor hardware itself so that the monitor can do a better job than your OS at rendering accurate color. The method has the advantage of allowing you to use the same display with different computers without the need to calibrate because your operating system is bypassed for color rendition. This is less common on inexpensive displays, but very common on high end displays best suited for photography.  The downside to this design is that you usually need to the proprietary software by the display maker (i.e., NEC SpectraView II, Eizo Color Navigator or EasyPIX, etc…) as other third party software (i.e., the software included by X-Rite or DataColor) is sometimes not able to program the display LUT directly and will resort to creating a display profile (very bad when using a LUT based display). X-Rite has partnered with Eizo so that its latest software can program Eizo displays that are compatible with ColorNavigator can be programmed with i1Publish, but NEC still requires SpectraView II.

A Word About NEC & Eizo (proprietary) Display Colorimeters

The NEC SpectraSensor Pro is a colorimeter built by X-Rite specifically for NEC to calibrate wide gamut displays built by NEC using its proprietary SpectraView II software. The Eizo EX1 is a colorimeter built by DataColor specifically to calibrate Eizo displays using its EasyPIX software. They both can be used with their corresponding software to program the LUT of supported displays and therefore are offered as bundle when buying Eizo and NEC displays.

These colorimeters are just fine as they have been developed and tested under the supervision of the display maker to ensure they are able to program the monitors LUT using their proprietary software.

NEC SpectraView (i1 Display) Colorimeter

NEC used to also offer a special version of the i1 Display as shown below that supported wide gamut display calibration (the X-Rite i1 Display DOES NOT support wide gamut):

If you are a NEC display owner with one of these devices (or are considering buying one used), you do not need one of the products discussed in this article as it will still calibrate your NEC wide gamut display accurately. NEC and X-Rite will eventually phase out support for this product, so I wouldn’t invest in one at this point. Using today’s software and this hardware you should be able to accurately display any NEC display that supports SpectraView II, so an upgrade is only necessary in the future when you upgrade your operating system and/or SpectraView software to a version that no longer supports this device (won’t happen overnight).

Spectrophotometers – Display and Printer Calibration

Spectrophotometers like the ColorMunki PHOTO
calibrate displays plus create paper profiles

Click here to read an article that does a good job at explaining the difference between a colorimeter and a spectrophotometer.

A spectrophotometer can be used to create paper profiles which is the process where you print out color swatches of known RGB values it and then measure the colors using a spectrophotometer to compare what color actually gets printed. The operating system, the printer, the inks and paper you use all combine to contaminate the color that ultimately ends up on the paper, so a printer paper profile used in conjunction with a display color profile (or calibrated LUT) is critical to get the colors you see on your screen to look the same way on the paper that comes out of your printer.

This is a tricky process due to all of the variables that come into play, which is why X-Rite created a great product called the ColorMunki PHOTO (which is a spectrophotometer, NOT a colorimeter like the ColorMunki Display (discussed later in this article) along with its proprietary software to make this whole process work smoothly. I talk about this in my color management article, but know that currently this is the most easy to use and accurate method for getting your prints to look like what you see on your display (excluding the limitations of your display).

If your goal of reading this article is to match your prints with your display then my advice is to  go get a ColorMunki Photo from Adorama or B&H as that’s a color management workflow issue. Advanced print master (discussed in my printing 101 eBook) will use even more advanced and complex products like these:

B&H sells the i1iSis – an expensive spectrophotometer

i1 Pro shown with a
i1iO Automated Scan Table

X-Rite has replaced the i1XTreme I reviewed with thei1Photo Pro UVcut Professional Color Management for Photographers and offers the i1iO Automated Scan Table (shown above with a i1 Pro attached). It also offers the i1Sis which is only used for fast creation of paper profiles so a separate colorimeter is required.  It should be noted that this device is offered in a non-UVcut version as well.

Now before you go out and get a spectrophotometer besides the ColorMunki PHOTO, be aware that you will invest thousands of dollars and lots of time so mere mortals are going to find their money best spent on a product like ColorByte ImagePrint (new version 9 is awesome) that just has all the profiles you need available on demand so you are back to only needing a colorimeter to calibrate your display.

Colorimeters

Okay if you read the stuff before this then I’m sure your head is spinning. I’m happy to say that I won’t get too geeky from here on in as I’ll simply focus on which “gizmo” you need to make your display to the best job it can at showing colors accurately.

WARNING: If your display sucks, a colorimeter may not help!!!!

Please keep in mind though that colorimeters aren’t miracle workers. If you are using a crappy display you got free with your computer, then it may not be able to display color accurately no matter what you do. I know that on paper many displays seem like they are “just as good” but as the saying goes “there’s lies, damn lies and statistics”.  Statistics do not tell the whole story my engineer friends, so if you are serious about color management then you’ll need to invest a good wide gamut display (and no you can’t get one off eBay for $100). Here are a few models that I’ve used and have witnessed them display color as accurately as possible with todays technology:

1. Eizo ColorEdge CG243W – The best photography display I’ve ever used, but also the most expensive. If you have a Ferrari or Rolls Royce sitting in the garage, then this is what you want to buy. Joking aside, it doesn’t get better than this.
   
2. Eizo FlexScan SX2762W – You insist on Eizo quality but can’t stomach the price? Then this display is a nice alternative.
   
3. NEC PA Series – If you a working middle class grunt who wants near Eizo quality for a fraction of the price, then this will rock your world. I use the PA241W and love it, and only a trained eye will see the difference between this an a Eizo.

I’m told HP has DreamColor displays that are fantastic too, but I’ve had such bad luck with HP products over the last decade that I’d recommend sticking with highly trusted brands like Eizo and NEC.

If you must choose a different brand then you’ll want an IPS display that can display at least 95% of the Adobe RGB color gamut, has a DisplayPort (even on the PC), has a programmable LUT for hardware calibration, and supports a minimum resolution of 1920x1200 (not 1080). 10-bit color is an added plus. If the display you are researching lacks any of these features then I’d advise you to keep shopping.

X-Rite i1Display PRO – (Ron’s Favorite)

i1Display Pro ($269.00 MSRP – Adorama, B&H)
Professional Display Calibration for the Most Demanding Color Perfectionists

In the summer of 2011 X-Rite released two new calibration devices to replace their popular X-Rite i1 Display 2 and Pantone Huey PRO colorimeters – neither of the older units supported wide gamut display. The i1Display Pro and ColorMunki Display have the following in common:

• Wide gamut color calibration
• X-Rite ADC [Advanced Display Control] to control supported hardware to ensure the highest quality results.
• Support profiling projectors (i.e., Canon SX-80 Pro Photography Projector) and includes a tripod mount to assist with calibration in large venues
• Multiple Displays Supported (but more advanced via software for the i1Display Pro)
• Flare Correct™ compensates for flare light falling on the surface of the display (but honestly I hate this feature <g>)
• The ability to measure the ambient light to include that data in your profile when your display is not in an ideal viewing environment with a hood
• and more….

Unique to this model is the bundled software is based on the all new i1Profiler software (which I’ll be reviewing soon). It can run in both a simple mode as well as advanced mode which means this solution can grow with you as your color management skills improve.

This model has advanced multiple displays support that also is useful in workgroups where you need all of the displays in your facility to be viewing colors the same way. Now based on my experience is that you need all of the same series displays built and purchased at the same time for the best result, but that’s not usually possible so this does the best job that I know of at getting you in the right ballpark.

This device will work with the latest version of NEC’s SpectraView II and Eizo ColorNavigator calibration software.

Here’s how to set the preferences for this device in NEC’s SpectraView II:

It should be noted that if you use a NEC display that supports hardware calibration then you must use SpectraView II and therefore can not (and should never) use X-Rite’s included software. Windows 7 will automatically detect and install the “i1Display 3” driver and it will work the next time you start SpectraView II and change your calibration sensor preferences as shown above.

If you have a photography business, then this is the device you need.

X-Rite ColorMunki Display – the photography hobbyist ideal solution

ColorMunki Display ($189.99 MSRP Adorama, B&H)
Advanced Display Calibration Made Easy for Color Perfectionists

Simply put, if photography is your hobby and not your profession then this is a great solution for you at a reasonable price. The software is a little more user friendly with no advanced mode, but the colorimeter device itself is identical so the end result of calibrating your display versus a i1Display Pro will be identical on a single display. The i1Display Pro has advantages for multiple displays, but this device supports multiple displays as well so don’t get too hung up on that point.

I like this device because its easy to use and it typically just works (unless you are like me and you are using 6 different devices without rebooting <g>).

Here’s a video walkthrough of the ColorMunki Display calibration process on a MacBook Pro in Easy Mode:

Click here to play in HD. Viewing in full screen is recommended.

Here’s another video walkthrough showing the Advanced Mode:

Click here to play in HD. Viewing in full screen is recommended.

NEC SpectraSensor Pro (NEC Display Owners Only)

NEC SpectraSensor Pro

If you currently own or will in the future own a NEC display that supports hardware calibration and you don’t have a calibration device already, then this is device you’ll want to buy. In fact, if you haven’t purchased your display yet then I’d advise that you purchase the bundle that includes it with your display (only one per computer needed).

When using SpectraView II it can be a little confusing choosing the sensor type if the Auto-Detect button doesn’t work properly (usually it does) or if you have more than one sensor installed. The reason why is because you must choose “XRite iOne Display Pro (i1D3)” as the sensor type as shown here:

The software actually reads the model information from the device so you can tell that this is really the NEC SpectraSensor Pro device, but it can be confusing so it’s worth mentioning that here.

Eizo EX1 by Datacolor (Eizo FlexScan Owners Only)

For the last month or so I’ve been using a Eizo FlexScan SX2762W for the purpose of doing my review. To my dismay the only way it could be calibrated was using Eizo’s EasyPIX solution which bummed me out as Eizo’s Color Navigator software is much better. However it worked well enough, so if you own (or are buying) an Eizo FlexScan SX2762W (or equivalent) then go for the bundle and get this.

This is just a Datacolor Spyder 3 rebranded so I was actually able to use it with my NEC SpectraView II software to calibrate my NEC PA241W (note you must physically plug it into the display you are calibrating when doing hardware calibration). Here’s how to configure it in the preferences:

NEC SpectraView II Calibration Comparison on a NEC PA241W

To compare the devices in this article I used the NEC SpectraView II software because it does a good job working with a large variety of sensors, it has good reporting info, and the hardware calibration means that no operating system issues will skew the results. With that said, here’s my calibration settings:

The Eizo EX1 (Datacolor Spyder 3) was the sixth device I have used to calibrate this display on this machine so SpectraView is pretty good about letting you most of the popular colorimeter sensors on the market. For as long as I’ve been in the computer industry, I’m honestly shocked I was able to get all but one of working on one machine in harmony without my system crashing – well done X-Rite!

In the sections that follow I’ll discuss how a variety of products performed when calibrating this display. To be fair I had the display turned on for over 6 hours before doing the calibration so the display was fully up to temperature. My methodology for testing on a 64-bit Windows 7 system with was as follows:

1. Making sure that NEC SpectraView II wasn’t running, I’d plug one and only one sensor directly into the same USB port on the NEC PA241W.
   
2. I’d launch the software, go to Edit | Preferences and click Auto Detect to make sure that the sensor type selected was correct. I visually confirmed the model name as well.
   
3. I’d run the calibration and also confirmed that the sensor shown during the placement step was the same as what I was using.
   
4. At the conclusion of the calibration I pasted the results in this article. I ran each test two or three times more to see if it was statistically any different.

Eizo EX1 (Datacolor Spyder 3)

This was by far the worst result and multiple runs didn’t produce significantly better results. When analyzing a calibration the first thing you want to do is look at the Delta E value. Many say that 2.0 or less is acceptable, but closer to 0.50 or less is realistically possible these days. Chromix has the following statement in their definition of Delta E:

A Delta E of 1 or less between two colors that are not touching one another is barely perceptible by the average human observer; a Delta E between 3 and 6 is typically considered an acceptable match in commercial reproduction on printing presses. (Note: Human vision is more sensitive to color differences if two colors actually touch each other.)

The 1.20 Delta E below my expectations because I’m accustomed to looking at a calibrated display that typically has a Delta E of 0.50 or less. The targeted 6506K white point is being calibrated to 6633K which in practical terms meant my display had an unusual blue cast to it and was not calibrated accurately enough for print soft proofing.

The contrast ratio (the larger the first number, the better) was lower than expected as well at 258:1. As a result I have to give this device, on this display using this software (which granted it’s not purposely built for) a UNSATISFACTORY grade. This device plugs in and runs, but I wouldn’t recommend it for accurate color calibration on this display using this software.

Of course I’ll be fair in reminding you that this device is designed for use in calibrating an Eizo FlexScan SX2762W with the EasyPIX software, so I am using it in an unsupported fashion. When using it on the Eizo with the EasyPIX software I got a Display Luminance of 99.7 and a temperature of 6507K. Easy PIX doesn’t report contrast ratio, but overall the results were acceptable on the Eizo. There was still a touch more of a blue cast on the Eizo than the NEC, but I’d say this device does well for what it is designed for, so perhaps there’s some tweak in it for Eizo that doesn’t translate well to NEC and/or SpectraView.

If you are considering a Datacolor device I’d suggest borrowing a friends Datacolor Spyder 3. You can’t return calibration devices so do your own tests to make sure you are happy before purchasing if possible. In fact, the the new Spyder3 Elite might perform better, so try it if you can.

X-Rite ColorMunki PHOTO Spectrophotometer

I was unable to test the ColorMunki Display colorimeter due to the OS not recognizing it for some reason. I plugged it in and tested on my MacBook Pro and Lenovo W510 with no problem so it was an issue specific to my Windows 7 system and this device (perhaps because I had installed the i1Display Pro).

At any rate, I was curious to test its big brother the ColorMunki PHOTO to see how this spectrophotometer would do compared to its big brother, the i1Pro. I ran the test three times and got statistically the same result each time so I was a little disappointed to see that the Delta E was 0.94. Of course this is below 1.0 so in theory this is acceptable.

Ironically with this one the contrast ratio was 615:1 so I’m not sure what to make of that result. The white point was only 14K off its target and the luminance was just 0.4 over 100.0 so to my eyes the result seemed ACCEPTABLE.

NEC SpectraSensor Pro

This device is made by X-Rite for NEC so it should do the best job, right? I must admit that I was shocked when I ran the results and saw that the Delta E was 0.72. At 6543k and a contrast ratio of 513:1, the calibration felt “about right”, but the data proved it was off more than the maximum 0.50 Delta E that I prefer to see for everyday use. Ironically if I used the i1 Pro sensor type in the preferences dialog I was able to get the Delta E to drop to 0.68.

The Delta E was well below 1.0 so I’m going to give this device a GOOD rating.

My only explanation here is that there’s probably some manufacturing tolerance that comes in to play so this is probably considered within specification so it shipped. Your copy might be better than my copy so I wouldn’t consider this to be a wide enough margin for you to refrain from getting this. In fact, I’d let price be your guide because as I said – under 1.0 is going to be impossible for most to notice.

X-Rite i1 Pro

Note, the UVCut version was used in this test, but a non-UV version exists.

This is the most expensive sensor I have on hand, but it is a spectrophotometer so it can do paper profiles too. It did a VERY GOOD job with a 0.32 Delta E and a 469:1 contrast ratio. Of course it cost about 4 to 5 times as much as the other devices so it should do well right?

X-Rite i1Display Pro

Before running these tests my gut feel was that this was the best device, and my testing verified that was correct. In fact I ran this test 3 times just to make sure I wasn’t making a mistake. With a Delta E of 0.23 it performed the best and gave me the result that to my eyes seemed most accurate when soft proofing. Again, there’s probably some variation from unit to unit, but it’s no doubt this one is a dandy.

Conclusion

X-Rite is an industry leader in color management solutions, and a brand I trust. This article simply confirms my belief in their products is valid.

My bottom line advice is that if you aren’t going to be doing your own printing then you don’t need a spectrophotometer. If you are using a monitor that supports hardware calibration then get whatever bundled calibration device is offered with it and the display makers software. If you are going to be doing software calibration then go for the i1Display Pro (Adorama, B&H) if you can afford it, but if not then go for the ColorMunki Display (Adorama, B&H).

Amateur printers should get a ColorMunki PHOTO (Adorama, B&H) as the best cost effective solution. See my color management article to learn why. If you are print master then I’ll have more for you soon in my i1Publish article, so stay tuned to this blog to learn more.

Disclosure

Eizo, NEC, and X-Rite all provided me with calibration devices used in this article. The Eizo EX1 was not intended for this testing, so it was only included because I had it on hand. If you make a purchase using the links in this article I may get a commission, so thanks for supporting my blog by using my links when you are ready to make your purchase.

Photo Thoughts: Sexy Mrs. Claus 2011 Product Shot

Sexy Mrs. Claus 2011 – Miss Erica May

I have been busy behind the scenes working on blog content, so I wasn’t able to get a real article out. As a result I thought I’d do one of my quick photo thoughts for fun.

This shot here features a before (hover over it) and after of  shot I processed tonight. It was taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV using a 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens set at 32mm for 1/200 sec at f/13 and ISO 100. It was processed using Lightroom (using X-Rite’s ColorChecker Passport Camera Calibration Profile), and then sent to Photoshop CS5 where I did the following:

1. I  started by removing the background which in this case wasn’t too difficult. You could do it using techniques found in Scott Kelby’s The Photoshop Channels Book  or you could use a product like Remask or Perfect Mask (aka Mask Pro). This one was pretty easy except for around the fly away hairs. I decided to use a new feature of Photoshop CS5 and techniques in Photoshop Compositing Secrets, and found them to be both quite good and very fast. My background was gone in about 10 minutes or less.
   
2. Next up I needed to soften the skin, so I used Portraiture as I usually do. It worked great, but there was still a little skin touchups to do so I used a healing brush on a new blank layer.
   
3. Next up were the eyes where I spent most of my time. I used the techniques described in my favorite portrait editing resource - Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques for Photographers using Photoshop. I probably spent more time than I needed to on this shot and I deviated a bit from Kelby’s advice, but I’m happy with the results.
   
4. Next I wanted to sharpen the color checker by itself as it was on a different plan than the model so it was out of focus. I brought back the focus sharpening just it on its own layer (which I created using the quick selection tool).
   
5. Finally my final touch was using Tonal Contrast’s Fine preset (only available in Color Efex Pro 4). I moved the saturation down to 2, and the mid-tones down to 0. This gave me what I wanted from the look and avoided making the skin look funky.

Total editing time was about 2 hours – of which over an hour was spent on the eyes.

UPDATE: Where did all of that eye work go?

One of my readers, Tommy Williams, asked me this morning – where did all of that eye work go? He couldn’t see it on the small web image. Well here’s what I started with:

The before eyes weren’t actually that bad.
This is straight out of camera RAW with no adjustments.

After my hard work here’s what they look like in the final version:

The After Eyes

Now to be fair I probably spent too much time on these eyes as  I probably wouldn’t have used a shot larger than the original one in this article. As a result it was a bit of a wasted effort. However, photo editing is my passion so I do it for fun and to practice my skills. I figure if I’m going to edit, I may as well do it right on the large scale image.

If I were to print a larger version I’d likely see the fruits of my labor on the eye editing. Sloppy work for known small output files has cost me dearly now that I’m printing more, so I just attack every photo as if it will be printed at 24x36”.

Disclosure

This article contains links which may result in a commission to me if you make a purchase. Thanks for supporting this blog by using my links!

Apple OS X–Lion Compatibility Info

As of the time I’m writing this, it is rumored that Apple’s next major operating system upgrade of OS X (10.7 – code name Lion) is due to be released very soon. As a result, the burning question will be – should I upgrade? Here’s some things to consider if you use these products…

Nik Software

Here’s what Nik Software has to say about Lion:

Apple is expected to release the latest version of Mac OS X, version 10.7 Lion, sometime this month. We've been working with developer release versions and want to notify you that we've found an issue installing some of our plug-ins into Photoshop CS5 after you've updated to Lion.

If you have already installed your Nik Software plug-ins into Photoshop CS5 prior to updating to Lion, the plug-ins will continue to work without issue. There are also no issues installing our plug-ins into Lightroom or Aperture on a Mac running OS 10.7 Lion and no issues installing HDR Efex Pro into any host application.

However, the current installers for Dfine 2.0, Viveza 2, Color Efex Pro 3.0, Silver Efex Pro 2, and Sharpener Pro 3.0 are not able to install into Photoshop CS5 on a Mac running OS 10.7 Lion. This issue will affect both new and re-installations of these plug-ins.

Our engineers have already begun working on a fix for the installers and we intend to start releasing these free updates this month. Each update will be released in succession, starting with Silver Efex Pro 2 and we will notify registered owners via email.

If you do find yourself needing assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our support team. Thank you for your continued support!

The Nik Team

onOne Software 

All onOne Software products must be deactivated before installing Lion and PhotoTools will not work until an update becomes available. PhotoFrame will only work in stand-alone mode. I would encourage ALL onOne Software users who want to use Lion to read this statement.

Alien Skin Software

Only minor issues exist and updates are available. Read here to learn more.

X-Rite

Of all the products I know of so far, the worst impacted seems to be X-Rite (especially those running Monaco, ProfileMaker, and i1Match software. ALL X-Rite users should read this page and DO NOT upgrade until you understand the ramifications.

What About Others Like Photoshop, Lightroom, etc…?

I’ll report back as I hear more from other companies, but in the meantime here’s a good Wiki that has a lot of other apps with reports of their status on Lion.

UPDATE: Here’s another great wiki specific to Photographers with compat info from my friends at Chromix.

Ron’s Advice

I’m going to hold off for a bit to see how things shake out before I upgrade. While I’m sure Lion will be a nice upgrade, Apple has gotten a large enough installed base and application support now to feel the pain that Microsoft goes through when upgrading Windows. This means you don’t know what you don’t know, but when it hits the streets some nasty bugs are sure to be discovered. Once things settle down I’ll upgrade my Mac’s, but until then I’m going to let it bake for a while longer.

I suggest that you consider a similar strategy and wait until your apps are confirmed to work or be updated before taking the plunge.

Holiday Gear Guide 2010 - Part II of II (B&H)

B&H Gear Guide

The following are products found on B&H’s web site in special collections created exclusively for ronmartblog.com readers. You’ll notice some items are offered at their lowest price of the year thanks to instant rebates and price drops only offered during the holiday season. Stock up and enjoy from the following categories:

Cameras, Lenses & Flashes ($5200 – $370)*

70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM – Lowest Price of 2010!!!

If I won the lottery I’d own everything on this list! Items that I do own from it which have been reviewed on this blog are:

• Canon 1D Mark IV – In my opinion this is the best camera Canon has ever made and its really the only camera gear purchase I’ve made where I’ve never had buyers remorse – not even more a minute!
• Canon 5D Mark II – This camera has redefined videography and Hollywood, but I don’t have time for video. I love it for the great camera it is and find myself using it every time I can use a tripod and for select photo shoots. See my Photographer’s Notebook and notice how many times it shows up as the camera of choice. I use the 1D Mark IV more, but I seem to capture the shots I care about the most with this one.
• Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM – From the moment I first used it at the Olympics (as discussed in the link) I was blown away, and even now I am amazed that a lens this good is this inexpensive. I know that sounds nuts given how much it cost – especially compared to its predecessor, but it’s hard to find a piece of glass from Canon that can outperform it on sharpness, image stabilization (IS) and AF performance – at any price level (including primes).
• Canon G12 and S95 – Honestly both are great cameras. I chose the G12 because it meets my needs well but if my wife had the final say so she’d take the S95 for its wonderful form factor. You can’t go wrong with either.

Printers & Paper ($2145 – $15)*

My printing series has been a huge hit so my guide wouldn’t be complete without some recommendations. There’s tons of great products out there and I wish I could feature more, but this is great start for printer and paper choices. Here’s a list of what I own and/or reviewed up to this point on the blog (and many more articles are still to come):

• Canon iPF6300 – It’s probably due to the wide format, but as it stands right now this is my favorite printer – period. I love the image quality and the user-friendliness of it is second to none. Its companion the 6350 is identical in performance but offers a hard drive for caching, so you can’t go wrong with either. The iPF8300 isn’t listed simple because I haven’t used one enough to recommend it, but it’s hard to store such a beast so for most this is as big as you’ll ever want to get.
• Epson Stylus® Pro 3880 – This thing rocks and I’ve included the 4900 in my list as the only things lacks on this printer (by design) are all available on the 4900. Sure, I’d probably love a Stylus® Pro 7900 just as much, but I’m living with the Canon iPF6300 so it is hard for me to imagine something better than it at this point. This is a great desktop printer and if you can afford it then do like all of the print masters I’ve interviewed and keep a 17” on your desk for those times when the big beasts are just too much for the job.
• Epson Exhibition Fiber – This paper just rocks plain and simple, so if you own an Epson you owe it to yourself to put your best work on this paper (but feel free to do your test prints on Luster!). It’s also a fantastic paper for Epson’s Advanced Black & White Mode. It works with Canon papers too if you are willing to waste a bunch building a media configuration file for it. That’s expensive, but worth it since Canon’s Polished Rag has been in limited supply lately. My other favorite Epson Signature Worthy papers are featured as well – I love them all!
• Canon Papers – All of the Canon papers listed are my favorites but I just haven’t had time to do formal reviews yet. They are coming so if you want a sneak peek into the future reviews, this is it!

Computer Products ($4239 – $50)*

Lenovo W701ds

People are always asking me for computer advice and they are surprised when I tell them that much of my work is done on my Lenovo or Apple laptops. I only use laptops with desktop caliber performance so you can rest assured that my recommendations are suitable for those 500MB Photoshop files I seem to find myself creating every time I image files these days. They are expensive, but they are machines that offer no compromises over the desktop so you can have a great experience no matter where you are in the world. Here’s my computer recommendations as well as my monitor, digital tablet, and a couple DVD & book recommendations:

• Lenovo W701ds – This is the best photographers machine on the market – period. I love it and have managed to keep my loaner for another few months as I can’t bear the thought of parting with it. Sure my Mac (featured in the list as well) is smaller and sexier, but it’s a toy by comparison to this phenomenal machine.
• NEC PA Series Displays – I first started mentioning this display in my Douglas Dubler interview and have been raving about them ever since I got mine. I’ll be doing a review in the future of both the 24 & 27” models as well as their accessories (included on the list).
• Wacom Intuos 4 – I love my Intuos 3, but I lust for the 4 (this is on my wishlist too). I’ve used it and my guest blog article about it has been a popular one all year long.
• The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers – I have reviewed and loved The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers as well as the CS3 version and it’s a staple on my What Photoshop Books Should I Read? article. I have the CS5 version and am reading it but haven’t had time to finish & review it yet, so I wanted to let people know this is a must own book.

Color Management Products ($1850 – $99)*

GTI PDV-2020EX

With the exception of the i1IO table for which I long for, these are products that are on my desk as I write this and that I use to improve my work. Here’s the ones featured in reviews on this blog:

• i1XTreme – For those who are passionate about color management.
• GTI PDV-2020EX – I love this device and have yet to meet someone who hasn’t been blown away by how great it is to view your work in this box (and that includes well over 200 people who have seen my box in real life)
• X-Rite ColorMunki – This is the best value in town and works great. I know it is a little more expensive than non-spectro versions, but this is something that anyone who cares about their print quality should own at a minimum (with the i1XTreme being the step up). I’ll also be covering the ColorChecker Passport soon too!

Memory Cards & Readers ($90 – $33)*

Lexar Professional ExpressCard
CompactFlash Reader

When I did my “Is a faster Compact Flash card worth the extra money?” article at the Olympics I burned my bridges with SanDisk and don’t expect to hear from them ever again. Why? Because they didn’t like me telling you the truth – despite the hoopla on Rob Galbraith’s web site, the reality is that many people only care about the performance of their memory cards in their camera as that is when performance can mean the difference between getting the shot or not. Using the fastest camera’s in the business – the D3s and 1D Mark IV (both in my guide) I proved that you really don’t get any benefit from the fastest cards. It’s also common for people to not have a reader on their computer that can keep up with the latest cards, so there’s a much better value to be found in the middle of the road cards which I’ve featured on my list – they will perform faster than your camera can buffer its data and they aren’t insanely expensive. I also tossed in my favorite ExpressCard reader which is the fastest CF reader I’ve ever used and can transfer data at speeds near its claimed 133MB/sec when writing to a fast SSD drive.

Accessories ($200 – $18)*

Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact
Video Camera Shotgun Microphone

This is just a collection of things that don’t fit in any of the other categories, yet I own and can’t live without. I demonstrate the Digital Target in my ExpoDisc review (which I also recommend) and I have a very old review of the Hoodman Loupe that still basically applies.  The shotgun microphone shown is at the top of my wish list as my audio sucks in my videos and this is the perfect solution!

* = Prices as of 11/23/2010 and may include mail-in rebates. Prices subject to change without notice and are provided simply as an approximate range.

Don't forget it is Instant Rebate Season!

and B&H has it’s own special offers too:

Conclusion

I appreciate B&H for helping me out here to bring you all of this info in these customized web pages and check back often as I may be tweaking them as we go for some last minute additions! I do not recommend products I do not love, so if you see it in this series then you can rest assured that I’d feel confident giving the product as a gift to a close family member or recommending that they spend their hard earned money on these products.

Happy Holidays to everyone of all faiths!

Be sure to visit Part I of Ron Martinsen’s Holiday Gift Guide 2010 on ronmartblog.com for huge savings from great companies like Nik Software, onOne Software, Photomatix, Topaz Software, and more! 

Disclosure

I may get a commission if you make purchase using the links provide in this article. Thanks for supporting this blog by using the links!

Counterpoint: Extreme Profiling or ImagePrint?

Photo Courtesy of B&H Photo
ColorChecker Targets Sold Separately

If you read my review of the i1XTreme Color Management Solution then you know that while I loved the results from the product, I really wasn’t a happy camper three hours into scanning 32 rows of patches and only being on row 21. In fact, during that time I started thinking – why the hell am I doing this?

ImagePrint Profiles are easily accessed over the web via Profile Manager
and if they don’t have the profile you need they’ll make it for you!

Well the reason for creating your own profile is so you can have a more accurate profile than you are using today so that you can create a print that makes the most of what your printer is capable of doing. With this in mind, if ColorByte ImagePrint bypasses the driver and controls the printer directly using the profiles it created with a $10k spectrophotometer and thousands of patches, then that theoretically should be the best results you can get right? In my opinion, and many others, the answer is yes!

While ImagePrint user interface leaves a lot to be desired, you can’t argue with the print results I got on the LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic paper. I’ve been unable to generate my own profile that can surpass what ImagePrint can do, so that begs the question – why spend several thousand dollars getting a great calibration system and software and still have to spend days building the perfect profiles, when I can spend a fraction of that and get better results?

I’m as cheap as the next guy so $800+ and up for ImagePrint seemed outrageously expensive to me at first. Now that I can see how much a proper color management system and software costs, I’d say leave profile generation to those who really need it and get ImagePrint instead.

Conclusion

If you still need to calibrate your scanner or camera LCD, then i1Basic seems like a more cost effective option along with ImagePrint and you’ll still end up over a thousand ahead of the game!

Don’t get me wrong that the i1XTreme is the way to go if you are going to go nuts doing paper profiles, but I think it’s probably time to leave those tools to the experts who make or sell those profiles to us rather than being the person who tries to generate them in the first place.

If all of this is too much for you, then you aren’t alone. I’d advise that you just check out my color management article and go with the ColorMunki until you are in a position to consider more advanced options. The ColorMunki is a great product with great simplicity, so I keep mine around so I can always do a quick and headache free calibration.

Special Offer – Save up to $300 with our 10% OFF discount!!!

I have worked with ColorByte to offer you the first ever discount that has been made available for a blog. ColorByte is offering a 10% off discount to readers of this article when you contact JVH Technical, LLC by phone or email. You can not get this discount through the web or ColorByte directly, so you must contact JVH and you MUST mention this blog in order to get the discount. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact JVH, ColorByte or me directly about this discount program.

Disclosure

I may get a commission if you take advantage of the special offer or purchase products from select partner links in this article. Thanks for your support of this blog by returning here when making your purchases!

Extreme Color Management with the X-Rite i1XTreme and ProfileMaker 5 – Part 2 of 2

This article is a continuation of Part 1 found here.

i1XTreme Continued…

This section resumes my prior discussion of the i1XTreme Color Management Solution….

Match 3 was a snap to use with only one scan error

When working in Eye-One Match 3, I was able to easily scan the patches and only hit one error when scanning  row 5 shown above, but a simple re-scan solved the problem. In no time flat I had the measurement data I needed and a new profile.

Match 3 Measurement Success

Trouble on the way to Paradise

When scanning Bill Atkinson’s targets RGB 800 WIR Eye-One 2 Page targets shown below (see previous article for more info) I had a much more difficult time.

Bill Atkinson’s RGB 800 WIR Eye-One 2 page target

I’ve tried to establish credibility on this blog by calling things like I see them rather than just doing gloried press release reviews like some other reviewers often do. In this case I have to fully disclose that I hit a speed bump during my review that made me want to toss the i1XTreme system out the window and never do another profile again. Let me explain why I hit these problems, assure you that there are solutions to the problems I hit and why I’m glad that I didn’t give up.

When scanning the color patches you simply hold the button down at the beginning of the row while you are on a white spot, wait for a beep, and then glide the i1 across the page until it stops and release. The software will tell you if you failed (which requires you to rescan the row) or if you can continue (by notifying you to scan the next row).  The system seems simple enough and with the limited test patches (which happed to be much larger too) in the Match 3 product I had no problems. In fact, I thought it was rather fun to use!

With my first success behind me, I decided I’d take on Bill’s big chart because 800 should be a heck of a lot better than 288, right? I could just see this amazing print rolling off my Epson with this new and improved profile that I was about to create, so I scanned with much excitement.

Well, I was excited until I got my tenth “Too Many Errors” alert (see below). I became annoyed at the fact that the user-interface never bothered to tell me what I did wrong or how I could do better next time, so I would scan again and get another failure. I’d scan slower, and I’d scan faster, yet both resulted in the same error. I’d adjust the paper and I’d take my time scanning. All of these efforts seemed to work on at least one occasion, but none of them worked reliably. However, when I got the nod from the MeasurementTool to advance to the next line, I was thrilled to move on – and move on I did.

Too many errors. Please read strip again.
You will hate this error message and
wish evil things up those who created it!

In a little over three hours I scanned the 32 rows of these charts (approximately 400 row scans), so to say I had a few errors is an understatement. I was tired and frustrated with a blister on my right index finger – but I was done. I saw the completion page below and thought I had some great data for ProfileMaker to do its magic and create a killer profile for me.

After 3 Hours of scanning, I thought I was done.
I thought wrong!

After I generated my profile, I quickly examined it in a cool tool called ColorThink Pro (review coming in November 2010 which also shows how to generate and use the charts). Upon inspection (see below), I immediately noticed it was @%#ked up!!!!

3D Graph of my first ProfileMaker ICC Profile
Never try to print using a profile that looks this nasty!!!!

I didn’t need to print to know that I would get horrible results, so I scratched my head and went back to the drawing board.

In doing my analysis, I noticed that my scan chart didn’t look as clean as Bill’s charts, but I thought ProfileMaker would use that data and magically make a great profile. However, what I really discovered is that the tool let me advance to the next slide when it got a row of data – not necessarily a correct row of data (see below) – WTF????

Scan success, but ignore the directions
to move on to the next row!

I felt like an idiot, so I did some more research and proceeded to scan again. This time knowing that a row not only had to be successfully scanned, it also had to be the correct pattern, I found myself investing 5 hours more of my life in getting 32 accurate row scans. FIVE HOURS!!!!

Not the birth of my children, nor my first magazine cover, nor anything I could imagine in the future (i.e., winning the lottery) had brought me more joy than to see the dialog below and know that wouldn’t be scanning any more of those @#king patches again that day!!!!!!

All rows scanned successfully.
One of the greatest accomplishments of my life!

Now I understood why the scan table had an advertisement that read “Need Automation? Add an Eye-One iO!” Pardon my language, but no shit!!!! Holy cow, I looked at that ad in disgust as I scanned for hours – once taking a 12 hour break out of frustration with the device.

With my frustration behind me I was ready to get my reward – a great paper profile, so that meant a visit to ProfileMaker 5.0. While there, I chose Bill Atkinson’s source chart (a text file) as the reference data to compare to my new data (also a text file) as shown here:

Generating the profile in ProfileMaker 5.0

The whole Gamut Mapping stuff confused me, but I found this i1 Gamut Mapping information to be very helpful. In the end, I did all three choices and graphed and printed using all three and got what appears to my eyes to be identical results. I’m sure there are differences and maybe eye isn’t trained enough, but the graphs in ColorThink Pro indicate they are very similar if not identical.

The Reward of Perseverance

An excellent profile generated from my 800 patch scan

To demonstrate the value of profiling I’ve printed the same source photo multiple times using various paper profiles – most of which I’ve generated myself. This test will show how one device can differ from another, as well as the importance of the software in this process.

NOTE: The images shown in this section are photos of prints taken using identical camera settings in identical conditions, but photo reproduction this way is quite tricky so they are subject to human error. The photos of the prints do not truly express the quality of the prints for a variety of reasons, so no conclusions about the paper or print should be made by using these photographs. Instead, they should just be used as a tool to demonstrate significant differences in the background gradient and tones on the tires in one image versus another. Sharpness or alignment may vary slightly due to my sample photos error, not the actual prints.

LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic Profile Test

For this example I am LexJet’s Sunset Photo Metallic paper where they do not provide a paper profile for my Epson Stylus® Pro 3880 printer. I started by trying using the Epson 3800 paper profile (which I know doesn’t work, but I did for illustrative purposes) and got horrible results (mouse over below or click here). To improve upon those results, I created my own profile using the ColorMunki and you’ll notice a huge improvement! Score one for the ColorMunki!!!!

Mouse over (or click here) for LexJet 3800 Profile vs.
Mouse out (or click here) for ColorMunki 3880 Custom Profile

Mouse over (or click here) for the Eye-One Match 3 Profile vs.
Mouse out (or click here) for the MeasureTool/ProfileMaker Profile

Now I probably don’t have to tell you but you’ll notice that the image above (mouse out or click here) was the image with the most tonal range and is the print that most closely represents the stellar results I was getting on my Canon iPF6300 printer using LexJet’s phenomenal profile. If you mouse over above (or click here) you’ll the Eye-One Match 3 profile which is a clear improvement over the ColorMunki profile, but still falls short of the MeasureTool/ProfileMaker profile created using Bill Atkinson’s 800 RGP 2P test patches. Now to be fair for the Eye-One Match 3 I only used the i1 RGB Target 1.5 test patches which only had 288 patches – but you have to go to MeasureTool if you want large or custom patch sets.

What’s the net result here? Naturally, the more patches you test – on your specific model printer – the better your prints will be. You’ll extract more tonal contrast out of the image and more accurately represent the colors you are seeing on your calibrated display. In fact, if you create your profile properly the print you create should blow your display image away.

Conclusion

The scanner and display calibration with this product are both simple yet offer the flexibility for advanced calibration as well. This was great because this was more advanced than what is possible with my beloved ColorMunki. However, what really makes this product worth the money is its ability to generate a exceptional printer profiles.

Fine art printing can be expensive and it is the final representation of your work, so if it doesn’t look amazing then you are selling yourself short. For those who care about the details of their final result, an excellent printer profile is a must! Sadly the profiles generated by others (including paper and printer makers) aren’t always the appropriate choice for the best results possible from your specific printer.

For those who wish to control the process of creating the best possible profile, I’d recommend you consider using an X-Rite i1XTreme UV Cut Color Calibration Solution (which includes Eye-One Match 3) or ProfileMaker (until i1Profiler becomes available). I must also HIGHLY RECOMMEND the i1iO Automated Scan Table. Alternatively, you may also consider the i1iSis as an even faster solution for reading your test charts, but either way automation is critical in my opinion.

For Photography, I do not recommend purchasing the non-UV cut version. I questioned a panel of 5 printing experts featured in this series and they all insisted that the UV cut is required for photographers due to the growing use of papers with Optical Brightening Agents (OBA).

Ordering Information

The X-Rite i1XTreme UV Cut Color Calibration Solution is available from Amazon, Adorama, B&H and other resellers.

ProfileMaker (which includes MeasureTool) is currently only available i1iSis bundles which I could only find on Adorama at this time.

Adorama and B&H both carry the i1iSis

i1iO Automated Scan Table

Save yourself from frustration of manual scanning by purchasing an i1iO Automated Scan Table to complement your i1XTreme system from Amazon, Adorama, or B&H. NOTE: You only need an i1iO or an i1iSis for automation, not both. The i1iSis is the fastest solution from X-Rite.

Special Offer

X-Rite does not offer any special offers on its products, but I’m happy to announce that LexJet (maker of the Sunset Photo Metallic paper featured in this article) does! Click here to learn more.

Disclaimer

X-Rite provided a loaner i1XTreme color management solution for me to use so I could write this article, as well a dongle for use with ProfileMaker. If it were not for X-Rite’s generous support, I could not have brought this article to you. I receive no compensation from X-Rite, but if you purchase products using links in this blog to external sites I might get a commission. Thank you for supporting this blog by returning here when you make your purchases.