I've been researching probes and software setups. HCFR looks nice but does not support anything beyond the i1 probes and the home made probe. Calman is funny, I hate the user interface, frankly it's a pain with the frames in the window. Non static frames on each side, one with tiny text, the program has memory problems (according to IDA Pro as it kept throwing some weird errors when I exited in my environment) and just seems unpolished to me I don't know who made that program but it is very unintuitive. However, it seems to be the best software out there that is actually affordable and I have no doubts about it's accuracy. I just wish the UI actually didn't completely suck. Then there are other software packages like Sencore's CP6000 and Progressive Lab's CA-6X setups.

As for probes, from what I can tell, without having to spend 20g's on a PhotoResearch probe, the i1probe is the best, except it can't do low light measurements and I guess anything below 30% gray it sucks. So then there is the i1 Display 2/LT but again they aren't as accurate overall however I read that the Display 2/LT is better below 30% gray.

Then you have the CP5/Chroma5 OEM'd from X-Rite, this seems to do it all no problem. Low light, color etc... it seems it would be superior to the i1Pro however I always see it compared to the i1pro as if the i1pro were superior in accuracy. I'm very confused, if the i1pro sucks at low light and is not as accurate, but the Chroma 5 excells at low light then why is the i1pro still the better option? Seems like it would be very annoying and frustrating to use an i1pro and have bad sub 30% gray level readings.

I noticed Calman has the Chroma 5 marked as "professional" only.. and at a price of 400$ while the i1pro is 700$.

I am just getting conflicting signs about which probe is better and which software is better.

Any advice/opinions would be great.

Thank you

Calman is funny, I hate the user interface, frankly it's a pain with the frames in the window. Non static frames on each side, one with tiny text, the program has memory problems (according to IDA Pro as it kept throwing some weird errors when I exited in my environment) and just seems unpolished to me I don't know who made that program but it is very unintuitive. However, it seems to be the best software out there that is actually affordable and I have no doubts about it's accuracy. I just wish the UI actually didn't completely suck.

Any advice/opinions would be great.

Thank you

I don't know where to start so here goes:

The uses interface was designed in part by a large team of users selected for their diverse background and knowledge of calibration from the absolute beginner to the seasoned pro. We get emails and complements all the time on it's design and use. BTW, those side frames can be closed if you don't want or need them. Not sure what you mean by unpolished but each step in setup and in the calibration workflow were carefully designed and placed in the sequence needed. The help documentation and system are well beyond what you will find in any other calibration product in the market from free to costing many thousands of dollars.

As for the memory issue I would like to know more about your environment. We build and test with some very rigid standards some would even say old school; we don’t take memory or disk space for granted even on today’s computers that have gigabytes of memory and terabytes of disk.

Don't get me wrong about my above comments we enjoy getting feedback positive or negative I'm just finding it hard to understand how you have had such a negative experience when most find it just the opposite. Anyway we are always working on a newer version and will be for the next couple of years. If you would like to join one of our beta teams you are more than welcome to just contact us.

As for probes, from what I can tell, without having to spend 20g's on a PhotoResearch probe, the i1probe is the best, except it can't do low light measurements and I guess anything below 30% gray it sucks. So then there is the i1 Display 2/LT but again they aren't as accurate overall however I read that the Display 2/LT is better below 30% gray.

Then you have the CP5/Chroma5 OEM'd from X-Rite, this seems to do it all no problem. Low light, color etc... it seems it would be superior to the i1Pro however I always see it compared to the i1pro as if the i1pro were superior in accuracy. I'm very confused, if the i1pro sucks at low light and is not as accurate, but the Chroma 5 excells at low light then why is the i1pro still the better option? Seems like it would be very annoying and frustrating to use an i1pro and have bad sub 30% gray level readings.

I noticed Calman has the Chroma 5 marked as "professional" only.. and at a price of 400$ while the i1pro is 700$.

I am just getting conflicting signs about which probe is better and which software is better.

With CalMAN we have support for the i1Pro down to 0.5 cd/m2 and get very repeatable results at that level so yes the i1Pro does work at low levels just not as low as the Display2 or Chroma5 at 0.05 cd/m2. So unless you are calibrating a CRT front projector off of the screen the i1Pro is still the best all around choice and is used by many Pro's.

I don't know where to start so here goes:

The uses interface was designed in part by a large team of users selected for their diverse background and knowledge of calibration from the absolute beginner to the seasoned pro. We get emails and complements all the time on it's design and use. BTW, those side frames can be closed if you don't want or need them. Not sure what you mean by unpolished but each step in setup and in the calibration workflow were carefully designed and placed in the sequence needed. The help documentation and system are well beyond what you will find in any other calibration product in the market from free to costing many thousands of dollars.

As for the memory issue I would like to know more about your environment. We build and test with some very rigid standards some would even say old school; we don’t take memory or disk space for granted even on today’s computers that have gigabytes of memory and terabytes of disk.

Don't get me wrong about my above comments we enjoy getting feedback positive or negative I'm just finding it hard to understand how you have had such a negative experience when most find it just the opposite. Anyway we are always working on a newer version and will be for the next couple of years. If you would like to join one of our beta teams you are more than welcome to just contact us.

I'm actually an R&D engineer (software and hardware) for a silicon valley company and I think all of the calibration products I've seen have bad UI's but I guess thats just me. I'll have to see if I can recreate the issue I ad with calman.

Do you have any opinions on the probe situation? I noticed on your page you have a package that includes both the i1pro and the Chroma5.. are both really needed? Seems kind of redundant ? If I am wrong with them being redundant than why? Just curious.. I can't seem to find any concrete answers to any of this. Some threads say the i1pro is the best overall, some say the Display2/LT is better in some cases, I don't get it.

I'm actually an R&D engineer (software and hardware) for a silicon valley company and I think all of the calibration products I've seen have bad UI's but I guess thats just me. I'll have to see if I can recreate the issue I ad with calman.

Do you have any opinions on the probe situation? I noticed on your page you have a package that includes both the i1pro and the Chroma5.. are both really needed? Seems kind of redundant ? If I am wrong with them being redundant than why? Just curious.. I can't seem to find any concrete answers to any of this. Some threads say the i1pro is the best overall, some say the Display2/LT is better in some cases, I don't get it.

The situation we run in to with meters under 1k is there is no one solution. The x-rite TriStims are very fast and have good accuracy at low light where the i1Pro is slower and only goes down to 0.5 cd/m2. At higher light levels the i1Pro comes in to it own is the most accurate and is faster. So that's why we have a bundle that includes both the Chroma5 and the i1Pro. In our next release we will have an advanced version of meter profiling not just a simple 3x3 XYZ matrix. With meter profiling you can take a TriStim and profile to a higher end meter like the i1Pro and get the best of both worlds speed and accuracy at both ends low and high.

in your opinion, what is the best overall probe, the i1pro or the Chroma 5.. which one will provide the best overall accuracy in all aspects of calibration.

in your opinion, what is the best overall probe, the i1pro or the Chroma 5.. which one will provide the best overall accuracy in all aspects of calibration.

If I could have or use only a single meter then it would be the i1Pro. With CalMAN's low light handlers being able to get the i1Pro down to 0.5 cd/m2 that will cover most of the display types being calibrated. Plus our ability “the human eye” to perceive color errors at that level is very low.

ok good to know... thank you very much for answering my questions. I thought the talk about the i1pro and people's frustrations with using it at low IRE's was contrary to the great things I heard about it, but if you say Calman corrects for this in an accurate way then I'll trust your judgement. I've seen some ISF people use the C5 (in some form or another, from Sencore or whoever). Is the i1pro also used in this capacity?

Also, it's very unclear on the website, what exactly are the differencs between the Calman Pro and Consumer? Is it just reporting/C3/meter support functionality or does the Pro provide more Calibration techniques or anything that would substantially be missed in the consumer version. The pro version I assume is targeted to integrators and people who do this fulltime and need the reporting functionality for their business.

I am also wondering why the C5 is pro version only when the i1pro is consumer / pro when you say the i1pro is the best overall.. I would expect the i1pro to be pro version only.. I gues that also contirbuted to my confusion.

I've seen some ISF people use the C5 (in some form or another, from Sencore or whoever). Is the i1pro also used in this capacity?

Yes many pro calibrators use the i1Pro or the i1Monitor an older version of the i1Pro. Sencore has been OEMing from x-rite for a long time ever since it was from Sequel Imaging. They have the ColorPro II, III and IV which are earlier versions of what is now the C5, rumors also have it they will also have the C5 as the ColorPro V or VI. Sencore also has the OTC1000 which is OEMed from x-rite Hubble. We support all of the above.

Also, it's very unclear on the website, what exactly are the differencs between the Calman Pro and Consumer? Is it just reporting/C3/meter support functionality or does the Pro provide more Calibration techniques or anything that would substantially be missed in the consumer version. The pro version I assume is targeted to integrators and people who do this fulltime and need the reporting functionality for their business.

The main difference between our consumer and pro versions is the hardware supported and the use license. The consumer version excludes the high end meters, pattern generators and is for personal use only. Both version will have reporting it just the pro version will allow you to completely customize the reports.

I am also wondering why the C5 is pro version only when the i1pro is consumer / pro when you say the i1pro is the best overall.. I would expect the i1pro to be pro version only.. I gues that also contirbuted to my confusion.

You are right both the i1Pro and Chroma5 should only be in our pro version. The i1Pro was the first meter we added support for right after the Spyder2 in CalMAN v2. At that time we did not have a pro version and the product was geared towards the enthusiast. So it's a bit of legacy as to why we have the i1Pro as an option in the consumer version.

So it sounds like my best bet (in my case) is Calman consumer + an i1pro... which I can conveniently buy as a bundle through your site ;-)

Thanks for the clarification.. I'm sure I was not the only person who was a little confused with all of this.

So it sounds like my best bet (in my case) is Calman consumer + an i1pro... which I can conveniently buy as a bundle through your site ;-)

Thanks for the clarification.. I'm sure I was not the only person who was a little confused with all of this.

Plus we have them in stock and usually ship the same day.

Derek has covered most of it, but a couple of points that bear mentioning on our "Pro Starter Kit" is that a professional who does calibrations for a living doesn't want to have any unplanned downtime due to a meter failure. Some professionals use dual i1 Pros, but others have a colorimeter, which is faster, for grayscale work and an i1 Pro for broader gamut work.

I echo Derek's comments that if I only had one meter, I would take the i1 Pro. It's more responsive to varying illumination types than the filter-based units. However, for an individual user, you can tailor your purchase a bit more to your specific needs/tastes in display technology (e.g., if you don't like 1-chip DLPs, then a meter that handles these well is irrelevant).

Bill