Datacolor Spyder4Express S4X100 Display Calibration Device

by Datacolor

• Automated Color and Brightness Calibration
• Full-spectrum color sensor
• Simple calibration for single display
• Improved accuracy and stability - The fourth-generation Spyders have double-shielded color filters for even closer match to CIE color standards and improved long term stability. Average accuracy is up 26% and consistency between Spyder units is 19% better.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.6 x 6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B006TF3746
• Item model number: S4X100
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #9 in Camera & Photo > Camera & Photo Accessories > Light Meters & Accessories
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 4, 2012

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Spyder4Express is a simple, affordable solution for calibrating a display. Featuring a patented, full-spectrum seven-color sensor that can accurately characterize a variety of wide gamut and normal displays, Spyder4Express lets you use the same sensor to calibrate your monitor, laptop computer, iPad, and iPhone. The fourth-generation sensor uses double-shielded filters for long life and optimum performance.

Spyder4Express

At a Glance:

• Affordable solution for calibrating a display
• Single sensor easily calibrates a variety of display types
• Full spectrum, seven-color sensor produces true-to-life images
• Fourth generation sensor increases accuracy by 26 percent

The three-legged design sits flat on your display to ensure precise readings.
View larger.

Single Sensor Calibrates All Your Displays

Whether you are using the latest in LED technology, an older CRT monitor, a laptop, iPod, or iPhone, Spyder4Express Software allows you to calibrate all your devices with a single sensor to achieve all-around consistency in color and brightness.

Simple Calibration Process

Spyder4Express's simple, clear, and guided process makes it easy to calibrate your displays to a reference condition. After you perform a few preliminary steps, you can define the display type, model, and system of calibration.

Patented Full-Spectrum Color Sensor

The patented seven-color sensor makes Spyder4Express an improvement upon colorimeters that use three-channel RGB sensors.

Each unit is individually tuned in the factory to accurately and easily handle a variety of wide-gamut and normal-gamut displays. This means you can view and edit images with confidence on a display calibrated to show true-to-life colors.

Improved Accuracy and Stability

The fourth-generation Spyder4Express has double-shielded color filters to better match CIE color standards, and it has improved long-term stability over previous generations.

The three-legged design sits flat on your display to ensure precise readings and includes a wide aperture, honeycomb baffle, and diffuser to remove angular sensitivity.

Overall, Spyder4 offers an increase in average accuracy of 26 percent over the previous generation of Spyder3.

Spyder4Express is backed by a one-year warranty.

Installation Requirements

For installation, Spyder4Express requires Windows XP 32/64, Windows Vista 32/64, Windows 7 32/64, MacOS X Panther (10.4), Leopard (10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), or Lion (10.7); a color monitor with at least 1024 x 768 resolution; a 24-bit video card; and a powered USB port.

What's in the Box

Spyder4Express colorimeter, Spyder4Express Software CD, and Quick Start Guide.

Features	Spyder4Express	Spyder4Pro	Spyder4Elite
One-Click, No Options Calibration
Ambient Light Measurement
Number of Displays per Computer	1	MULTIPLE	MULTIPLE
Projector Calibration
Basic Multiple Display Tuning
Advanced Multiple Display Tuning
Advanced Calibration Functions
Gamut Graphing final screen
Basic MQA (monitor quality analysis)
% sRGB, AdobeRGB, NTSC
Advanced Calibration Accuracy Test
Monitor Quality Rating
Display Gamut Graphing
Gamma & Gray Ramp Test
White Point Test
Advanced MQA
Luminance Uniformity Graphing
Color Uniformity graphing
Advanced Error Reporting
Info Sharing (Datacolor Only Feature)
New High Stability Color Filters
iPad and iPhone Ready
Updated Firmware for Improved Accuracy
Software Version 4.5

Product Description

The Spyder4Express was designed for photo enthusiasts. It provides automated color calibration for any single monitor or laptop - as easy as 1-2-3 to install and use. This calibration tool delivers essential color management for a value price. Calibrate your display like a pro!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 115 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Beware, very limited simultaneous usability for software! May 10, 2012

By Rocket Scientist

Device itself does what it says very nicely - colors become accurate, shadows now are visible and everything is way better than it was before, but, there's one serious drawback: As a general customer, when I bought this thing, I'd like to calibrate ALL monitors I have around. Software won't allow. Once installed and activated on one computer, when you'll activate it on another one, it will stop functioning on the 1st one. And color calibration is done in such way, that without bundled software it does not works. Imagine, you bought a vacuum cleaner, that can be only used in one room. Here we have the same situation!

UPDATE: The device software also has problems with intel hd graphics drivers. If you have any settings modified in 3d or whatsoever, via the built in intel hd graphics manager, spyder color calibration resets, so you can't have calibrated display. To fix this, you have to remove igfxpers.exe from startup. So, you getting your color calibration working, but lose access to your video card setting! (This is widely known problem, wonder why nobody else complained about it before here).

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Color: What You See Is What You Get! February 14, 2012

By John Blaustein

Amazon Verified Purchase

If you want to know what calibrating your monitor will do for you, consider this: When you go into a store like Best Buy and compare the same image on dozens of television sets, you see that they all look different - some are too red, some too green, some brighter, some darker. Which one is correctly displaying the original TV signal? The same problem occurs for photographic images on a computer monitor. If you display the same image on different monitors, they will all look different. Which monitor is displaying the image correctly? With a calibrated monitor, you know that your image is being displayed correctly because the calibration process neutralizes any color cast that the monitor might have and adjusts for correct brightness.

I am a commercial photographer and have been using the professional versions of the Spyder for years in my office. My wife has been struggling to get predictable color prints on our home printer as well as when ordering books and prints online. I bought the Spyder4Express with the hope that it would be easy enough for a complete novice to use. It is! The software installed quickly, and the calibration process is completely menu-driven so that it's simple to recalibrate when needed. We have our Windows desktop set to a neutral gray, and when turning the calibration on and off, it's immediately clear how well the Spyder calibration neutralizes the color of the monitor. With the calibrated monitor, we can now see in advance how our images will look when printed or in books we order online. No longer do we need say to ourselves, "make the image on the screen a little more red than we like, and a little darker than we like because then it will print correctly." Instead, it's now "what you see is what you get." Our prints and online books match what we see on the computer screen.

This is a great little product at a great price.

77 of 82 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars "Single display" means single computer June 15, 2012

By S. Palmer

Don't buy this if you have more than 1 machine you want to use it on. You can't for instance calibrate your laptop and your desktop with this because the license only works with 1 computer.