Table of Contents
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Spyder5 User's Guide
Spyder
5EXPRESS
®
Hobbyist photographers seeking a simple monitor color calibration solution.
Next Generation Spyder5 colorimeter with dual purpose lens cap and
counterweight, improved tonal response, and the industry's only patented 7-
detector optical engine
See and share your images as you intended with confidence
Simple 4 step process guides you to a precise calibration giving you
exceptional color accuracy for image display and printing
"Before and After" evaluation of your calibration results using a professional
Datacolor composite image
Fast and easy, calibration takes about five minutes to ensure your color
accuracy
Multiple Monitor Support of all your laptop and desktop monitors including
wide gamut, LED and 4k/5k displays
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Table of Contents
Summary of Contents for Datacolor Spyder5 Express
- Page 1 Simple 4 step process guides you to a precise calibration giving you exceptional color accuracy for image display and printing “Before and After” evaluation of your calibration results using a professional Datacolor composite image Fast and easy, calibration takes about five minutes to ensure your color accuracy ...
- Page 2 “Before and After” evaluation of your calibration results using a professional Datacolor composite image or your own images in full screen mode to examine nuances which are most important to you Multiple Monitor Support of all your laptop and desktop monitors including wide gamut, LED and 4k/5k displays, and front projectors ...
- Page 3 perfectionist including the better gray balance algorithm for the smoothest gradients possible Video standards for the pro crossing over to motion Advanced Monitor Quality Analysis module lets you monitor and compare the health of all your laptop and desktop monitors including screen uniformity...
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Page 4: Table Of Contents
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION WHAT’S IN THE BOX SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS SPYDER5 COMPARISON CHART SERIALIZATION AND ACTIVATION SOFTWARE LAYOUT SPYDER5EXPRESS ELCOME CREEN ELECT ISPLAY ISPLAY AKE AND ODEL ALIBRATION AVE PROFILE PYDER ROOF SPYDER5PRO ELCOME CREEN ELECT ISPLAY ISPLAY DENTIFY ONTROLS AKE AND ODEL ALIBRATION... - Page 5 AVE PROFILE HECK PYDER ROOF PYDER ROFILE VERVIEW HORTCUTS ISPLAY NALYSIS GLOSSARY OF TERMS FAQ’S...
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Page 6: Introduction
Introduction Thank you for purchasing your new Spyder5 Color Calibrator. This document will offer a step-by-step guide for using your Spyder5 Calibrator to get the best possible color from your laptop and/or desktop display(s). -
Page 7: What's In The Box
What’s in the Box Spyder5 Sensor Serial Number Welcome Card with Welcome page details Link to download the Spyder5 software System Requirements Windows 7 32/64, Windows 8.0, 8.1 32/64 Mac OS X 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, 10.10 ... -
Page 8: Spyder5 Comparison Chart
Laptops Laptops Laptops Multiple Desktop monitors Desktop monitors Desktop monitors Monitor Front projectors Support StudioMatch Assistant Standard Datacolor Standard Datacolor Before & After Image Image Standard Datacolor Calibration Image Imported User Images Evaluation Imported User Images (Full Screen Mode) -
Page 9: Serialization And Activation
Serialization and Activation The Spyder5 Activation is the same for all 3 models. The software wizard will walk you through the activation process step-by-step. First, make sure that your Spyder5 is plugged into a USB port on your computer; make sure it is a direct port, not on a keyboard, hub, or extension cable. - Page 10 With the easy automated activation, please make sure that your computer is connected to the internet and that no firewall blocks your Spyder software from communicating with the Datacolor activation server.
- Page 11 Save the email with the license code, you will need this if you want to use the device on another computer.
- Page 12 Datacolor. We recommend clicking yes to both of these as new updates come out frequently which can improve the quality of your calibration. We collect calibration information from our users to improve our products.
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Page 13: Software Layout
Software Layout The software that comes with your Spyder5 is a wizard, which will walk you through the process step-by-step. We have outlined the steps below based on which unit you purchased, as each have different controls. Some of the similarities in the software versions are outlined here: While you are working with the software, you will see an Interactive Help screen on the right hand side as you are navigating through the steps, describing the buttons and windows in this area to explain the functionality of each feature. -
Page 14: Spyder5Express
Spyder5EXPRESS Welcome Screen The first time you run the Spyder5EXPRESS software, you will be greeted with a Welcome Screen: There are 4 Checkboxes on this screen: 1) Warm Up Please make sure that your display has been powered up for at least 30 minutes prior to doing a calibration. -
Page 15: Select Display
Select Display If you have more than one display connected to your computer, you can select which display to calibrate in this drop-down menu. The software will automatically move to the selected display to run the calibration. Once you have completed this step, please click the “Next” button in the lower right corner. -
Page 16: Display Type
Display Type Here you will choose whether you are using a Desktop or a Laptop Display. Once you have completed this step, please click the “Next” button in the lower right corner. -
Page 17: Make And Model
Make and Model Please choose the Manufacturer of your display in this screen and enter the display model. -
Page 18: Calibration
Calibration This screen shows you where to place the Spyder5 unit for the calibration process. Remove the cover of the sensor as it is used as a counter-weight so that the unit remains in place and flat against the screen. We recommend that you slightly tilt your display back so the unit rests against the monitor without you having to hold it in place, as any movement can cause a poor calibration. - Page 19 Once the unit is in place, click the next button to proceed with the calibration. A series of color patches will flash on the screen, this process takes approximately 5-6 minutes. Once the measuring is completed, click on the “Finish” button to proceed.
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Page 20: Save Profile
Save profile After the calibration is complete, the Save Profile window will appear. Enter the name you would like to save the profile as. Here is a sample file name we think works best to keep an archive of your monitor profiles: “Make_Model_yyyymmdd(date)_ver1”... -
Page 21: Spyderproof
SpyderProof The SpyderProof window allows you to compare between your new calibrated and old uncalibrated image by clicking on the “Switch” button. You can click inside an image to zoom into it for more detail in both calibrated and uncalibrated views. Once you are done with this screen you can click on “Quit”... -
Page 22: Spyder5Pro
Spyder5PRO Welcome Screen The first time you run the Spyder5PRO software, you will be greeted with a Welcome Screen: There are 4 Checkboxes on this screen: 1) Warm Up Please make sure that your display has been powered up for at least 30 minutes prior to doing a calibration. -
Page 23: Select Display
Select Display If you have more than one display connected to your computer, you can select which display to calibrate in this drop-down menu. The software will automatically move to the selected display to run the calibration. Once you have completed this step, please click the “Next” button in the lower right corner. -
Page 24: Display Type
Display Type Here you will choose whether you are using a Desktop or a Laptop Display. Once you have completed this step, please click the “Next” button in the lower right corner. -
Page 25: Identify Controls
Identify Controls If you are calibrating a desktop monitor, here is where you will let the software know if you have Brightness and/or Kelvin preset controls on your monitor. -
Page 26: Make And Model
Make and Model Please choose the Manufacturer of your display in this screen and enter the display model. -
Page 27: Calibration Settings
Calibration Settings If this is your first time calibrating this display, you will automatically have Full Calibration selected here. On subsequent calibrations you can choose doing a FullCAL, a ReCAL, or a CheckCAL. A FullCAL will perform a full calibration of your display. -
Page 28: Measuring Room Light
Measuring Room Light If you have selected “Room Light On-Recommended” on a desktop machine, or “Room Light Off-Recommended” on a laptop, the software will now want to take a reading of your room light. Place the Spyder on your desk and click the next button; a reading of your room light will be taken. - Page 29 The software will recommend target settings here as well based on the room lighting level. You can choose to accept these targets or continue with the targets you have already chosen. Please click ”Next” to proceed to the Calibration window.
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Page 30: Calibration
Calibration If you have selected “Room Light On-Recommended” on the previous screen, a dialogue will pop up asking you to stay at your computer for the beginning of the calibration process to adjust your brightness level. The calibration process will stop about a minute into the process and ask you to adjust your display brightness to the recommended level. - Page 31 Once the unit is in place, click the next button to proceed with the calibration. A series of color patches will flash on the screen, this process takes approximately 5-6 minutes. Once the measuring is completed, click on the “Finish” button to proceed.
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Page 32: Save Profile
Save profile After the calibration is complete, the Save Profile window will appear. Enter the name you would like to save the profile as. Here is a sample file name we thinks works best to keep an archive of your monitor profiles: “Make_Model_yyyymmdd(date)_ver1”... -
Page 33: Recal
ReCAL After you have already Fully Calibrated your display, you can do a ReCAL, this will save time versus doing a FullCAL. Select ReCAL from the Calibration Settings Window and proceed as in the full calibration. -
Page 34: Checkcal
CheckCAL A CheckCAL will quickly see if your display is in need of a calibration: It will measure a small amount of color patches and either gives you two checks or one or two X’s, which mean you will need to recalibrate. -
Page 35: Spyderproof
SpyderProof The SpyderProof window allows you to compare between your new calibrated and old uncalibrated image by clicking on the “Switch” button. You can click inside an image to zoom into it for more detail in both calibrated and uncalibrated views. At the bottom of this screen you will see “SpyderProof Image: with a drop down menu. -
Page 36: Profile Overview
Profile Overview On this screen you will view your current display’s gamut and be able to compare it to industry standards; sRGB, NTSC, and AdobeRGB. You can also choose profiles you have made previously to see how they compare. Once you are done with this screen you can click on “Quit” to exit the software, or “Calibrate Another Display”... -
Page 37: Shortcuts
Shortcuts In the lower left corner of the software window is the “Shortcuts” drop down menu. Here you can quickly access: Display Type, Calibration, SpyderProof, and Display Analysis. -
Page 38: Display Analysis
Display Analysis This is a series of 4 tests you can perform on your monitor to see its strengths and weaknesses. These tests can be accessed through “Shortcuts” dropdown or directly from the Spyder5 program folder at /Support/Spyder5ProMQA. These tests include: Gamut Graphs the display’s color saturation... -
Page 39: Spyder5Elite
Spyder5ELITE Welcome Screen The first time you run the Spyder5ELITE software, you will be greeted with a Welcome Screen: There are 4 Checkboxes on this screen: 1) Warm Up Please make sure that your display has been powered up for at least 30 minutes prior to doing a calibration. - Page 40 These checkboxes will only be activated the first time you run the software, the next time you run the software the reminders will show up, but you will not need to check the boxes again. Once you have completed this step, please click the “Next” button in the lower right corner.
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Page 41: Select Workflow
Select Workflow In this window you can select which calibration mode you want to use: Step-by-step Assistant – the software assistant will walk you through each step of the process. StudioMatch – this will match all of your studio displays as closely as possible. -
Page 42: Step-By-Step Assistant
Step-by-step Assistant If this is your first time calibrating this display, you will automatically have Full Calibration selected here. On subsequent calibrations you can choose doing a FullCAL, a ReCAL, or a CheckCAL. A FullCAL will perform a full calibration of your display. A ReCAL will recalibrate your display. - Page 43 The next dropdown is where you will also choose whether or not to read your room light to help set the brightness of your display properly based on the level of lighting in your room. Once you have made your selections click next to move onto the next screen.
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Page 44: Studiomatch
StudioMatch Choose the displays you would like to match using the StudioMatch feature. StudioMatch allows you to get a consistent picture on all of the displays, attached to your workstation. If you are trying to match displays from another machine, please enter the lowest Brightness Value on this page as well. -
Page 45: Measuring Room Light
Measuring Room Light If you have selected “Room Light On-Recommended” on a desktop machine, or “Room Light Off-Recommended” on a laptop, the software will now want to take a reading of your room light. Place the Spyder on your desk and click the next button; a reading of your room light will be taken. - Page 46 Click “Next” and you will be prompted to save this target. Once it is saved, the software will show you where the file is. If you are calibrating monitors connected to another computer, you will copy this file to the other computers and select this file when calibrating.
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Page 47: Expert Console
Expert Console In the Expert Console you have access to all of the settings in one screen. You will first select the display you wish to calibrate from the drop down menu. Below that, you can choose a custom target that you created previously, or choose a standard target from the list, the 2.2-6500 120 is the usual default, but feel free to change it to what you need for your purposes. -
Page 48: Calibration
Calibration If you have selected “Room Light On-Recommended” on the previous screen, a dialogue will pop up asking you to stay at your computer for the beginning of the calibration process to adjust your brightness level. The calibration process will stop about a minute into the process and ask you to adjust your display brightness to the recommended level, once you have made an adjustment, either up or down, hit the “Update”... - Page 49 Once the unit is in place, click the next button to proceed with the calibration. A series of color patches will flash on the screen; this process takes approximately 5-6 minutes. If you choose Grey Calibration “Better”, this process takes 1-3 minutes longer.
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Page 50: Save Profile
Save profile After the calibration is complete, the Save Profile window will appear. Enter the name you would like to save the profile as. Here is a sample file name we think works best to keep an archive of your monitor profiles: “Make_Model_yyyymmdd(date)_ver1”... -
Page 51: Recal
ReCAL After you have already Fully Calibrated your display, you can do a ReCAL, this will save time versus doing FullCAL. Select ReCAL from the Calibration Settings Window and proceed as in the full calibration. -
Page 52: Checkcal
CheckCAL A CheckCAL will quickly see if your display is in need of a calibration: It will measure a small amount of color patches and either give you two checks or one or two X’s, which mean you will need to recalibrate. -
Page 53: Spyderproof
SpyderProof The SpyderProof window allows you to compare between your new calibrated and old uncalibrated image by clicking on the “Switch” button. You can click inside an image to zoom into it for more detail in both calibrated and uncalibrated views. At the bottom of this screen you will see “SpyderProof Image: with a drop down menu. -
Page 54: Spydertune
SpyderTune These settings should only be changed if you want to match multiple monitors with different backlight technologies, as it will change the precise correction done by the Spyder5 calibration. When done properly, a StudioMatch calibration will match multiple displays. If you are using multiple displays and they work with different backlight technologies and different panels, it gets complicated to match them together. - Page 55 Which display should be adjusted? We recommend you to use your better display as primary one and only change the secondary display's calibration with SpyderTune to match their view. Switch Once you're SpyderTune corrections are done, be sure you compare with the original Spyder5 calibration by clicking the "Switch"...
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Page 56: Profile Overview
Profile Overview On this screen you will view your current display’s gamut and be able to compare it to industry standards; sRGB, NTSC, and AdobeRGB. You can also choose profiles you have made previously to see how they compare. Once you are done with this screen you can click on “Quit” to exit the software, or “Calibrate Another Display”... -
Page 57: Shortcuts
Shortcuts In the lower left corner of the software window is the “Shortcuts” drop down menu. Here you can quickly access: Display Type, Calibration, Expert Console, SpyderTune, SpyderProof, StudioMatch, and Display Analysis. -
Page 58: Display Analysis
Display Analysis This is a series of 6 tests you can perform on your monitor to see its strengths and weaknesses. You can access these tests through the “Shortcuts” dropdown or directly from the Spyder5 program folder at /Support/Spyder5EliteMQA. These tests include: Gamut Graphs the display’s color saturation Tone Response... - Page 59 When performing the Brightness and Contrast test, the first portion of the test will have you set your display to 0% brightness. Once you click the measure button it will take about 10 seconds to perform the test. As your screen will be fully dimmed it will be impossible to see when the test is complete, please wait about 10 seconds before turning the brightness up a bit to continue.
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Page 60: Glossary Of Terms
Glossary of Terms AdobeRGB Default color space for computer displays. Ambient Light Light from any source, other than the display, that reaches the screen surface. Brightness Amount of light radiating from the screen. Calibrate To measure and correct by comparison with a standard, of the correct value or each reading on a measuring instrument. - Page 61 Tone Lightness, brightness or value of a patch in an image: dark tones correspond to shadows, light tones correspond to highlight areas. White Point (See Color Temperature.)
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Page 62: Faq's
Datacolor is constantly working to improve and upgrade our software. These updates are then posted in the ‘Software Upgrades’ section of our website, where our customers can download them free of charge. The only thing the customer needs in order to successfully install their Datacolor update is their serial number. - Page 63 8. Where is my software serial number? Your serial number will be either 17 or 18 digits long; depending on your application. It is located on the inside of your box under the hardware device. Please do not confuse this with the hardware serial number for your hardware device(s).
- Page 64 10. What is Datacolor’s technical support policy? Datacolor provides technical support at no additional charge. If you have a question, please visit our support site: support.datacolor.com...