In summary
The Eye-One Display 2 is an upgrade to an earlier GretagMacbeth colorimeter and the entry-level device in a complex suite of colour management products for calibrating devices such as monitors, scanners, printers, digital cameras and projectors. (We plan to review the top-of-the-range product in the next issue of Photo Review.) Compatible with both Windows and Macintosh systems, Eye-One Display 2 can be used for profiling most monitors and scanners and comes with an excellent software bundle. . . [more]
Full review
Quality rating (out of 10) Build: 8.5Ease of use: 8.5Value for money: 8.5
The
Display 2 is an upgrade to an earlier GretagMacbeth colorimeter. It’s the entry-level unit in a complex suite of colour management products for calibrating devices such as monitors, scanners, printers, digital cameras and projectors. (We plan to review the top-of-the-range product in the next issue of Photo Review.) Compatible with both Windows and Macintosh systems, Eye-One Display 2 can be used for profiling most monitors and scanners and comes with an excellent software bundle containing:
- Eye-One Match, a step-by-step guide to creating and installing a monitor profile.
- Eye-One Share, which allows users to record colour and lighting parameters (ambient and flash), build and share custom colour palettes and capture spot colour data.
- Eye-One Diagnostics, a utility for checking the device’s performance.
- Eye-One ColorPoint, a Windows-only add-in to Microsoft’s PowerPoint that lets you achieve the same colours from a digital projector as you set up on your monitor.
There’s also a handy suite of Flash-based training modules that take you step-by-step through the calibration process, demonstrating both the Easy and Advanced modes. A Colour Knowledge button links to the Eye-One Colour website, which provides additional information about colour management – and GretagMacbeth products.
Despite its power and versatility, no technical knowledge is required to use the Eye-One Display 2 effectively. Designed for use with both LCD and CRT displays, the Display 2’s colorimeter has suction cups that stick to a CRT screen and a felt ring and counterweight for use with LCDs. Snapping on the supplied white plastic cover allows you to measure the ambient lighting in your work space and get feedback on whether your working environment is correctly lit for colour-critical work. It can also be used for measuring flash equipment. This is a new feature that sets the Display 2 ahead of competing products.
Two other new features put the Display 2 even further ahead. The sensor is faster and more accurate than its predecessor and provides superior results when setting up your display for shadow detail. The wizard-based Eye-One Match software is easy enough for novices, yet provides a wide range of controls for more experienced users. This versatility, along with easily-accessible online help, makes display calibration quick and straightforward.
Before starting the calibration process, you must allow the monitor to warm up for at least 30 minutes, disable any calibration software (such as Adobe Gamma) in the start-up menu and turn off all anti-virus, screen savers and energy savers on your PC so the screen remains active. Launching the Eye-One Match software activates the wizard-based interface and you’re prompted to position the colorimeter in the centre of the monitor you wish to calibrate and choose the type of monitor you are calibrating. Clicking on the Easy mode automates the process and defaults to the native settings for the monitor, operating system and video card without taking account of room lighting or other monitor adjustments. The Advanced mode gives full control over contrast, brightness and individual colour channel settings.
On test, we calibrated a CRT monitor in just five minutes, using the Easy mode. The Advanced mode took more than twice as long, due to the need to adjust monitor settings manually. After Advanced calibration, Eye-One Match displays the specified calibration aim points, along with the aim points actually produced, enabling users to see how close their profile is to the ideal. It also shows a gamut map of the current display profile. The software also has a reminder which alerts the user after one to four weeks to create a new monitor profile to ensure true and reliable colour over time.
For quick and painless calibration and profiling, the Eye-One Display 2 is hard to beat. We found calibrating the monitor in Easy mode produced a profile that is best described as ‘pleasing’ colour, with a slightly warm bias and marginally higher contrast and saturation than we achieved when calibrating with the Advanced mode, where we had more control over the end result. With practice, we could use this mode to balance the monitor to give a neutral grey balance for B&W printing or produce natural-looking flesh tones.
Eye-One Display can only calibrate one monitor per video card. Information on profiling multi-monitor set-ups can be found at www.i1color.com. A free download of Eye-One Match 3.0 is available for users of older Eye-One Display colorimeters on the same website.
Specifications
Device type: 3-channel colorimetric sensor
System requirements: Mac OS X (10.2 or higher), Windows 2000 or XP
Monitor resolution: 1024 x 768 pixels or higher
Interface: USB data and power supply
Data format: Luminance (cd/m2), chromaticity co-ordinates x, y (CIE 1931)
Refresh rate: Monitor frequencies from 40 Hz to 150 Hz
Time per measurement: Typically 1 second/batch
Dimensions (L x W x H): 84 x 64 x 35 mm
Weight: 52 grams
RRP: $500
Distributor: Kayell Australia; www.kayellaustralia.com.au.
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