After being in posession of three of these newly released TM balls for over a week now I finally managed to get out on the course today. 7 nights of carpet putting was seeing the frustration rise but as the clouds broke around lunchtime today and blue sky was visible from my home office window I decided that my work for the day was done and headed off down the A12 to my home course.
Instead of giving you a shot by shot account of my round and how the ball performed i'll break everything down into 4 or five key performance areas. Course conditions were soft without being boggy, temperature was about 4* and the wind was probably around 20-25mph....so pretty cold and breezy....but nice blue skies....apart from the 10 minutes when it snowed!!!
Distance
My personaly belief is that within similar classes, balls are much of a muchness when it comes to distance. I really couldnt care less if a ProV1x is 5 yards longer on average than a ProV1 or whatever. In todays round I didnt feel that the ball delivered significantly longer or shorter distances...they were what I expected for the conditions.
Ball Flight
One of the key standout features of this ball that I noticed over the 18 holes is its stability in the wind. Well struck shots delivered a penetrating ball flight that just seemed to cut through the air effortlessly and the ball held its line like few others that I've hit. Even in some of the stiffer cross winds there was remarkably little deviation in ball flight.
Putting
One of the key things that I look for when choosing a ball is how it feels off the putter face and how it feels for short shots around the greens. Happily, whilst not being as soft as say a Px3 Soft Spin or even my current ball the Callaway Diablo, I can report that the Penta seems to have a unique blend that i can only describe as "soft/crisp"....there was no harsh clickyness about the ball but the strike was firm and responsive allowing good control of putt distance.
Short Game
Again the "soft/crisp" feeling came to the fore allowing good feedback and control around the greens. You could easily close the face and deliver a nice low running chip, controlling distance with ease. Opening up the clubface and delivering a sharp descending blow ensured high levels of spin helping the ball land softly, check and run out to the target.
Durability
Use a decent new wedge with sharp grooves and a milled face and the ball will become marked....but so will most other "soft" balls. I've just cleaned up and checked the ball I played with yesterday and there are two or three obvious scuff marks on it....the ball however is perfectly playable and I'd expect it to last three or four rounds rounds before being "retired" due to ill health!!
Iron Shots
Right here and now I will state that I have never hit a ball that feels as good as the Penta does off the irons. The level of feeling is phenomenal, firm and solid but it just feels like it is launching off the clubface. Levels of spin generated with all irons was exceptional as well. I fired a five iron from 170yards into a tightly cut pin position front right of the green on our 9th....everything drops away to the right from mid fairway and the best shot to play is to simply aim for the mid left of the green and let the ball work its way to the right. Aiming left I set up to fade the ball slightly to help it sit down on landing...I caught it sweetly but just over cooked the fade and the ball pitched just right of the flag. Normally this would have resulted in the ball running through and off the green....but not today.
When I reached the green I found that my ball had pitched and checked and stopped in the grand total of 6ft....the green in question is one of our firmer ones (being at the highest point on the course) so I wouldn't attribute too much of this to the ground conditions either.
Time and time again I found that iron approaches into the green landed and held beautifully...indeed some shots from distance had enough action on them to pitch and pull back a couple of feet....very impressive performance indeed.
Conclusion
If the Penta only had its "iron feel" qualities going for it then it would be a great ball, but add in its stability in the wind and short game feel and it becomes a fantastic ball. Indeed if the Penta had come out of the Acushnet stable then allready it would have been on the front cover of every golf magazine from Andorra to Zaire, such would be the scramble of the editors to secure their staff a box load of freebies.
I've tried most of the premium offerrings from the major ball manufacturers over the last 12-18 months and can quite confidently say that the Penta knocks each and every one of them into a cocked hat. It is that good.
If I can drag my hazy recollections of the past into my present day conciousness I might say that this ball reminds me very much of the old Maxfli A10....but is better in every respect.
So good is this ball I'm not even going to bother trying any others before settling on a ball for 2010....the Penta is in my bag....all I have to do is to not lose the three I've got before I can find a source for them here in the UK.
The Penta is possibly the most exciting golf product to pass through my grubby mitts in the last three years.
(except maybe my Vega wedges...but hell its a close run thing!!!).
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Friday, 19 February 2010
Finally I managed to get out on the course today with the CG15 in the bag.
To be fair theres not a lot I really need to add over the previous post....for short shots around the green the CG15 is very responsive and soft feeling, putting enough spin on the ball to help it check sharply on crisply hit chip shots.
For longer shots I didnt really feel that the CG15 delivered a huge amount of spin, decently struck shots pitched bounced and stopped but there was no significant levels of backspin.
I will say that the wedges was easy to use from a variety of lies...if that is due to the sole design or not I dont know but fats, duffs, thins were non existent from what were in several cases less than ideal lies.
So in summary, a very easy to use wedge that perhaps doesnt really offer anything special from distabnce. Its strength however does lie around the greens on short soft finesses shots....the grooves really do deliver good spin on these short of shots and the wedge delivers loads of feeling and feedback.
Balancing the positives and negatives isnt easy and others will no doubt come to different conclusions....what I think most will agree on is that the CG15 is the best wedge to come out of Cleveland for many a year.
To be fair theres not a lot I really need to add over the previous post....for short shots around the green the CG15 is very responsive and soft feeling, putting enough spin on the ball to help it check sharply on crisply hit chip shots.
For longer shots I didnt really feel that the CG15 delivered a huge amount of spin, decently struck shots pitched bounced and stopped but there was no significant levels of backspin.
I will say that the wedges was easy to use from a variety of lies...if that is due to the sole design or not I dont know but fats, duffs, thins were non existent from what were in several cases less than ideal lies.
So in summary, a very easy to use wedge that perhaps doesnt really offer anything special from distabnce. Its strength however does lie around the greens on short soft finesses shots....the grooves really do deliver good spin on these short of shots and the wedge delivers loads of feeling and feedback.
Balancing the positives and negatives isnt easy and others will no doubt come to different conclusions....what I think most will agree on is that the CG15 is the best wedge to come out of Cleveland for many a year.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Review - Cleveland CG15 56* Sand Wedge
I recently became the owner of a Cleveland CG15 wedge. Specifically the 56* non-DSG version with 14* bounce in the Oil-Can finish.
Cleveland’s classic wedges of the 588 and 900 series were magnificent….my all time favourites were the 900BRZ's which delivered the most beautiful of soft feelings at impact. Sadly, more recent offerings have been less well received in the Davis golf bag….perhaps the simple CG10's and 12's being the pick so far of the recent range. I was interested to see if Cleveland had raised their game and if the CG15 would restore the reputation of this fine wedge brand.
I took it down the range last night for its first "session". Note I say range...so I was hitting range balls....those at my local range are of decent quality (Srixons) but I have no doubt that they still do not perform near what a normal balls does.
Firstly let us deal with the looks. The Oil-Can finish is undeniably attractive and the classic curved head shape pleasing to my eye. I'm not totally convinced by the curved leading edge but the effect isn’t as displeasing as it is on the 58* version of this wedge…you can take it that I prefer a wedge with a straighter leading edge.
On close inspection the face looks "busy" with its laser milled lines between each groove and the "vertical" writing either side of the impact area. Happily at address neither of these things causes any distraction to this golfer. In fact the vertical writing saying “laser milled” either side of the impact zone actually seems to offer some alignment assistance
So….how does it perform??? Well….you’re not going to find me quoting any "spin rate" figures in this review…all my observations are very subjective.
My key criteria for choosing a wedge is primarily "feel"….how does it feel at impact…is it hard, soft, clicky etc etc. recent Cleveland offerings have, in my opinion, been decidedly on the hard side of this particular equation when viewed in isolation. I can happily report that the CG15, certainly the Oil-Can version, is a lot more accomplished in this respect, delivering a strike that feels soft but solid at the same time. However….that’s when reviewed in isolation.
My current wedges of choice are Vega RAFW-05's, hitting them side by side with the CG15's demonstrates just how lush feeling the Vegas are…the CG15's were an order of magnitude harder…when the Vegas hit the ball its almost as if you can feel the ball marrying into the clubface before it is released off into the air….its a magical feeling that you only truly remember is there when you hit another wedge next to it in comparison. So….the CG15’s are soft but not as soft feeling as others….”muted” is perhaps as good a word to describe the feel at impact…certainly there is no hard clickiness.
I know, I know….stuff the feel you are all saying…what about the spin….do the grooves really work….do you get that magical drop, stop and spin back 20ft performance?
No.
Well….I don’t.
But then, let’s put this into context…I’m not a huge spinner of approach shots anyway….the greens where I play my golf are not overly receptive to large amounts of spin…sure you can punch a ball in to the green, have it hop once, then have a little hop, stop and maybe come back a couple of feet….but none of this bounce, bounce, stop and back up 20ft like you see on the telly.
I don’t get this sort of backspin with my Vegas so wasn’t really expecting it with the CG15’s. Hitting side by side with my current wedges revealed that perhaps I am getting a bit more action on the ball with the Vegas…a couple of hard hit, crisp strikes showed a greater tendency to grab and come back a little….the CG15’s landed, bounced and stopped.
To my mind this is no bad thing TBH…the vast majority of amateurs leave their approach shots short so why on Earth do they want to suck the ball back 20ft??? Oh yeah….it looks good. Well…I’ve got a message for you…Golf isn’t about looking good….it’s about scoring low.
I did then try some shorter shots….chips of around 15 yards or so….the CG15’s delivered some impressive results here with the ball grabbing and stopping quickly and was much closer to my Vegas in terms of performance in this area. Coupled with the soft muted feel of impact I reckon that a 52* GAP wedge with a bounce of around 6-8 degrees could become a real killer of a scoring weapon around the greens.
Obviously all this testing was on a cold winters evening at a range with less than optimal balls….however I did have a reference to compare the CG15’s with in my current Vegas. I’ll have a better clearer understanding of the CG15’s capabilities in the real world once all this bloody snow disappears and I can take it out on the course and hit real balls from real lies into real greens.
But for now I’d have to conclude that the CG15 is the best wedge Cleveland have produced since perhaps the CG10. It’s very good….but it’s not fantastic.
To be updated.
Cleveland’s classic wedges of the 588 and 900 series were magnificent….my all time favourites were the 900BRZ's which delivered the most beautiful of soft feelings at impact. Sadly, more recent offerings have been less well received in the Davis golf bag….perhaps the simple CG10's and 12's being the pick so far of the recent range. I was interested to see if Cleveland had raised their game and if the CG15 would restore the reputation of this fine wedge brand.
I took it down the range last night for its first "session". Note I say range...so I was hitting range balls....those at my local range are of decent quality (Srixons) but I have no doubt that they still do not perform near what a normal balls does.
Firstly let us deal with the looks. The Oil-Can finish is undeniably attractive and the classic curved head shape pleasing to my eye. I'm not totally convinced by the curved leading edge but the effect isn’t as displeasing as it is on the 58* version of this wedge…you can take it that I prefer a wedge with a straighter leading edge.
On close inspection the face looks "busy" with its laser milled lines between each groove and the "vertical" writing either side of the impact area. Happily at address neither of these things causes any distraction to this golfer. In fact the vertical writing saying “laser milled” either side of the impact zone actually seems to offer some alignment assistance
So….how does it perform??? Well….you’re not going to find me quoting any "spin rate" figures in this review…all my observations are very subjective.
My key criteria for choosing a wedge is primarily "feel"….how does it feel at impact…is it hard, soft, clicky etc etc. recent Cleveland offerings have, in my opinion, been decidedly on the hard side of this particular equation when viewed in isolation. I can happily report that the CG15, certainly the Oil-Can version, is a lot more accomplished in this respect, delivering a strike that feels soft but solid at the same time. However….that’s when reviewed in isolation.
My current wedges of choice are Vega RAFW-05's, hitting them side by side with the CG15's demonstrates just how lush feeling the Vegas are…the CG15's were an order of magnitude harder…when the Vegas hit the ball its almost as if you can feel the ball marrying into the clubface before it is released off into the air….its a magical feeling that you only truly remember is there when you hit another wedge next to it in comparison. So….the CG15’s are soft but not as soft feeling as others….”muted” is perhaps as good a word to describe the feel at impact…certainly there is no hard clickiness.
I know, I know….stuff the feel you are all saying…what about the spin….do the grooves really work….do you get that magical drop, stop and spin back 20ft performance?
No.
Well….I don’t.
But then, let’s put this into context…I’m not a huge spinner of approach shots anyway….the greens where I play my golf are not overly receptive to large amounts of spin…sure you can punch a ball in to the green, have it hop once, then have a little hop, stop and maybe come back a couple of feet….but none of this bounce, bounce, stop and back up 20ft like you see on the telly.
I don’t get this sort of backspin with my Vegas so wasn’t really expecting it with the CG15’s. Hitting side by side with my current wedges revealed that perhaps I am getting a bit more action on the ball with the Vegas…a couple of hard hit, crisp strikes showed a greater tendency to grab and come back a little….the CG15’s landed, bounced and stopped.
To my mind this is no bad thing TBH…the vast majority of amateurs leave their approach shots short so why on Earth do they want to suck the ball back 20ft??? Oh yeah….it looks good. Well…I’ve got a message for you…Golf isn’t about looking good….it’s about scoring low.
I did then try some shorter shots….chips of around 15 yards or so….the CG15’s delivered some impressive results here with the ball grabbing and stopping quickly and was much closer to my Vegas in terms of performance in this area. Coupled with the soft muted feel of impact I reckon that a 52* GAP wedge with a bounce of around 6-8 degrees could become a real killer of a scoring weapon around the greens.
Obviously all this testing was on a cold winters evening at a range with less than optimal balls….however I did have a reference to compare the CG15’s with in my current Vegas. I’ll have a better clearer understanding of the CG15’s capabilities in the real world once all this bloody snow disappears and I can take it out on the course and hit real balls from real lies into real greens.
But for now I’d have to conclude that the CG15 is the best wedge Cleveland have produced since perhaps the CG10. It’s very good….but it’s not fantastic.
To be updated.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Tzofit and John
So…today is the day that John Terry learns his fate regarding his continued role as England Captain. However I've also heard it alleged that Mrs. Bridge was not the only Chelsea wife to receive a box full of Terry's All Gold during recent times…who could the lucky lady be??
Coincidence would have it that today is also the day that the identify of the Premier League manager caught visiting a brothel late last year has been revealed. Whilst the mystery identity was no secret on the internet it seems that the tabloids have managed to make new headlines out of an old story now that the legal shackles preventing them from reporting on the story have been lifted.
Perhaps this has been aided by the less than conventional response of Mrs. Grant. 46 year old Tzofit, wife of Avram for 16 years, has been quoted as saying…
“He’s the Portsmouth manager and it’s a tough job,” she said. “He needs a massage not from one woman but two. Morning and night. He’s a great manager with amazing potential who is stuck in a shitty team."
“He owes no one any explanation and the fact he chose to have a massage doesn’t make it a brothel. If he had a good time there as well, that’s cool. It was in broad daylight and he walked in there wearing a Portsmouth tracksuit and came out of there smiling because he had nothing to hide. Do you think he would have done that if that was a brothel?”
On brothels in general Mrs. Grant says… “You men need it,” she said. “I only feel sorry for the women involved . . . I’m not cross with him about this kind of rubbish but only about one thing — and I told him that. I’m cross that he doesn’t start every morning and end every night with a massage.”
Now a few things strike me here…
Firstly, Tzofit obviously has no clue about football…to heap such praise on Portsmouth by describing them as "shitty" reveals a fundamental lack of knowledge of Pompeys true stature in the game….they make previous laughing stock football clubs, like my own beloved Newcastle United, look like well oiled efficient business machines run by truly great visionary entrepreneurs. 4 owners in one season and the latest one freely admits that he has no desire whatsoever to maintain a long term interest in the club??? WTF is that all about???
Secondly, I'm concerned about the girls at the massage parlour…what sort of loose women are they, that they freely accept a man in a Portsmouth Tracksuit into their establishment…c'mon girls…raise your standards a little bit.
Thirdly, if Mr. Grant has the sort of loose change to blow on "professional" ladies then if I were a supporter, given the dire financial crisis that Portsmouth find themselves in, I'd be interested to know what sort of salary he is actually drawing from the club. It would seem somewhat ironic that Mr. Grant is fucking supporters of a club that is itself fucked.
Finally, I don’t know what Mrs. Grant does for entertainment whilst her husband is visiting such establishments for his twice daily rub down, but I can certainly point her in the direction of a potential partner who seems to have an equally high disregard for moral fortitude….John Terry, Tzofit Grant…you are well suited to each other.
Coincidence would have it that today is also the day that the identify of the Premier League manager caught visiting a brothel late last year has been revealed. Whilst the mystery identity was no secret on the internet it seems that the tabloids have managed to make new headlines out of an old story now that the legal shackles preventing them from reporting on the story have been lifted.
Perhaps this has been aided by the less than conventional response of Mrs. Grant. 46 year old Tzofit, wife of Avram for 16 years, has been quoted as saying…
“He’s the Portsmouth manager and it’s a tough job,” she said. “He needs a massage not from one woman but two. Morning and night. He’s a great manager with amazing potential who is stuck in a shitty team."
“He owes no one any explanation and the fact he chose to have a massage doesn’t make it a brothel. If he had a good time there as well, that’s cool. It was in broad daylight and he walked in there wearing a Portsmouth tracksuit and came out of there smiling because he had nothing to hide. Do you think he would have done that if that was a brothel?”
On brothels in general Mrs. Grant says… “You men need it,” she said. “I only feel sorry for the women involved . . . I’m not cross with him about this kind of rubbish but only about one thing — and I told him that. I’m cross that he doesn’t start every morning and end every night with a massage.”
Now a few things strike me here…
Firstly, Tzofit obviously has no clue about football…to heap such praise on Portsmouth by describing them as "shitty" reveals a fundamental lack of knowledge of Pompeys true stature in the game….they make previous laughing stock football clubs, like my own beloved Newcastle United, look like well oiled efficient business machines run by truly great visionary entrepreneurs. 4 owners in one season and the latest one freely admits that he has no desire whatsoever to maintain a long term interest in the club??? WTF is that all about???
Secondly, I'm concerned about the girls at the massage parlour…what sort of loose women are they, that they freely accept a man in a Portsmouth Tracksuit into their establishment…c'mon girls…raise your standards a little bit.
Thirdly, if Mr. Grant has the sort of loose change to blow on "professional" ladies then if I were a supporter, given the dire financial crisis that Portsmouth find themselves in, I'd be interested to know what sort of salary he is actually drawing from the club. It would seem somewhat ironic that Mr. Grant is fucking supporters of a club that is itself fucked.
Finally, I don’t know what Mrs. Grant does for entertainment whilst her husband is visiting such establishments for his twice daily rub down, but I can certainly point her in the direction of a potential partner who seems to have an equally high disregard for moral fortitude….John Terry, Tzofit Grant…you are well suited to each other.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Review: Datacolor Spyder 3 Elite Monitor Calibration System
I'm a keen amateur photographer who prints a great many photographs both at home and using on-line printing laboratories. Like many of my kind experience, it is sometimes a struggle to deliver prints that match what my eyes see on my computer display. The art of Colour Management which ultimately enables the photographer to deliver prints where the colours match the subject that he actually photographed is a "Black Art" indeed. It is often a tortuous route that the photographer takes in order to preserve accurate colours throughout his processing workflow - I dont intend to write an in depth guide to Colour Management - in fact I'll do no more than recommend a book to you if you really want to delve deeply into the subject - Real World Colour Management by Bruce Fraser. Monitor Calibration however is fundamental to the Colour Management process and without a properly calibrated monitor there is little chance of you matching what goes before (in terms of image capture and post processing) with what comes after the display (printing)...this is where products like the Spyder 3 Elite come in.
Firstly...what do we actually mean by Monitor Calibration/Profiling??
Well...in laymans terms calibration is a two step process...firstly you need to measure WHAT your monitor is currently doing in terms of its current colour balance and brightness output. Secondly you have to adjust your graphics card output based on the measurement so that your monitor delivers colours and brightness to a predetermined "standard". How do you adjust your graphics card output??? Well, the measurement part of the calibration process will build what is known as a Monitor Profile, basically a description of how the monitor performs at its default settings along with an "instruction set" that the graphics card uses to modify its behaviour to produce the desired "standard" output.
Products like the Spyder 3 Elite basically provide the tools to complete the measurement process and the software to build the profile. So...how does it work? Indeed....does it work?
For your money you get a Colorimiter...its a measurement device that you place over your computer screen (LCD, CRT, Laptop or you can use it with a projector) during the measurement process and connects to your PC via USB. Oh yes...you also get some software as well. A cleaning cloth is also provided to help you clean your screen before starting the process.
The first step is to install the software....its a pain free process that is completed in less than a minute. You can then plug in your colorimter into your USB port and when you get the message that it has been detected then you can fire up the software and begin calibrating. After entering product keys and registering online (optional) you will be asked a few questions about the monitor device you are profiling (the software can autodetect the monitor(s) that you have connected to your PC) and what controls it has available for colour/brightness/contrast adjustment. After requesting that you set your brightness and contrast controls to the factory default the software shows a pic on screen of where to place the colorimiter. You can either hang the counterweighted cable over the back of your screen and let the colorimiter hang naturally (it helps to tilt the screen back so the colorimeter sits flat and snug against the screen) or use the supplied suction cup to attach the device to the screen.
The software then begins to do its stuff...it displays reg, green and blue patches of varying intensity which the colorimeter measures, followed by various shades of grey. This process takes maybe 5-7 minutes the first time you do it...my understanding is that subsequent reprofiling of the same monitor will take less time. Basically the system is measuring how your screen displays certain colours and shades of grey so it can build up an understanding of how the monitor/graphics card combination is delivering colours to your eyes. The software will then build a profile and assign it to your monitor. Finally the software allows you to compare the before/after affects of profiling.
All in all a very simple system to set up and to run. But did it make any difference?
Unequivocably yes.
My default monitor settings resulted in an overly bright display that caused some colours to appear somewhat washed out. Applying the calibrated profile delivered far richer more intense colours and also delivered greater detail in greyscale images. I'm sure that a proportion of the benefits came from simply reducing the overall brightness of the display but there has definitely been an improvement of the overall colour balance as well. Whites are now...well...Persil white...whereas before they had a yellow colour cast to them. Now....you only really become aware of this change in a direct before/after comparison and previously I'd allways though my whites were pretty white (I am sounding like the housewife in the adverts now!!)...it just goes to show how amazing your brain is at automatically compensating for what it sees and tricking you into seeing something different.
So...the Spyder 3 is easy to use and it works. Is it value for money???
In terms of its absolute value, for around £120-£160 (depending on where you buy) you dont seem to get a lot in the box....the colorimiter itself seems reasonably well made but, when all is said and done, it is just a light sensor in a fancily designed case. The software is on a CD rom and other than a stand for the colorimiter thats all you get. However....if youve ever gone through the process of trying to adjust your display settings to get a nice neutrally balanced colour output, which enables you to match your printer output with your screen display, and all the associated wasted printer ink and paper from numerous test prints, you might just consider this to be superb value for money.
The Spyder 3 Elite will not gaurantee that you get prints matching your screen display, but it will help eradicate a key fundamental variable in the process and move you a whole lot closer to that holy grail.
OK....I've mentioned the good....what about the bad....surely there must be some??? Yep...the documentation is pretty average...the printed stuff just guides you through how to install the software. There is nothing on the CD in the way of a user guide. The only help you get is from the help system within the software itself...however when you launch the software for the first time it jumps straight in to the calibration process leaving any questions or doubts the user might have about what settings to input unanswered. The topics covered in the in-system help are geared very much to describing each specific function of the software rather than actually providing guidance as to what to do when things go wrong and wont help you with a question such as...."I've profiled my monitor and now my screen has gone a horrible shade of green what might have gone wrong??" for example.
I wouldnt therefore say that this software is aimed at total beginners in the art of monitor profiling - I feel it is perhaps better suited to a more intermediate level of user. However for anyone who has a basic understanding of Colour Management and the place of monitor profiling in the overall process I would recommend this software very highly indeed.
Firstly...what do we actually mean by Monitor Calibration/Profiling??
Well...in laymans terms calibration is a two step process...firstly you need to measure WHAT your monitor is currently doing in terms of its current colour balance and brightness output. Secondly you have to adjust your graphics card output based on the measurement so that your monitor delivers colours and brightness to a predetermined "standard". How do you adjust your graphics card output??? Well, the measurement part of the calibration process will build what is known as a Monitor Profile, basically a description of how the monitor performs at its default settings along with an "instruction set" that the graphics card uses to modify its behaviour to produce the desired "standard" output.
Products like the Spyder 3 Elite basically provide the tools to complete the measurement process and the software to build the profile. So...how does it work? Indeed....does it work?
For your money you get a Colorimiter...its a measurement device that you place over your computer screen (LCD, CRT, Laptop or you can use it with a projector) during the measurement process and connects to your PC via USB. Oh yes...you also get some software as well. A cleaning cloth is also provided to help you clean your screen before starting the process.
The first step is to install the software....its a pain free process that is completed in less than a minute. You can then plug in your colorimter into your USB port and when you get the message that it has been detected then you can fire up the software and begin calibrating. After entering product keys and registering online (optional) you will be asked a few questions about the monitor device you are profiling (the software can autodetect the monitor(s) that you have connected to your PC) and what controls it has available for colour/brightness/contrast adjustment. After requesting that you set your brightness and contrast controls to the factory default the software shows a pic on screen of where to place the colorimiter. You can either hang the counterweighted cable over the back of your screen and let the colorimiter hang naturally (it helps to tilt the screen back so the colorimeter sits flat and snug against the screen) or use the supplied suction cup to attach the device to the screen.
The software then begins to do its stuff...it displays reg, green and blue patches of varying intensity which the colorimeter measures, followed by various shades of grey. This process takes maybe 5-7 minutes the first time you do it...my understanding is that subsequent reprofiling of the same monitor will take less time. Basically the system is measuring how your screen displays certain colours and shades of grey so it can build up an understanding of how the monitor/graphics card combination is delivering colours to your eyes. The software will then build a profile and assign it to your monitor. Finally the software allows you to compare the before/after affects of profiling.
All in all a very simple system to set up and to run. But did it make any difference?
Unequivocably yes.
My default monitor settings resulted in an overly bright display that caused some colours to appear somewhat washed out. Applying the calibrated profile delivered far richer more intense colours and also delivered greater detail in greyscale images. I'm sure that a proportion of the benefits came from simply reducing the overall brightness of the display but there has definitely been an improvement of the overall colour balance as well. Whites are now...well...Persil white...whereas before they had a yellow colour cast to them. Now....you only really become aware of this change in a direct before/after comparison and previously I'd allways though my whites were pretty white (I am sounding like the housewife in the adverts now!!)...it just goes to show how amazing your brain is at automatically compensating for what it sees and tricking you into seeing something different.
So...the Spyder 3 is easy to use and it works. Is it value for money???
In terms of its absolute value, for around £120-£160 (depending on where you buy) you dont seem to get a lot in the box....the colorimiter itself seems reasonably well made but, when all is said and done, it is just a light sensor in a fancily designed case. The software is on a CD rom and other than a stand for the colorimiter thats all you get. However....if youve ever gone through the process of trying to adjust your display settings to get a nice neutrally balanced colour output, which enables you to match your printer output with your screen display, and all the associated wasted printer ink and paper from numerous test prints, you might just consider this to be superb value for money.
The Spyder 3 Elite will not gaurantee that you get prints matching your screen display, but it will help eradicate a key fundamental variable in the process and move you a whole lot closer to that holy grail.
OK....I've mentioned the good....what about the bad....surely there must be some??? Yep...the documentation is pretty average...the printed stuff just guides you through how to install the software. There is nothing on the CD in the way of a user guide. The only help you get is from the help system within the software itself...however when you launch the software for the first time it jumps straight in to the calibration process leaving any questions or doubts the user might have about what settings to input unanswered. The topics covered in the in-system help are geared very much to describing each specific function of the software rather than actually providing guidance as to what to do when things go wrong and wont help you with a question such as...."I've profiled my monitor and now my screen has gone a horrible shade of green what might have gone wrong??" for example.
I wouldnt therefore say that this software is aimed at total beginners in the art of monitor profiling - I feel it is perhaps better suited to a more intermediate level of user. However for anyone who has a basic understanding of Colour Management and the place of monitor profiling in the overall process I would recommend this software very highly indeed.
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