bleirer

I just got a Spyderchecker 24 to test out. What it claims is to calibrate camera color output to a fixed standard. What it is is a card with 24 standard color squares, 6 greys from white to black in 20% jumps and the rest colors intended to correspond to hsl colors in lightroom etc.

The first time you use it, you take a picture of the card making sure not to blow any highlights then bring it into lightroom. In Lightroom you adjust white balance with the 20% grey square, adjust exposure slider until the white reads 90% and adjust black slider until it reads 4%. You then right click and choose to edit in Spyderchecker. In Spyderchecker you align the squares to their match on the card and save the result as a Lightroom preset. The preset adjusts the hsl colors to and fro so the colors match the standard card colors.

From now on you can use that preset with the same camera/lens combination or repeat to get presets for other lenses and cameras. In theory color will now be the same across all settings.

My question for the experts: you can choose between colorimetric, saturation, or portrait settings on the Spyderchecker. Which do you use and why?

Also, other color checkers such as xrite output to a camera profile rather than a preset. Is one method better or no difference?

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

The few times I used mine it worked well.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

My workflow includes the Xrite colorchecker. I have set profiles for generic lighting conditions, sunny, shade, etc. for each camera body for casual or impromptu shooting. They are not lens specific.

I do shoot the first frame to include the color checker for work and events, so I have a specific reference under whatever lighting temperatures for that series. I reshoot when I encounter changing ambient lighting, with or without OCF. I am not familiar with the Spyderchecker, but wouldn't the changing ambient lighting from day to day be a varying factor on your one group of settings?

bleirer

Good question. The Spyderchecker instructions don't say you should have a different preset for different light. It just says have one for each camera/lens combination. Do the xrite instructions tell you to have a different set for different light?

Is that something white balance should take care of?

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

White balance gets close for shooting, but I shoot a lot for interior designers and trades. The Color Checker creates a profile for the whole MacBeth color chart under specific lighting conditions. That gives me confidence the tonal hues are going to be correct for that shot, as my clients demand.

I have generic profiles and I shoot specific frames for custom profiles which I store with the original shots when I file them away. I don't keep those profiles in PS because I won't use them again. Xrite does say to include a reference shot in each lighting condition. The software generates a color profile automatically and includes it in ACR with whatever name I spec.

Light temperature always affects the white balance of your shoot. How does Syderchecker compensate for incandescent vs. blue hour if it relies on a single preset?

bleirer

I found this in the manual:

Creating Multiple Lightsource Calibrations
SpyderCHECKR's Tools menu contains commands for creating multiple
calibrations from any two existing Lightroom or ACR calibration presets.
Choose any two presets built for the same camera, and a series of three new
calibration presets will be created which offer increased precision for light
sources between the original sources. This function is of use mainly for
advanced processes such as museum photography.

Before creating a preset one is instructed to adjust white balance using a neutral patch on the color checker and to adjust exposure and black slider to set values, so the targets are all neutral as far as white balance and exposure, I guess that makes everything apples to apples.

tcthome Loc: NJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d5xSdin2GM

Watch this video. It is with the xrire color checker passport but, It will give you an idea of what is going on & if you use Lightroom, it will show how & why to create different camera profiles. You should be able to carry this over with your DataColor equipment. They probably have thier own You-Tube channel.

Here is a link to yours. Haven't watched but, probably what you need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmPg1qrC4QU

I do not know about the SyderChecker but X-Rite has upgraded so can use thiers with other software like Capture One.

tcthome Loc: NJ

Joe Brady did a vid saying you can go as far as to each camera/lens combo for each lighting condition. In a newer vid ,one for each camera under different light conditions, eg. , sunny, cloudy, shade, etc. A good practice is to take a pic of your card at each shoot & again if the light changes.

bleirer

Interesting videos, one was a little dated because now the Spyderchecker works fully from within Lightroom rather than having to save a pic to use in the standalone software.

Another interesting difference is the xrite works by making a camera profile, while the Datacolor makes a preset that adjusts the hsl sliders. Not sure if it is an important difference.