Need Recommendations on NEC X-Rite Bundle - Each has a Color Device

[jsw_nz]

Need Recommendations on NEC X-Rite Bundle - Each has a Colorimeter

NEC MultiSync PA241W-BK
comes with SpectraView II Colorimeter and Software

and
X-Rite i1Photo Pro 2 Color Profiling Software Bundle
Comes with its own Spectrophotometer

Should I bypass the NEC with Colorimeter and just get the monitor standalone
- leaving profile and calibration to X-Rite
- advice is welcomed

ALSO
Is the X-Rite i1Photo Pro 2  significantly better than predeccessor
- confused about several packages (one 1249.00 to other 1499.00)

Gear to be used with a Canon - ipf8400 that's arriving next month.

thanks in advance
jsw_nz

[Mac Mahon]

The best s/w for calibrating/profiling the PA241W is Spectraview II.  Unless you need to profile a printer too, your most cost effective option is probably the monitor plus SV colorimeter and s/w.  If you want to do print profiling then you'll need the i1Pro with X-Rite's i1Profiler s/w.  The i1Pro can be used instead of the NEC colorimeter but SV II is still the best s/w for the monitor.

Tim

[jsiva]

I just did a bunch of research on this.

The PA series monitors in North America, regardless of whether you by the SV or the non-SV models are identical.  The only thing different is the bundled measurement hardware and Spectraview II software.

Spectraview II is key.  Unlike the usual profiling packages like iProfiler etc., Spectraview can interact directly with the NEC monitor and configure look-up tables.  This is different from the typical packages that are interacting via the video card.

You may by the non-SV monitor for 2 reasons:

1) you already have profiling software/hardware.  If this is the case, the strong recommendation is to still purchase Spectraview II.  It's fairly priced at $99.  In my case, I already had i1Pro and it is compatible with Spectraview II, so I went that route.

2) Nec also offers the measurement hardware (I believe it is OEM x-rite) and Spectraview II for $300.  Recently they have had some great prices on the non-SV, and so buying this package separately makes a lot of sense.  Adding this package to a non-SV package makes bring it up to the same level as the SV package, but likely at a lower price.

Hope this helps.

Jag

[jsw_nz]

HI Mac and Jag,

Thanks for your advice.

I my case the X-Rite i1Photo Pro 2 is the reason for the purchase of the monitor
- that is - it will be used in a color managed setup with ipf8400
- so that is the  priority.

The thought was to buy the full SV version of the monitor
- and to run the NEC Spectrview calibration setup first (lots of good reviews at B&H) - to get it up to speed....so to speak
- then to run the i1Photo Pro 2 to create final profiles...

Only concern it incompatibility - that somehow this will throw unknowns into the equation -
- I am new to this field - just trying to make sense of getting the best color management
setup around a monitor to print workflow on the ipf8400.

I think what you are both telling me is that the SV s/w is a good product (controls lookup tables)
- and that it 'should' be compatible with i1Photo Pro 2
- if money is not an issue (SV Version of monitor)
- going that route makes sense.

cheers
jsw_nz

[Czornyj]

I have iPF8300, NEC SpectraView display and X-Rite i1 Publish Pro2.

You don't necessarly need i1Photo Pro2 to profile your iPF8400 - it has improved multisensor (spectrodensitometer), so the intra-instrumental agreement is very good (0.6dE on avg.) - all you have to do is to perform autocalibration on some of Canon OEM media, and use standard profiles provided by paper manufacturers.

i1Photo Pro2 may be useful to create profiles with perceptual rendering intent tweaked to your taste, or getting optimal neutrality on OBA loaded media under certain light sources, or for tweaking the colour rendering for a specific spectrum of a light source, but basically you get decent results with your iPF8400 out of the box.

At the beginnig you can buy PA241W without calibration solution, use NEC Multiprofiler to calibrate and profile it without sensor. Then you can decide if you need i1Photo Pro2 to tweak/improve printer profiles to your taste, and get SpectraView II license, or SpectraView II kit with NEC SpectraSensor colorimeter in other case.

On the other hand - I'm very happy with my i1Pro2 + NEC/EIZO + SpectraView II/ColorNavigator + iPF8300 combination results, so if money (+time for a lerning curve) is not a concern, I can highly recommend it.

Remember that you'll need daylight or high quality lighting to achieve color match, so you should also consider SoLux daylight light bulbs, or some of GTI lite / JUST Normlicht lighting solutions for evaluating the colors of your prints.

[jsw_nz]

Thanks for the pointers Marcin,

I went out and researched a lot of what you posted - Have two questions - if you have a minute

(1) Solux leeks like a good choice for evaluation prints. Since you use them - did you use a common temperature (monitor/bulb) for calibration? There is a 2009 article over at Solux that suggests using a 4700K temperature for monitor calibration if you are using the bulbs(4700K). Here is the link to the pdf (Digital Darkroom Lighting). What are your thoughts here?

(2) Found an article describing a Solux setup - used to photograph artwork. Do you suggest this ? - Basically I am myself am interested in getting the right lighting setup to shoot artwork  (my own - am using D800E and Nikkor 24-70mm). This article shows mounting 6 Solux bulbs (total) in 2 arrays on light stands and setting up shoot of artwork. I was thinking of getting two 4 bulb racks that Solux makes - to use this way - 8 Solux bulbs (total) in 2 arrays - but have heard conflicting stories about paint pealing - and really not sure if that is the right lighting strategy to start with.

I guess I am picking your brain - I am new to the field - so any and all advice is appreciated

kind regards,
john
(jsw_nz)

[Czornyj]

1) Never trust any article that suggests some common correlated color temperature value, it's not that simple. Paper changes the spectrum of reflected light, popular sensors are not perfect, standard observer models are simplified. I'm using the chromatic coordinates of light reflected from paper as a starting point, and then tweak it visually if needed.

2) I have not enough experience in this area to give any definitive answer - I'm sure that Solux will give you good color rendering in artwork photography, but it also emits huge amounts of heat, so it's possible it may be harmful.
  

Thanks for the pointers Marcin,

I went out and researched a lot of what you posted - Have two questions - if you have a minute

(1) Solux leeks like a good choice for evaluation prints. Since you use them - did you use a common temperature (monitor/bulb) for calibration? There is a 2009 article over at Solux that suggests using a 4700K temperature for monitor calibration if you are using the bulbs(4700K). Here is the link to the pdf (Digital Darkroom Lighting). What are your thoughts here?

(2) Found an article describing a Solux setup - used to photograph artwork. Do you suggest this ? - Basically I am myself am interested in getting the right lighting setup to shoot artwork  (my own - am using D800E and Nikkor 24-70mm). This article shows mounting 6 Solux bulbs (total) in 2 arrays on light stands and setting up shoot of artwork. I was thinking of getting two 4 bulb racks that Solux makes - to use this way - 8 Solux bulbs (total) in 2 arrays - but have heard conflicting stories about paint pealing - and really not sure if that is the right lighting strategy to start with.

I guess I am picking your brain - I am new to the field - so any and all advice is appreciated

kind regards,
john
(jsw_nz)

[jsw_nz]

Cheers Marcin

So guessing you have your NEC PA2401 calibrated at D65 (6500K) Gamma 2.2 and luminosity 120cd/m2...
this seems to be the default no?

Still researching lighting - not sure as of yet which way to go - I could work with a 2 four-bulb
racks of using Solux halogens - but as you mention - they get hot - not easy to mount polarizing film around them
due to the heat and potential damage it would cause - still looking into it.

From what I am learning creating a separate 'rake light' - to gather textural information is the right way
to go - or polarize one set of lights while keeping the other set untouched.

The general consensus is that Micro-Nikkor AF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro yields the least distortion
I have the Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8 which has basically no distortion at 24mm - so may
try that lens first (only problem is the lens takes no filters - would shooting through a square
patch of polarizing film mounted on a light stand achieve the same purpose? Worth a try I guess.

kind regards,
john