Until very recently, if you tried to explain to an average Joe how to get accurate color on your computer monitor, you would be met by a pair of glazed-over eyes. The act of calibrating a monitor so the color is accurate when viewing a photograph seemed like a mystical formula that only rocket scientists and computer geeks could understand, and only professional photographers and pre-press publishing gurus could afford. The rest of us simply made do with computer monitor images that often looked totally different from what we saw in our cameras' LCD screens.
Then came HUEY.
The new $79.95 monitor calibrator was introduced last month at the PMA trade show in Orlando Florida, and was promptly awarded most innovative product in the show by DIMA, the Digital Imaging Marketing Association. The claim is that HUEY would provide accurate monitor color that would match what you see in your camera's LCD screen--and would likely give you a pretty good idea of what the print would look like. That got our attention, because inaccurate color on screen and in prints is the number one complaint we've heard from digital photographers. As soon as we could get our hands on one, we put HUEY through its paces and see if it is, as claimed, the easiest monitor calibration system available.
It didn't take us long to find out the answer.
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HUEY at a glance
Key features:
- Corrects monitor color
- Designed for snapshooters and hobbyists
- Colorimeter is easy to set up
- Softare holds your hand through process
- Adjusts for different uses--image editing, gaming, etc.
- Automatically adjusts for changes in room light
- Price: $79.95
Best suited for:
- Snapshooters
- Enthusiasts
- Computer "beginners"
Not recommended for:
- Professional photographers
- Pre-press professionals
- Any application requiring critical color accuracy
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Out of the box
HUEY consists of a stick-like thingie, called a Colorimeter, which attaches to your computer monitor (LCD or CRT) via eight little suction cups; a holder for the Colorimeter; and a CD with the accompanying software. The unit connects to the computer via a USB cable, and will calibrate an LCD or CRT monitor, and will work on both desktop and laptop computers. There is also a monitor cleaning wipe cloth; if there is dust on the monitor, the Colorimeter might not attach properly.
Step by step
The process of calibrating your monitor takes seven easy steps, which I completed in less than ten minutes on my Apple iBook. (For the sake of equal time, I also calibrated my daughter's $500 Dell laptop running Windows ME.)
Step 1: After wiping the screen clean, I installed the software--an easy process on both Mac and Windows computers that took a minute or so. No restart was necessary, but Pantone suggests keeping the monitor on for about half an hour before calibrating. This may mean disabling your computer's "sleep" mode temporarily. I simply worked on my computer continuously for 30 minutes before calibrating.
Step 2: I plugged HUEY into my computer via the USB port, and slipped the colorimeter into its desktop cradle. Sensors immediately lit up as it began reading the room's ambient light.
Step 3: I started up the HUEY software, and followed directions on a series of screens:
Start screen
Step 4: Pick your monitor type--LCD or CRT.
Step 5: Tell HUEY to take ambient light reading
Step 6: Following the directions on the above screen, I gently pressed the colorimeter's suction cups to the screen as instructed, then hit the "start" button onscreen and sat back. However, I suppose I didn't press it on quite hard enough, because after a moment the suction broke and it fell. I pressed a little harder, and started again. No sweat.A series of colors and grayscale tones flashed onscreen for about two minutes.
HUEY is reading colors as they are flashed for a few seconds.
Step 7: Just one more thing...I was asked what kind of viewing I was going to do with my computer, and I chose "view photos or surf the web." And that was it--I was done, and my monitor was calibrated.
The results
I immediately opened several pictures on my laptop and the same images on a non-calibrated iMac to compare, and even though I though I'd calibrated the iMac, there was a noticeable difference. The calibrated images looked closer to what I saw on my camera's LCD screen at its most neutral monitor brightness setting.
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| Uncorrected image looks a bit too blue-green. |
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| Corrected version gives true-blue, and accurate skin tones. It worked! What? You don't see accurate colors? You need HUEY! |
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And, miracle of miracles, the images I called up on my HUEY-calibrated Windows PC matched the images on my Mac! This is despite the fact that the monitor on my Dell was not as bright as my Mac's.
However, the calibration accuracy depends on consistent lighting. You will get more accurate colors if you work with the lights off, but HUEY does take ambient light into account so as long as the light isn't hitting the screen directly, you should be seeing accurate color. If you use a laptop and change your working area, you should re-calibrate to take the new ambient light into account.
(A note to pro photographers who need mission-critical color: HUEY is not designed for that kind of work, and analizes a relatively limited color palate; that's fine for snapshooters and enthusiasts, but working pros will want to check out more advanced color calibration systems, such as those offered by Gretag Macbeth, ColorVisiion, or LaCie. But don't worry, they still aren't rocket science, despite what you might've heard!)
The verdict
HUEY has finally made it easy and inexpensive for anyone who owns a computer to see accurate image color on their monitor. It is simple to use, and it works.
If you own a compact digital camera, EVF, or consumer-grade DSLR, and you regularly look at your photos on your monitor, HUEY has burst on the scene as a must-have accessory.
© 2006 Adorama
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