John Mitchell Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I realize that there have been numerous threads discussing monitor calibrators, but I'm interested in hearing from people who have tried the budget-priced ColorMunki Smile (they really ought to rethink the cutesy name). Does this calibrator do a good (or good enough) job for stock images? Any serious shortcomings? P.S. A friend calibrated my Samsung monitor when I bought it a couple of years ago. The colours and brightness still look the same to me, but my monitor must be way overdue for a re-calibration. The ColorMunki Smile seems to get decent reviews for the most part. It also sounds as if it's easy to use. P.P.S. I'm using Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit, if that means anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I realize that there have been numerous threads discussing monitor calibrators, but I'm interested in hearing from people who have tried the budget-priced ColorMunki Smile (they really ought to rethink the cutesy name). Does this calibrator do a good (or good enough) job for stock images? Any serious shortcomings? P.S. A friend calibrated my Samsung monitor when I bought it a couple of years ago. The colours and brightness still look the same to me, but my monitor must be way overdue for a re-calibration. The ColorMunki Smile seems to get decent reviews for the most part. It also sounds as if it's easy to use. P.P.S. I'm using Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit, if that means anything. A lot of stuff inside a monitor is plastic which will yellow over time. If it's not yellowing on it's own, it will yellow because of the other plastic stuff that surrounds it, heating up, slow-cooking the nice white bits. The light source will yellow and dim slightly as well. If you calibrate your screen every couple of months, you will see hardly any change. Every couple of years however... you get the drift. Color drift. I would like a good assessment of the Munki too. wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I realize that there have been numerous threads discussing monitor calibrators, but I'm interested in hearing from people who have tried the budget-priced ColorMunki Smile (they really ought to rethink the cutesy name). Does this calibrator do a good (or good enough) job for stock images? Any serious shortcomings? P.S. A friend calibrated my Samsung monitor when I bought it a couple of years ago. The colours and brightness still look the same to me, but my monitor must be way overdue for a re-calibration. The ColorMunki Smile seems to get decent reviews for the most part. It also sounds as if it's easy to use. P.P.S. I'm using Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit, if that means anything. I've not used one but I've read the specs and it is completely automatic so you can't control anything. It's completely wizard-driven calibration. Here it is £79 but for £170 you can have the far superior X-Rite i1 Display PRO which gives far more control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 I realize that there have been numerous threads discussing monitor calibrators, but I'm interested in hearing from people who have tried the budget-priced ColorMunki Smile (they really ought to rethink the cutesy name). Does this calibrator do a good (or good enough) job for stock images? Any serious shortcomings? P.S. A friend calibrated my Samsung monitor when I bought it a couple of years ago. The colours and brightness still look the same to me, but my monitor must be way overdue for a re-calibration. The ColorMunki Smile seems to get decent reviews for the most part. It also sounds as if it's easy to use. P.P.S. I'm using Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit, if that means anything. I've not used one but I've read the specs and it is completely automatic so you can't control anything. It's completely wizard-driven calibration. Here it is £79 but for £170 you can have the far superior X-Rite i1 Display PRO which gives far more control. Yes, the auto-everything is a concern. I guess you can't even adjust gamma to your liking with the ColorMunki. I like the price of the Munki, though, and I have a £100 voucher to spend on amazon UK, which would just about cover it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 If cash is tight, then just go for it. It should get the colours right. I find the wizard in the ColorMunki Photo which I have chooses a brighteness of 120cd/m2 which is too bright for me but the advanced mode allows me to choose darker. I work at 90cd/m2 which gets in the right ballpark so to speak for printing. You can probably darken your monitor manually if required after profile loads but a lot of people seem to work with brighter monitors so probably not a big issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 If cash is tight, then just go for it. It should get the colours right. I find the wizard in the ColorMunki Photo which I have chooses a brighteness of 120cd/m2 which is too bright for me but the advanced mode allows me to choose darker. I work at 90cd/m2 which gets in the right ballpark so to speak for printing. You can probably darken your monitor manually if required after profile loads but a lot of people seem to work with brighter monitors so probably not a big issue. Money (What money?) is definitely tight. Thanks for the helpful feedback. That £100 amazon voucher continues to burn a hole in my pocket, so I'm still hoping to hear from someone who has used the ColorMunki Smile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 There are plenty of user reviews here: http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-x-rite-colormunki-smile/p1532606 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 There are plenty of user reviews here: http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-x-rite-colormunki-smile/p1532606 Thanks for the link. There are plenty of smiling users there. This one is a bit worrisome, though: Pros Easy To Use Cons No Evidence It Worked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 There are plenty of user reviews here: http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-x-rite-colormunki-smile/p1532606 If this one is true: > I would have given a 5* rating had the device come with the simple instruction that the colour calibration achieved is specific to the set monitor brightness levels. > If you change the brightness settings you need to re-calibrate! It would mean calibration does not include setting the correct monitor brightness level. Which makes it worthless, because it should be step 1. wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 There are plenty of user reviews here: http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-x-rite-colormunki-smile/p1532606 If this one is true: > I would have given a 5* rating had the device come with the simple instruction that the colour calibration achieved is specific to the set monitor brightness levels. > If you change the brightness settings you need to re-calibrate! It would mean calibration does not include setting the correct monitor brightness level. Which makes it worthless, because it should be step 1. wim Need to be careful with those reviews as they are almost all from novices at colour management (or they wouldn't be using an entry level colorimeter). Some of the reviewers clearly lack basic knowledge. As I said above, I don't know as I've not used the Smile but the wizard with the ColorMunki Photo offers to set a monitor brightness of 120 cd/m2. With the ColorMunki Photo and the X-Rite i1 Display PRO this can be changed but as far as I can see from the specs, it's not possible with the Smile. I assume the Smile sets a monitor brightness of 120 cd/m2 which will probably suit most users unless they are printing so it's probably not useless. We await somebody who actually owns one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 There are plenty of user reviews here: http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-x-rite-colormunki-smile/p1532606 If this one is true: > I would have given a 5* rating had the device come with the simple instruction that the colour calibration achieved is specific to the set monitor brightness levels. > If you change the brightness settings you need to re-calibrate! It would mean calibration does not include setting the correct monitor brightness level. Which makes it worthless, because it should be step 1. wim Need to be careful with those reviews as they are almost all from novices at colour management (or they wouldn't be using an entry level colorimeter). Some of the reviewers clearly lack basic knowledge. As I said above, I don't know as I've not used the Smile but the wizard with the ColorMunki Photo offers to set a monitor brightness of 120 cd/m2. With the ColorMunki Photo and the X-Rite i1 Display PRO this can be changed but as far as I can see from the specs, it's not possible with the Smile. I assume the Smile sets a monitor brightness of 120 cd/m2 which will probably suit most users unless they are printing so it's probably not useless. We await somebody who actually owns one. Exactly, this is the problem with most online reviewers and reviews. That`s why I asked the question here in hopes that someone with more knowledge has used this little Munki. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Images By Kenny Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 I've been using the ColorMunki Smile for a year or so. It works well as far as I can tell from the Before/After function after calibrating. I find I need to calibrate every 2 to 4 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 I've been using the ColorMunki Smile for a year or so. It works well as far as I can tell from the Before/After function after calibrating. I find I need to calibrate every 2 to 4 weeks. Does it allow you set monitor brightness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jansos Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Controlling monitor calibration results in more consistent and reliable output from the monitor to the human eye but we all see and interpret colours differently, don't we? I'm assuming it must use an 'acceptable range' as defined by experts in this field. Also, what about the impact of variable lighting in the room, which changes from day to day, hour to hour, and the extent that this interferes with calibration tool being used, or does the tool automatically detect the changes in light in the room? I'm sure monitor calibration is essential but there appears to be so much else going on besides. As a newbie in this area I would be keen to know more and specifically about: 1) The monitor calibration tool of choice amongst users 2) The best indoor lighting set-up (natural light, tungsten, halogen etc.) and positioning (to the rear, full room etc.) for consistent and reliable photos Can anyone could point to a good reference site that is not too technical? Many thanks in advance. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 You're right, we all see colours differently and there are also many other factors. In my case I use X-Rite Display Pro 1 and have been delighted with it. When I first started on Alamy I made a mistake. I was using an uncalibrated display on a notebook PC running Windows 7 with default settings. I adjusted my images so they looked right to my eyes. After I'd submitted 500 images I asked for feedback on the forum and was told that the colour balance of my images was too warm/yellow. After some investigation I realised the colour temperature default set by Windows 7, in combination with my display, was way too cool. I was then adjusting my images to warm them up so they looked right to my eyes, before submitting to Alamy. Oops! I subsequently invested in a separate monitor and both X-Rite Display Pro 1 (for monitor calibration) and a Color checker passport (for camera sensor calibration and lighting colour temperature assessment - highly recommended). I believe this has provided me with a much better "starting point" from which to make adjustments. Colour adjustment/temperature/saturation is still a very personal judgment. But now I believe I'm now starting from a baseline which doesn't have a "hidden bias". If the display is introducing a large "hidden bias", as mine was, then any subsequent, careful image colour balance adjustments by eye will be a waste of time. The Passport Color Checker has also allowed me to produce profiles for each of my cameras so I get consistent colour whichever camera I use. Hopefully the colour balance of images in my portfolio has now improved. Certainly sales are growing steadily, so it look like somebody likes them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzy Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Need to be careful with those reviews as they are almost all from novices at colour management (or they wouldn't be using an entry level colorimeter). This basically sums me up - And I did indeed buy the Smile earlier this year. Firstly I should point out that I have only used it a couple of times, that I have only used it on a laptop screen, and I have got a lot to learn about monitor colour management. So this probably isn't the most helpful review for you... There is no way (that I can see) of controlling brightness or gamma in the settings. There is literally not much human input in the process at all. I had no issues with installation and driver on Windows 8, you just plop the thing in the right place on the screen and get it going. But it is easy to use and effectively got rid of the nasty blue cast from my screen. I had suspected that it was bluer than it should be... But when I saw the results I was shocked by the difference (it shows you a side by side afterwards, and option to keep new settings or not). My only concern is that maybe it is now a tiny touch on the warm side, but I have certainly been much happier with my images vs. uncalibrated so in that respect I feel it was a good purchase. To be honest though, if I had the £200 or so freely available to get a more comprehensive one I would have done. But I don't The reason I went for this one was the price, and as an introductory step in to colour management. For me at the moment, saving money for a new monitor and PC is a much higher priority than a better colorimeter. I've been very happy with the results, but find the lack of tweakability and fine tuning frustrating. On a side note - This has just got me curious about what proportion of stock customers will be using calibrated screens...? I wonder... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 All my screens (desktop & 2x laptop) are calibrated with a Spyder 4 Pro, it replaced my Spyder 2 when the software would not run on a newer version of Windows. I have probably been calibrated for at least 10 years. On my main desktop I recalibrate every couple of months, or when I have a big collection of important images to process. I don't usually process on a laptop - I use it for news or my own website (when travelling) so I use the OOC jpegs (Fuji X-T1 or 2). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHill Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 For anyone on a budget and with the time and inclination to do a bit of research, some software well worth trying is Argyll CMS together with DisplayCAL, which are both open source (donationware) . This enables quite a bit of control even with hardware for which the accompanying software offers less control. I have used it with ColorMunki Display; I think it also works with the Smile, but you'd have to do some research on that. Likewise, there are various reviews explaining how to use it, such as this one: https://www.pointsinfocus.com/learning/digital-darkroom/displaycal-and-argyll-cms-quick-start-guide/ There is definitely a learning curve to using it, but that learning certainly helps in getting an insight into what's going on with colour management - call it professional development ;-) And once you've used it a couple of times, it becomes pretty simple. Hope this helps, David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 Need to be careful with those reviews as they are almost all from novices at colour management (or they wouldn't be using an entry level colorimeter). This basically sums me up - And I did indeed buy the Smile earlier this year. Firstly I should point out that I have only used it a couple of times, that I have only used it on a laptop screen, and I have got a lot to learn about monitor colour management. So this probably isn't the most helpful review for you... There is no way (that I can see) of controlling brightness or gamma in the settings. There is literally not much human input in the process at all. I had no issues with installation and driver on Windows 8, you just plop the thing in the right place on the screen and get it going. But it is easy to use and effectively got rid of the nasty blue cast from my screen. I had suspected that it was bluer than it should be... But when I saw the results I was shocked by the difference (it shows you a side by side afterwards, and option to keep new settings or not). My only concern is that maybe it is now a tiny touch on the warm side, but I have certainly been much happier with my images vs. uncalibrated so in that respect I feel it was a good purchase. To be honest though, if I had the £200 or so freely available to get a more comprehensive one I would have done. But I don't The reason I went for this one was the price, and as an introductory step in to colour management. For me at the moment, saving money for a new monitor and PC is a much higher priority than a better colorimeter. I've been very happy with the results, but find the lack of tweakability and fine tuning frustrating. On a side note - This has just got me curious about what proportion of stock customers will be using calibrated screens...? I wonder... Good to hear from a couple of people who have used the Smile. I'm in a similar financial boat -- i.e. I have £100 to spend on amazon, and that's it. Does the Smile at least tell you what value the monitor's gamma/brightness is being set at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzy Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Need to be careful with those reviews as they are almost all from novices at colour management (or they wouldn't be using an entry level colorimeter). This basically sums me up - And I did indeed buy the Smile earlier this year. Firstly I should point out that I have only used it a couple of times, that I have only used it on a laptop screen, and I have got a lot to learn about monitor colour management. So this probably isn't the most helpful review for you... There is no way (that I can see) of controlling brightness or gamma in the settings. There is literally not much human input in the process at all. I had no issues with installation and driver on Windows 8, you just plop the thing in the right place on the screen and get it going. But it is easy to use and effectively got rid of the nasty blue cast from my screen. I had suspected that it was bluer than it should be... But when I saw the results I was shocked by the difference (it shows you a side by side afterwards, and option to keep new settings or not). My only concern is that maybe it is now a tiny touch on the warm side, but I have certainly been much happier with my images vs. uncalibrated so in that respect I feel it was a good purchase. To be honest though, if I had the £200 or so freely available to get a more comprehensive one I would have done. But I don't The reason I went for this one was the price, and as an introductory step in to colour management. For me at the moment, saving money for a new monitor and PC is a much higher priority than a better colorimeter. I've been very happy with the results, but find the lack of tweakability and fine tuning frustrating. On a side note - This has just got me curious about what proportion of stock customers will be using calibrated screens...? I wonder... Good to hear from a couple of people who have used the Smile. I'm in a similar financial boat -- i.e. I have £100 to spend on amazon, and that's it. Does the Smile at least tell you what value the monitor's gamma/brightness is being set at? I don't think it does, but it has been about 3 months since I've used it (well overdue for a re-do) so can't remember for sure... Unfortunately mine is currently on a container ship somewhere in the Atlantic, otherwise I would run it and see... There might be a start to finish video of it running on YouTube maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 Need to be careful with those reviews as they are almost all from novices at colour management (or they wouldn't be using an entry level colorimeter). This basically sums me up - And I did indeed buy the Smile earlier this year. Firstly I should point out that I have only used it a couple of times, that I have only used it on a laptop screen, and I have got a lot to learn about monitor colour management. So this probably isn't the most helpful review for you... There is no way (that I can see) of controlling brightness or gamma in the settings. There is literally not much human input in the process at all. I had no issues with installation and driver on Windows 8, you just plop the thing in the right place on the screen and get it going. But it is easy to use and effectively got rid of the nasty blue cast from my screen. I had suspected that it was bluer than it should be... But when I saw the results I was shocked by the difference (it shows you a side by side afterwards, and option to keep new settings or not). My only concern is that maybe it is now a tiny touch on the warm side, but I have certainly been much happier with my images vs. uncalibrated so in that respect I feel it was a good purchase. To be honest though, if I had the £200 or so freely available to get a more comprehensive one I would have done. But I don't The reason I went for this one was the price, and as an introductory step in to colour management. For me at the moment, saving money for a new monitor and PC is a much higher priority than a better colorimeter. I've been very happy with the results, but find the lack of tweakability and fine tuning frustrating. On a side note - This has just got me curious about what proportion of stock customers will be using calibrated screens...? I wonder... Good to hear from a couple of people who have used the Smile. I'm in a similar financial boat -- i.e. I have £100 to spend on amazon, and that's it. Does the Smile at least tell you what value the monitor's gamma/brightness is being set at? I don't think it does, but it has been about 3 months since I've used it (well overdue for a re-do) so can't remember for sure... Unfortunately mine is currently on a container ship somewhere in the Atlantic, otherwise I would run it and see... There might be a start to finish video of it running on YouTube maybe? Thanks. I've checked the online videos and don't see any mention of any kind of manual adjustments with the Smile. I'm probably going to bite the bullet and squander my prize winnings on it anyway. I can always sell it if I'm not happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jansos Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 You're right, we all see colours differently and there are also many other factors. In my case I use X-Rite Display Pro 1 and have been delighted with it. When I first started on Alamy I made a mistake. I was using an uncalibrated display on a notebook PC running Windows 7 with default settings. I adjusted my images so they looked right to my eyes. After I'd submitted 500 images I asked for feedback on the forum and was told that the colour balance of my images was too warm/yellow. After some investigation I realised the default colour temp set in Windows 7, in combination with my display, was way too cool. I was then adjusting my images to warm them up so they looked right to my eyes, before submitting to Alamy. Oops! I subsequently invested in a separate monitor and both X-Rite Display Pro 1 (for monitor calibration) and a Color checker passport (for camera sensor calibration and lighting colour temperature assessment - highly recommended). I believe this has provided me with a much better "starting point" from which to make adjustments. Colour adjustment/temperature/saturation is still a very personal judgment. But now I believe I'm now starting from a baseline which doesn't have a "hidden bias". If the display is introducing a large "hidden bias", as mine was, then any subsequent, careful image colour balance adjustments by eye will be a waste of time. The Passport Color Checker has also allowed me to produce profiles for each of my cameras so I get consistent colour whichever camera I use. Hopefully the colour balance of images in portfolio has now improved. Certainly sales are growing steadily, so it look like somebody likes them. M.Chapman, Many thanks - that is very helpful summary. I'll look out for the X-Rite Display Pro 1. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 You're right, we all see colours differently and there are also many other factors. In my case I use X-Rite Display Pro 1 and have been delighted with it. When I first started on Alamy I made a mistake. I was using an uncalibrated display on a notebook PC running Windows 7 with default settings. I adjusted my images so they looked right to my eyes. After I'd submitted 500 images I asked for feedback on the forum and was told that the colour balance of my images was too warm/yellow. After some investigation I realised the default colour temp set in Windows 7, in combination with my display, was way too cool. I was then adjusting my images to warm them up so they looked right to my eyes, before submitting to Alamy. Oops! I subsequently invested in a separate monitor and both X-Rite Display Pro 1 (for monitor calibration) and a Color checker passport (for camera sensor calibration and lighting colour temperature assessment - highly recommended). I believe this has provided me with a much better "starting point" from which to make adjustments. Colour adjustment/temperature/saturation is still a very personal judgment. But now I believe I'm now starting from a baseline which doesn't have a "hidden bias". If the display is introducing a large "hidden bias", as mine was, then any subsequent, careful image colour balance adjustments by eye will be a waste of time. The Passport Color Checker has also allowed me to produce profiles for each of my cameras so I get consistent colour whichever camera I use. Hopefully the colour balance of images in portfolio has now improved. Certainly sales are growing steadily, so it look like somebody likes them. M.Chapman, Many thanks - that is very helpful summary. I'll look out for the X-Rite Display Pro 1. :-) Glad that's useful - I've sent you a PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted October 29, 2016 Author Share Posted October 29, 2016 Hmmm... I wonder how many Alamy buyers actually work with calibrated monitors. My guess is not very many. Just a passing thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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