Travel
- Got 3 Birds With One Stone
I was scheduled for a carotid artery scan this afternoon, so on the off chance I could get the echocardiogram done today as well, I called and got an appointment. While waiting for that appointment I heard someone mention Holter monitor, and since...
- I'm Finally Wired!
Yesterday I re-read the instructions for about the 100th time and the light came on suddenly. I was looking for black and white patches, but the patches are all the same. It's the electrodes that lead from the monitor to attach to the patches that...
- Better Sound With Custom One Pro Headphones
When traveling you might not be able to take with you the Hi-Fi audio system from home, but you can definitely use some high quality headphones. Keeping this in mind I decided to take the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Headphones out for a spin. The...
- How To Improve Your Photography Using A Colorchecker
We always look for new ways to improve our photography, and though we came a long way, sometimes the secret is in the details. Up till now we were missing a simple but very important device in our field photography kit - a color checker. So when the guys...
- Adam - Travel With More Than Just An Ebook Reader
Adam, the new Notion Ink tabletWe all got used to the idea of having an ebook reader while traveling as it saves space and eventually money, but don't you just miss some of the comforts from home, like watching a movie or a favorite TV series...
Travel
How to Improve Your Photography with X-Rite ColorMunki Display
As a photographer, it is important to me how my photos look when published online and offline. Years ago I used to take my monitor out of the box, hook it up, and just set it to any one of the available picture presets. Nowadays that is not anymore acceptable, as digital photography demands a good calibrated monitor. Fuzzy image detail and inaccurate colors are the most obvious signs that something is not right, but there are other side effects of an un-calibrated monitor, such as when your monitor's output doesn't match the printer's output, or when images look different on your laptop screen than they do on your desktop monitor.
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| Each screen shows a different reality. Crazy, huh? |
It used to be very expensive to have a proper calibrated monitor, but nowadays, fortunately, there are calibration tools available that will help monitors and laptops to give their best performance and all this without braking the bank. The X-Rite ColorMunki Display is one such tool. I was pleased to find out that the ColorMunki makes calibrating monitors, laptops, and even projectors quick and painless. Although the software comes with a wizard that offers excellent text and video help, no help is really needed as the ColorMunki is very easy to use, even for someone without experience in monitor calibration. It simply does the job.
What you get
The ColorMunki Display is compact, measuring 2.5-by-2.5-by-1.5 inches. It sports a glossy black and matte black finish with the ColorMunki logo on both sides.
The device is USB powered. The ColorMunki includes an integral diffuser that swivels out of the way to reveal the front lens element of the measuring unit and a 70-inch USB cable with an adjustable weight. White LED activity indicators are embedded on both sides of the meter.
The diffuser is used to measure ambient lighting, and serves to keep the sensor clean if you decide to leave the device permanently connected, in order to use the 'ambient light compensation' feature of the software. The cover can also be used as a stand for projector calibration.
The base of the unit has a standard (1/4 inch) tripod fitting that you can use to position the sensor for measuring projectors or for non contact measurement of monitors.
In normal use, the counterweight on the USB lead is used to balance the device on your display.
I have multiple monitors attached to my computer, but the software let me pick which one to calibrate. It was easy to do one after the other.
Last thoughts
For me the ColorMunki Display did a superb job of tuning my two monitors of my desktop and my laptop, and it only took around five minutes per monitor. Shadow detail was greatly improved on my test photos and colors appeared uniform across all three screens. Due to the X-Rite ColorMuki Display I am sure that I am seeing accurate colors and experiencing the best possible image quality that my monitors are capable of displaying. It is quick and easy to use and delivers outstanding results.
Quick tip: Check also my review on the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport, as it can be found in a bundle with the ColorMunki Display.
About the Author: Cipri is the co-founder of Travelocafe and a tech nerd. He loves photographing people and details. He's set foot in 30 countries so far, but if you ask him, Japan is his favorite.
- Got 3 Birds With One Stone
I was scheduled for a carotid artery scan this afternoon, so on the off chance I could get the echocardiogram done today as well, I called and got an appointment. While waiting for that appointment I heard someone mention Holter monitor, and since...
- I'm Finally Wired!
Yesterday I re-read the instructions for about the 100th time and the light came on suddenly. I was looking for black and white patches, but the patches are all the same. It's the electrodes that lead from the monitor to attach to the patches that...
- Better Sound With Custom One Pro Headphones
When traveling you might not be able to take with you the Hi-Fi audio system from home, but you can definitely use some high quality headphones. Keeping this in mind I decided to take the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Headphones out for a spin. The...
- How To Improve Your Photography Using A Colorchecker
We always look for new ways to improve our photography, and though we came a long way, sometimes the secret is in the details. Up till now we were missing a simple but very important device in our field photography kit - a color checker. So when the guys...
- Adam - Travel With More Than Just An Ebook Reader
Adam, the new Notion Ink tabletWe all got used to the idea of having an ebook reader while traveling as it saves space and eventually money, but don't you just miss some of the comforts from home, like watching a movie or a favorite TV series...