Datacolor Spyder5 Express, Spyder5 Pro, Spyder5 Elite User Manual

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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 7­detector 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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Spyder®5PRO

Serious photographers and designers seeking a full-featured and advanced color
accuracy solution.

 Next Generation Spyder5 colorimeter with dual purpose lens cap and

counterweight, improved tonal response, ambient light sensor, and the
industry’s only patented 7-detector optical engine

 See, share, and print your images as you intended with confidence
 Software designed for serious photographers with wizard, interactive help,

and advanced calibration options

 “Before and After” evaluation of your calibration results using a professional

Datacolor composite image or your own images 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

 Ambient light sensor monitors room lighting to ensure consistent viewing

conditions

 Fast and easy, full calibration takes only about five minutes to ensure color

accuracy, less than half the time for periodic re-calibrations.

 Monitor Quality Analysis module lets you monitor and compare the health of

all your laptop and desktop monitors

Spyder®5ELITE

Professional photographers, studios, and calibration perfectionists seeking ultimate
control of the color workflow.

 Next Generation Spyder5 colorimeter with dual purpose lens cap and

counterweight, improved tonal response, ambient light sensor, and the
industry’s only patented 7-detector optical engine

 See, share, and print your images as you intended with confidence
 Software designed for calibration perfectionists with dual mode operation –

wizard and expert console, unlimited calibration settings, and advanced gray
balance algorithms

 “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

 Ambient light sensor monitors room lighting to ensure consistent viewing

conditions

 Fast and easy, full calibration takes only about five minutes to ensure color

accuracy, less than half the time for periodic re-calibrations

 Unlimited control for calibration settings for the pro or calibration

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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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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 6

WHAT’S IN THE BOX 7

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 7

SPYDER5 COMPARISON CHART 8

SERIALIZATION AND ACTIVATION 9

SOFTWARE LAYOUT 13

SPYDER5EXPRESS 14

WELCOME SCREEN 14
SELECT DISPLAY 15
DISPLAY TYPE 16
MAKE AND MODEL 17
CALIBRATION 18
SAVE PROFILE 20
SPYDERPROOF 21

SPYDER5PRO 22

WELCOME SCREEN 22
SELECT DISPLAY 23
DISPLAY TYPE 24
IDENTIFY CONTROLS 25
MAKE AND MODEL 26
CALIBRATION SETTINGS 27
MEASURING ROOM LIGHT 28
CALIBRATION 30
SAVE PROFILE 32
RECAL 33
CHECKCAL 34
SPYDERPROOF 35
PROFILE OVERVIEW 36
SHORTCUTS 37
DISPLAY ANALYSIS 38

SPYDER5ELITE 39

WELCOME SCREEN 39
SELECT WORKFLOW 41
STEP-BY-STEP ASSISTANT 42
STUDIOMATCH 44
MEASURING ROOM LIGHT 45
EXPERT CONSOLE 47
CALIBRATION 48

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SAVE PROFILE 50
RECAL 51
CHECKCAL 52
SPYDERPROOF 53
SPYDERTUNE 54
PROFILE OVERVIEW 56
SHORTCUTS 57
DISPLAY ANALYSIS 58

GLOSSARY OF TERMS 60

FAQ’S 62

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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).

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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
 Monitor resolution 1280x768 or greater, 16-bit video card (24 bit

recommended), 1GB of available RAM, 500 MB of available hard disk

 Internet connection for software download
 USB port

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Spyder5 Comparison Chart

Feature

Spyder5EXPRESS

Spyder5PRO

Spyder5ELITE

Designed for

Hobbyist

photographers

seeking a simple

monitor color

calibration solution

Serious

photographers and

designers seeking a

full-featured and

advanced color

accuracy solution

Professional

photographers,

studios, and

calibration

perfectionists seeking

ultimate control of the

color workflow

Hardware
Calibration
Device

Spyder5

Colorimeter

Spyder5

Colorimeter

Spyder5

Colorimeter

Software

4 Step Process

Wizard

Wizard

Interactive help

Interactive help

Interactive help

Advanced features

Expert Console

Suite of expert features

Calibration
Settings

Fixed (2)

16 Choices

Unlimited choices,

user-defined, and TV

standards for

videography

Multiple
Monitor
Support

Laptops

Laptops

Laptops

Desktop monitors

Desktop monitors

Desktop monitors

Front projectors

StudioMatch Assistant

Before & After
Calibration
Evaluation

Standard Datacolor

Image

Standard Datacolor

Image

Standard Datacolor

Image

Imported User Images

Imported User Images

(Full Screen Mode)

Room Light
Monitoring

None

3 Ambient Light

Settings

5 Ambient Light

Settings

Fast
Recalibration
Option

None

Yes

Yes

Display Analysis

None

Basic

Advanced including

Screen Uniformity

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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.

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Enter your serial number or license code, the serial number is located in the box,
under the Spyder5 sensor, if you have already registered the software on another
machine, enter the license code you were provided then. 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.

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Save the email with the license code, you will need this if you want to use the device
on another computer.

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You will then be presented with two windows, the first asking if you would like to
automatically check for updates, the second if you would like to share your
calibration data with 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. No personal
information is collected.

13

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.

In the bottom right corner there is a “Click to learn more” button, clicking on that
text will take you to a help file with more detailed instructions of the options
available on the current screen.

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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.

2) Lighting Conditions

Please make sure that there is no direct light falling on your display as this
could have an adverse effect on your calibration.

3) Display Controls

If your computer has these controls, make sure to set them to the default
settings or equivalent.

4) Spyder Connection

Please plug your Spyder5EXPRESS into a USB port on your computer. Please
avoid using a hub, extension cable, or a port on a keyboard as this could

prevent the Spyder unit from getting the proper data flow.
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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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.

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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.

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Make and Model

Please choose the Manufacturer of your display in this screen and enter the display
model.

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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.

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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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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”
Click “Save” to proceed.

You can also set a reminder of when to recalibrate your display, we recommend a
minimum of once a month.