Spyder 2PRO Studio review

No two monitors look the same.

Even if we ignore the many adjustments that can be made to brightness, contrast and colour balance, there's enough variation between displays, even those of the same model, to ensure that an image viewed on one screen will never look quite the same on another.

If you're working with digital photographs or any kind of colour images that will need to be printed or displayed on a system other than your own, the only way you can be sure of getting your colours right is by calibrating your system. Similarly, if you're dealing with images created by someone else, you'll need a calibrated monitor to be sure the pictures look as the author intended.

Spyder 2PRO Studio is a professional monitor calibration system that consists of a hardware measurement device, called a colorimeter, and software that guides you through the wizard-driven processes of measuring your monitor's colour output. An integrated counterweight keeps the device in place on your screen while you run through the menus. The whole process takes about fifteen minutes and can run unattended once the necessary options have been selected.

The result of this process is an ICC profile that describes exactly which colours your display produces for any given RGB input values. You can also match your display to others for consistent viewing on multiple systems. After calibration you should find improved reproduction in flesh tones and an even tonal response across the whole range of colours and intensities. The built-in 'before and after' lets you preview exactly what's going to happen when the new profile is installed.

Spyder 2PRO Studio is at the top of a range of three monitor calibration products by Pantone and is therefore best suited to professionals. Colour science is a fearsomely complex subject and the 2PRO allows you to select and tweak just about every option you may want to adjust.

Dual monitor support is provided, so those of us who have more than one display on a single PC can now match two screens together, avoiding having to do colour work on just one screen. Both CRTs and LCDs are supported and the site licence that's included means that you can calibrate all the monitors in your company from one single purchase. It also works on both Windows and Macintosh systems.

If precise colour accuracy is a must for the success of your business, then this product will fulfil your needs admirably. This new version of the colorimeter hardware is five times more sensitive than its predecessor and the software has been revamped to allow more control, with a slicker, easier-to-use interface. It also comes bundled with ColorVision DoctorPRO profile editing software, Pantone Colorist for matching pantone colours and nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 SE photographic effects for Adobe Photoshop. For a limited time, Colour Confidence is also bundling a free Kodak Color Management Check-Up Kit (see page 58 for a full review).

If you have less exacting requirements for your colour management you should look at the mid-range Spyder2 or entry-level ColorPlus products, at £130 and £77 respectively.