SpyderX Pro - Advanced Monitor Calibration

I recently tried the Datacolor SpyderX Pro for monitor calibration, and it has been a game-changer for my photography and gaming. The device is compact and easy to use, with a lens-based colour engine that ensures greater accuracy. The calibration process is straightforward and quick, taking only about five minutes for the initial setup and around two to three minutes for subsequent calibrations The software is user-friendly and guides you through each step, making it accessible even for those who are new to monitor calibration. The results are impressive, with noticeable improvements in colour accuracy and consistency across my displays1. This has made a significant difference in my editing process, ensuring that the colours I see on my screen match the final prints and digital outputs. Overall, the Datacolor SpyderX Pro is an excellent choice for photographers and videographers and gamers who want to maintain colour accuracy.

The colour of my monitor is not factory calibrated and I love doing photography and videography. I was expecting like a 30 minutes process. But, the Datacolor SpyderX Elite took me by surprise by how fast and easy the process is with accurate the results.

The device itself is well made and works very well with a long USB 'C' cable and a 'B' adapter. The same cannot be said for the software. I got errors on my first calibration, which sent me into a lot of troubleshooting. I am not a novice with PCs and have been using and building my own PCs for years. To help: this is what I did to get it to work. 1. Install the supplied software as administrator and run it as administrator of the PC/laptop. 2. Switched off some defaults in the graphics card settings - this varies by manufacturer. For nVidia: in Change Resolution - use Default colour settings. In Adjust Desktop Colour Settings - untick the Override to reference mode. This makes it use the operation system profile, or, the calibration will error. 3. Reset both monitors and switch off all 'auto' features of the monitor/monitors in question 4. Understand how Colour Management works in Windows 11, especially setting ICC colour profiles. See below. I needed two screens to match in terms of colour output (one is 1440p 240hz, the other 1080p 75hz), and after two hours of trial and error, I finally got the point that the calibration would run without errors. Then, the profile would not 'save', reporting an error in the software. It did save, and it was written directly to the right folder; I found it there. So, I had to apply this manually. See point 4 above. The profile matched the monitors well enough (better than I could by fiddling around), and I needed to make very minor modifications as the viewing angle of the second screen was slightly different. It took seconds, and it was not the product's fault. In short, it works, but not without some serious in-depth troubleshooting. On points 2 and 4, this is not listed on the company website. I gave it four stars as the result is excellent, a very good colour match, and counter-intuitive to my knowledge of brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, etc. I will keep it and hope the software is upgraded over time.

I'm a full time wedding photographer and colour consistent is very important for me. I have had my Benq monitor for just over a year and I realised my colours were matching the prints, phone or iPad screen. After reading lots of reviews I decided to go with SpyderX. It was very easy to install,very straight forward. Calibrating was just as easy,only a few adjustments and few clicks on the screen. It did make a big difference, my colour are a lot more accurate now ,although I have to say it does give a slight reddish tint after calibration but everything else seems fine. If you are serious about your colours and white balance you probably need one of these. I will write another update after a few months of use.

Great little device. I'd gotten into astrophotography and find that depending which monitor i was using i would get vert different results. This has very quickly and easily got both of my screen within close range of each other. I was glad to see my Samsung G7 (G-sync) wasn't to far off but my Dell (g-sync) was miles off!

So easy to use, but absolutely critical for successful printing. Colour calibration of your monitor is still important even if you're sending files to a third party for printing......as you Dan assume that their monitors will be similarly calibrated. For home printing, it's invaluable, albeit pricey.

I had high hopes for this. I followed the instructions, which were very straightforward, and stood back to view the final results - with horror. Everything had a pink tint. I re-did it several times, always with the same ghastly outcome. Contact their support service, gave them all the details including an error message. They seemed familiar with this issue, and stated very clearly it was an issue with Windows 10, and not their device or software. They re-iterated this several times, and pinpointed it down to a specific Windows update. I was given very clear instructions, which I followed to the letter, and which made no difference whatsoever. After being given essentially the same advice by 3 different technical support people, a 4th person then seemed to completely misinterpret everything and gave me a list of instructions for how to fix a flicker when you plug things into the USB device. After wasting hours trying and re-trying their unsuccessful remedies, I gave up and sent it back for a refund. Given how many positive reviews there are, I believe this is probably a good piece of kit. BUT it clearly has problem with Windows 10 that they do not know how to fix. Update: another member of their customer support team contacted me with yet another supposed fix, which doubtlessly would not have worked. I explained that I had given up and sent the device back for a refund. A received a rather defensive and unnecessary reply stating again that the problem was with microsoft, and that "99%" of users who experienced this problem were able to get the device to function using one of their workarounds. The message finished by saying there were still two possible solutions: a) "revert to the previous Windows 10 Build or b) wait until Microsoft releases a fix". Not sure if these were intended to be serious suggestions, or just an attempt to have the last word. Whichever, I have reduced my rating to one star as a result.

Monitor calibration used to be a titanic faff - and create as many problems as it 'solved'. This thing is so easy to use - and the punch-line is that its one of the cheapest on the market. I've got the base-model 'Pro' version, and don't regret it - the Elite version adds a few knobs and whistles that even the most serious amateur photographer can easily do without. Of course, there are calibrators that will set-up both the monitor and your printer - however, they are considerably more expensive, and I've never been convinced of claims to match an additive colour process (the monitor) to a subtractive colour process (the printer/a print-out). Physics will only allow such a calibration to get 'sort-of-close-ish' - I've never seen a truly close match in over 35 years as a professional graphic designer. Refining the set-up of my inkjet printer, thought, is the next step. Have only been using my SpyderX Pro for a short while so can't honestly/definitively comment on how it effects on-screen image processing and the final print-outs/hard-copies until after a little more experimentation. However, it is immediately obvious that monitors are over-bright by a good margin - presumably to add 'punch' to on-screen image display, which would explain the usually over-dark printouts I've experieinced before applying the SpyderX Pro.