The i1 and the ColorMunki accurately gauged the color temperature of the light and ambient reflections coming from my walls. I'm running this calibration to compare how each device interprets the lighitng situation. I expect that both my i1 and the newer ColorMunki will deliver the WYSIWYG color I expect. However, these are exactly the kind of variables the ColorMunki Display is supposed to help mitigate and provide accurate color, "even in the most challenging working conditions."įirst the easy test. There are a lot of variables, such as my personal ability to visually color-correct and my monitor's color-quality.
To keep things on the level, I'll use an X-rite ColorChecker in the photo and measure the neutrality of the gray tones. Once that happens and it adjusts, I'll visually edit the photo there. After that, I'll move my computer - a laptop - to a different room with different lighting to see if the ColorMunki Display actually detects the change. Next we'll visually edit a photo using each generated profile. The first test is to demonstrate how each unit interprets the ambient conditions and compensates for them in a controlled environment. Not being surprised is the whole point of accurate, WYSIWYG color. All the really technical stuff is important, but most photographers simply want WYSIWYG color. I could go on and on about the numbers and all kinds of color science jargon, but that's what scientists are for. This information is missing in the ColorMunki calibration wizard. You can see exactly how bright and blue an uncalibrated display can be by seeing just how much the curves have moved off the central diagonal. Again, not something major, but every little bit helps. With the old software you had to eye-ball it. The i1 was clear, but the ColorMunki provides you with a silhouette target showing the center of your display.
The calibration wizard for the ColorMunki is much more user-friendly than the i1's application. There are fewer pieces to worry about and there's no forceful prying of anything. These two advancements in design make the ColorMunki a good traveler and more user-friendly. Fewer pieces to lose or replace is a good thing for the traveling photographer. Again, not a big deal, but it's another piece I don't have to worry about losing. Worrying about snapping something off a $250 piece of equipment isn't fun.Īnother good idea is the integrated counterweight. My i1 cost me $250, and whenever I had to remove the ambient light filter, I had to pry it off. This is a little thing, but is a huge piece of mind for me. It swivels out of the way when calibrating and swivels back when measuring the ambient and for travel, keeping dust out. The integrated ambient light filter on the ColorMunki is a great idea. Left to right: i1 Display2 and the ColorMunki Display. It's not that the i1 was designed or built poorly, it's merely the march of time. The ColorMunki definitely has some design improvements over the i1. As technology progresses, designs and user-friendliness usually improve. We'll see if I do get accurate color in any location and if this is a worthy upgrade and time-saver.įirst up is the design comparison. I'll do a little side-by-side comparison between i1 and the ColorMunki Display as well as test the ColorMunki's ability to detect and mitigate the changes in my color-editing environment. X-rite says that it will not only do what my i1 did, but also automatically detect and adjust my monitor whenever a change in my environment is detected. To address the challenges a lot of us face regarding color-correction in changing environments, X-rite has released the ColorMunki Display ($190). And as I said before, wasting another 10 or so minutes recalibrating isn't very efficient. Those changes can render a color profile useless mid-edit. And since I'm concentrating on editing, I won't notice the changes a passing cloud or someone turning on the television would do. This means that the profiles I generated in my light-controlled basement were no good somewhere else.Įven though my trusty i1Display2 travels with me on assignments where I know I will be doing on-location editing, it could not detect changes in my environment. For many photographers - including the pros - the living room, bedroom, hotel, restaurant, or office is the place where post-production work happens.
Having a consistently lit editing environment isn't always a practical choice for many photographers, especially the traveling photographer such as myself. The X-rite ColorMunki is designed to help with just this problem. Without these two pieces working together, accurate processing of your photos isn't possible. In the final part of my 'From Camera to Print' series, I spoke about the importance of having a calibrated monitor as well as a consistent lighting environment to ensure accurate color-corrections.
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