TR Forums

I want to properly calibrate my monitor so I can edit photos on my screen and have them look like the way they'll be printed. My current monitor is a Dell 2407-HC, and at some point in the near future I intend to add other screens (like a laptop screen) that I'll want to calibrate as well.

I'm looking at the Spyder family of colorimeters, if only because that's a name I've heard bandied about for the last couple decades. There are three levels of Spyder. On the basis of assuming that I don't need every bell and whistle, I'm looking at the Express and Pro

Does the Spyder Express work, or will I get it and realize that it is lacking for some reason? I read some reviews online but still have little idea why I'd need or want the upgraded features of the Pro. I don't understand the calibration process in enough detail and I haven't been able to learn that info from anywhere yet.

Any guidance on this is much appreciated. Thanks!

Haven't used one in a while, but I was using the Spyder 2 and later Spyder 3 with great results. But that is a much older version, and there are a few open source ones out ther as well.

IIRC, TFT central also reviews colorimeters, as does dpreview.com so take a look there whats currently in good standing.
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews.htm

I have a ColorMunki smile. The default software has zero controls. You can't even pick your white point. The snazzy thing about it, though, is that it's supported by Argyll CMS so you can use much more customizable software like DisplayCAL. For $90-ish it's hard to go wrong. When I was looking for a colorimeter in mid 2015, it's the one Mr. Wasson recommended for me, and it's served me very well ever since.

Spyder5's go on sale pretty often, they might be the best deal around. ColorMunki Smile is the baseline, budget one that's usually recommended.

If you have the budget to go marginally higher-end, i1 Display Pro is generally regarded as the way to go, but I believe the Spyder5 is pretty close in performance.

I went from a Spyder3 Pro to an i1 Display Pro myself and saw only very small differences in the settings involved to get to the final calibration.