Customer Reviews

X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Software

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

There are two parts to this system: there is the software you install and use on your computer, and there is the "hardware" the color checker you use when you're photographing and to which you reference the software.It is a system that speeds up your workflow, increases your accuracy and efficiency, and leaves you with prints you can be proud of.

Before I go on, let me clarify that I use this system with Photoshop ACR, not with Lightroom. Since the software does not install as a Plug-In to Photoshop (as it does with Lightroom), I have to use it as a "stand-alone" program. This isn't a hardship, but it is a distinction, and my review is based on this scenario only.

Another important fact is that for the purposes of creating profiles, this program requires that at least the profile-generating image be in .DNG so, whatever program you use to process your RAW captures has to be able to save as .DNG.

The process is simple: you shoot a series of photographs under a particular set of circumstances; you select one that is typical of the conditions present in the whole series; you save it as a .DNG; you open the "stand alone" Passport program; you open that representative image and tell it to create a profile based on it; you give the profile a descriptive name. The profile it creates will automatically appear in the camera profile drop-down menu in the Camera Calibration tab within ACR. You open the rest of the images in ACR and apply the profile to all of them as the first step in your RAW processing.

So far, I have successfully created two profiles for one of the cameras. It will be necessary, over time, to create a separate profile for each shooting situation for each camera. For example, on my Nikon D-80, I shot the color checker under "indoor, bounced flash" conditions. I created that profile. I then opened the 22 images that I shot under those conditions and applied the profile to them as the first step as soon as I entered ACR. Sure enough, on my calibrated monitor, the colors were right on target. I had the right shade of deep red, the right shade of aquaish-blue, and a perfect capture of skintone for each different person (and this was a diverse group). Additional adjustments in the basic tab were needed later but, starting from an appropriate profile, I could apply batch settings and only tweak individual shots lightly. I waited to write the review until I was able to make prints of the images that looked so great on the monitor and, sure enough, they look great when printed as well. I'm absolutely delighted.

I would say that the time saved is considerable. For an advanced amateur, like me, it's definitely worth it. For a large-volume professional, it is probably essential. Not only do you save time in the processing part of the equation, you also save money by not having to reprint.

Of course, the matter of creating camera-specific varieties of profiles can be time-consuming, but you don't have to do it all at once. You create them as the need arises and then you have them there for all subsequent matching situations.

The unit also comes with non-profile related swatches. Among them it has several intensities of neutral grays to help you quickly establish white point or check for clipping, and several artistic interpretation swatches designed for changing the color temperature of your photograph to make it progressively warmer (more golden) or cooler (more blue) than it really was. The latter are further broken up into cooling or warming for people or for landscape pictures. (Really, very well thought out.) There is also a white balance swatch/card that will come in handy in mixed-lighting situations. Though I haven't had to use it yet, it's very handy to have it in the same unit that I'm carrying along anyway.

The only factor on the minus side is that you have to really struggle to find information, instructions, and explanations of the procedure, features and swatches. The process is absolutely straightforward once you understand it, but getting there is a struggle. The X-Rite company website is badly organized and of very little help (I already knew that since I own their eye-one calibration software which still hasn't been updated for Windows 7).

The "for more information click here" link in the interface takes you to a dead end. The CD has totally-irrelevant "training modules" that deal with general calibration issues with no reference to this product. The zipped "online tutorial" that has to be downloaded from within the interface takes five minutes to download using DSL and requires Flash Player. When you register the product, they send you another link to download the same online tutorial again as a "thank you" gift. I believe your best bet is the written documentation PDF (on the standalone proram it is in the help menu>documentation). It is 59 pages long, well-illustrated and rambles a bit (but, so far, everything I wanted to find was there). Make sure you check it out before starting and be amazed at the difference in your images.

Length:: 6:38 Mins

Shows how the product can perform white balance, color calibration and dual-illuminant color calibration using the included software and Adobe Lightroom on a Windows 7 PC. 4 stars as the out-of-the-box experience is poor -- not until you have gone to the website, read the instructions and downloaded & watched the video examples will you know what to do.

Im a professional photographer and use the digital-camera color checker, which is a rather large and bulky device to say the least, it is also complex to create and apply profiles.

The new X-rite passport ROCKS..! plain and simple.. it is easy to use, naively with lightroom, and easy with PhaseOne Capture. The quality of the profiles is not quite matching the digital camera checker, but nobody in their right mind would expect that. The passport create a very use-able profile in a matter of seconds.

Here is how it works.

1. snap a shot with the passport in the same light as you are working.

2. select image in Lightroom, then select EXPORT and export to X-rite.. this will create a profile, I suggest naming the profile by the date and album it applies to.

3. restart lightroom, go to develop, select the profile in camera profile, then sync to the rest of the album.

NOTE - if you have several lighting environments in the same folder, shoot a passport shot for each light change, then apply to the images which matches that passport.

The card also have a set of off-white patches for warming or cooling portraits and another set for landscape, use them to set the whitepoint in a image to warm or cool as desired.

X-rite have made available a very well designed instruction video for download from their site.

Overall, this is a very successful product, it does what I expected and it does it well. If you shoot digital and am concerned about color management, this is a MUST HAVE product.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

In the old days of film (say, fifteen years ago), we had two choices: daylight film and indoor film. Once you put a roll of film in the camera, you were stuck with the white balance, unless you rewound the roll in midstream to change film. Then you went home and used a little gadget to fish out the leader, and hoped you had correctly noted the number of exposures you had taken before rewinding, so that you didn't get a double exposure when you reloaded that roll.

All of that changed when digital RAW came in. Now you could adjust the white balance after the fact so you could shoot under all kinds of light on the same memory card. You could even set it to auto so that the camera would calculate the white balance and the pictures that emerged seemed pretty good.

There were always obsessive photographers who were concerned about white balance and color management. I used to make fun of them to myself. Then I got the ColorChecker Passport made by x-rite. Now I'm really upset and becoming obsessive too.

The Passport is a little passport-sized gadget with three little cards in it with lots of little colored squares, something like a paint sampler. You use this three ways. You can photograph the included grey card to set white balance at the time of shooting that will then be applied to all of your images, or you can photograph the chips while on a shoot and wait until you do raw processing and use your software to select one of the grey squares to set white balance for a series of pictures taken under the same light, or you can build a camera calibration profile for the lighting conditions of your shoot.

Either of the first two methods seems to work fine for white balance. I tested both and for the most part there was a slightly different temperature than my Nikon camera would have assigned and except for the most important color accuracy, this didn't seem important for me.

But when it came to actual colors, I received a shock. I've followed a color-corrected workflow pretty rigorously, calibrating my monitor regularly and using appropriate profiles for printing, and my prints look like my monitor to the extent that the different natures of the media allow. However, when I looked at an image of the Passport color chips on my monitor and compared it to the actual Passport, there were wide discrepancies in the colors. Many colors, particularly blues, looked very different. My camera was not as accurate as I thought.

Luckily, I was able to create and apply a profile with ease from the image of the Passport with the software that comes with it, and the colors looked a lot better, except for the deepest hues.

The lesson is simple. If you really want correct color you need a ColorChecker (although even then, there are colors that your sensor will not be able to capture). Now here's the rub. That means you are going to have to take the gadget with you and photograph it whenever you shot. The small size makes it easy to carry but it is not convenient to use, especially if you are a photographer on the run. But until the manufacturers make better cameras, it's either that or accept that your colors are going to be off.

There's no need to say much more about how easy it is to use the colorchecker - open it, photograph it, close it and use it for correcting the image in Lightroom or Photoshop. I've been using the small Gretag-Macbeth color card to attempt the same thing with fair results. And I have a large white/gray card that I thought I'd take everywhere but don't. The colorchecker is much more convenient than the large card and it's much harder to misplace than the little Gretag-Macbeth card. Why? The software that comes with it. A good, calibrated color card is expensive - always. But add to it this software and it is's an inexpensive, very convenient solution to color management. Follow the simple instructions to create a profile - I make one for each shoot (and delete it after I'm done) so I have the actual light. Then, select your image in the develop module, select that "camera profile" at the bottom of the right panel and watch the magic. ALL the colors in the image are automatically and instantly corrected to what you saw when you took the picture. Watch the picture as you select the profile. It's instant and spot on. It'll bring a smile to your face.

Something the other reviewers haven't mentioned but which is very important is the color management and exposure education that comes with this device. Someone (more likely, several someones) spent a considerable amount of time putting together a very good course in color and exposure management that deserves applause and serious study. You can pay a lot for one or more of the many books devoted to exposure and color management. But, the instruction provided with this device - all free and in a lot fewer pages than the books - in the help manual, on the web site and in the downloadable video, is wonderful. It's keyed to the device itself so it's immediately practical and usable. As you read or watch the instructional material, the workflow is explained and makes sense. It will also lead you to understanding other features of your camera - such as the importance and use of the histogram - that may still be a bit mysterious. The device will help you understand "clipping" - there are "clipping" patches on one of the cards.

After reading the instructional materials, you'll know why it's important to calibrate your monitor and printer. If you're going to buy this (fairly expensive) card, then you either have or will be getting a device to calibrate your monitor - your eye is not good enough. Use good paper and it will come with a website link that will give you a profile for use with your printer.

Finally, the device does not correct a bad exposure. You can do a lot in lightroom or photoshop but the best you can hope for is more work. If the image is badly over or under exposed, nothing in any editing program is going to make it good. So - pay attention to the instruction on histogram use (and read a little on the subject in one of the many websites available) and you'll have good exposures. It's fundamental to good images and to use of this device. That's where the explanation of how to use the histogram comes in.

It's a great convenience to have this thing readily available and so easy to use. It really will speed up color management and improve your images. Combine that with the free educational materials that come with it and it's a five star product. Highly recommended.

My background, serious amateur photographer since the jungles of Southeast Asia, 35mm until this year.
No two digital sensors are the same and vary in capture and color from manufacturer to manufacturer and camera to camera within every manufacturer.

That said, the X-Rite Colorchecker Passport is excellent for dead on color processing after each shoot.

I would have given it 3 - 5 stars but I find there is a problem and not with the actual product but somewhere within the software. I use Adobe products, current versions of Light Room, Photoshop CS5, Bridge, Elements 8 all for Mac. While I was following directions to enter or create a color profile from the Colorchecker Passport what I failed to know or realize is the color profile would be set as default across the entire set of programs in Adobe with no way to correct or remove this 'default' setting. What IS supposed to happen is the created color profile is to be entered as an option selectable profile to be used by the owner. Thus, when downloading from camera card to computer into Bridge or Lightroom each RAW format photo enters Bridge or Lightroom with an incorrect color profile assigned to it automatically.

I approached two different technical support people (Colorchecker Passport & the tutorial site I use to learn more about the programs I own) and got answers but they failed to correct the problem, nor are they answered in a timely way.

Now when I download I must wait for the entire download to finish and then take an additional step in setting the RAW photos back to their original camera settings before I can begin to manipulate the photos further. This takes more time but in the grand scheme of things this should not set up a default setting in any other program but the Colorchecker Passport and not bleed over into Adobe products or any other photo software processing programs until directed to do so or chosen by you the photo manipulator.

Now when I shoot anything I use the Passport but in development steps I do not enter a profile, rather I do it all manually which is also time consuming but the photos come out spot on for color.

My disappointment is the inability to correct this problem from any of the venders of this program or the other programs I use. Were I able to undo the root problem I'd be much happier but technical support has no idea what has happened, lame to nonfunctional in my opinion and it's the blame game due to various reasons best left unwritten.

Overall I feel this is a good product as long as you do not enter a color profile for your Passport and inadvertently create a blanket default across your entire software spectrum. I am not happy with technical support on this issue at all.

Could this be my error? Sure but it doesn't support the lack of editing or removing the newly created setting from the computer in any way.

I would say, buyer be ware AND X-Rite should add the ability to remove the offending profile easily and effectively to it's software with clear, concise illustrated instructions.

What is is

It's a hard plastic white balance grey card/color checker and also software that is stand alone and a plug in in Lightroom. The pages are removable - so as the target ages and loses its efficacy, you can order a new page rather than having to buy a whole new product.


What it does

It either corrects your white balance instantly or it can make a profile so you can automatically correct all images in a certain set up (as with studios who use different backdrops - you can have one set up for each backdrop so you can instantly correct all images). It will also calibrate the color on your camera.


How it works

You take a photo of it while shooting. Either your model holds it or it will stand up on its own. You can photograph it anywhere in the image - it doesn't have to take up the full frame. Then you bring up the images in LR an use the LR white dropper tool to click on the neutral square. That instantly corrects the image. You then select all the images in that location and synch the white balance - then you've corrected the color on all the images in one more second.

The Passport (plastic case grey card) comes with a large neutral white balance target. Or you can use a set of white balances meant for portraits or landscapes - they can make the image a tad cooler or a tad warmer depending on preference. Then you can synch that across all images so everything matches.

The software is both a stand alone and plug in for LightRoom. You can use it to create dng profiles of your lighting conditions. The software 'reads' the white balance card and sets up the profile perfectly for you.

Why you want it

Because 99% of new photographers have no ability to determine white balance by eye - and I see a LOT of white balance issues in this forum. In addiiton, this is good for wedding photographers to match up the color with second shooters or across different cameras (even makes or models) so all the images match. It's very good for indoor shooting to remove color casts from lighting or light bouncing off objects. And of course, it's good for outdoor work to ensure you don't have cool people. But most importantly, this is made for RAW conversion. Many grey cards simply do not work well with the raw format since they cannot 'read' the grey color correctly on your average card. But this also works with JPG as well. It's just one of the first and best solutions for RAW workflow.

Why it might not be for you

You have to have it in a place where you will be photographing your subject. 1 year olds move around far too much and into different lighting conditions that will not be very helpful for shooting a white balance target. As such, you'd probably just take one shot of mom holding the card in the general area and let that be a guide as the kid moves around. But on the whole, if you have issues with white balance, it will be better than nothing in those situations.

My thoughts

First: love the product. Works well and easy and I get that perfect color needed for my professional work.

Second: the pdf manual that it comes with is *excellent* - well written, very easy and friendly to understand, and very informative. You can learn a lot about color management from that pdf alone.

Third: there's no manual or instructions with the box - you have to install the program first.

For location shooting, I find it easier to have the model hold the Passport and then just use the white balance tool in LightRoom. Then I don't have to spend the time making dng files and white balance presets that will only be useful for that shoot. And for my last shoot with models in an abandoned factory - it worked very well to do just that in lightroom.

Clearly, the advantage of the Passport is that is a full color chart and made specifically for raw work. Using a normal white balance card for raw can yield variances that make them very ineffective (Adobe put out a report on it awhile back). And for studio shooters, you can create a profile for a certain backdrop and lighting situation and always have correct white balance automatically without having to shoot the target each time.

The Passport comes in a sturdy protective case that is not too bulky for most camera bags. It also has an attached stand so it can be left hanging or standing on its own without needing to be held.

There are some other features such as camera calibration and such - I'll have to read up into them and try them out and then review it here.

So, in all, the product is very good and works as advertised. The case is a good strong plastic and the inside 'pages' are well protected from being banged around in the case or being exposed to too much sun. I'm rating this 4 stars because it really does what it promises and it is a neat product. I'm taking one star from 5 because of the massive amount of time wasted trying to figure this thing out because there's no documentation or installation info with the box (or even a note that tells you there's a whole huge beautiful PDF manual in the HELP section in the program).

Recommend or not?

This is a $99 item. Cheaper than a prop chair or a couple of hats from Etsy. And far more useful, in my opinion. Because it is VERY easy to use but also if you do some research, you can do some very advanced things with it, I do recommend it. I think this is a much more elegant and better solution than the white balance targets that come in books or stacks that get broken, etc. It's also easier to use because you don't have to fill up the screen with it to get your test shot. If you are having an issue with color, this will very well save you. It will also help train your eye for the times when you won't be able to use it - as with chasing a 1 year old around a partially shaded park on a bright sunny day.

I bought this a couple months ago while on a trip and unfortunately despite trying to use it on the trip didn't get to utilize it because the software rarely could utilize my in focus profiles for some reason or another. I have been pretty patient with it and despite the software and support structure of the X-rite leaving a lot to be desire it still earns 4 Stars, because when it works it makes a world of difference in the image.

My thoughts I wish to share, based on using software versions 1.00 and 1.01 and still learning to get consistent profile creation.

1) Practice taking images using the X-Rite Color Passport in situations you don't really need it. It will save you a lot of time and frustration. Take a shot of both color palettes and the grey card.
2) The software plug-in for Lightroom pretty much sucks as it is slow and inconsistent in being able to create a profile. It does not recognize cropped photos (or Virtual Copies) nor support pointing out the XRite color passport in the photo to the software.
3) The software plug-in for Lightroom doesn't recognize exposure adjustment and photos that overall are properly exposed will sometimes make the software unable to find the clippings.
4) There are actually three different color panels on this device, Grey card, Creative Enhanced Color Target, and the Classic Target. Shooting both color targets seem to increase the odds of the auto-detect software at least being able to create a profile.
6) My first suggestion for new users.. at least skim through the manual on use of the device. I didn't initially and it cost me some time wasted.
7) The manual is thorough on color calibration, though needs some more examples on getting successful images of the Color Passport for Auto-Detect to function easily as 40% of the time it doesn't for me at this time.
8) The 'troubleshooting' website is nearly useless, it rambles, takes you to places that you didn't want to go, and doesn't help you troubleshoot. Stick to the manual and the forums.
9) X-Rite's support is on again, off again. You will get a reply sometimes, other times you won't. They tell you to upload an example.. then you never hear back from them or they don't answer your original question.
10) Carry your color passport in a ziplock bag. The panels scratch easily and it will keep it clean and free of debris. I haven't gotten it wet yet.. but am guessing it won't hold up well to moist environments.
11) If you are running software version 1.00; download 1.01 as 1.00 has a check for updates bug in it so it will never actually detect an update.
12) If you find a GOOD online step-by-step tutorial on how to consistently get good swatch images with this that Auto-Detect likes under pretty much any condition.. please share it.

Will update as time goes forward.

The "Adobe Standard" and "Camera Standard" profiles provided by Adobe in the Calibration Panel of Lightroom and Camera Raw applications have a huge impact on both the color rendering and overall contrast in your images. Adobe has tried to provide accurate profiles, but differences in sensor color balance exist within the same camera model (i.e. your Canon 5D MKII may be different than mine!). If you are "truly" concerned about color balance in your RAW images, the X-Rite Colorchecker Passport enables you to profile YOUR specific camera's sensor! I did this for both my Canon Digital Rebel (300D) and Canon 5D MKII bodies.

Please keep in mind that lenses and even UV filter use contribute to the overall color balance, with lenses from the same manufacture's line having variations. A simple 50mm F1.8 lens will probably have a different color temperature than a zoom lens. Lenses from 3rd party manufacturers (i.e. Sigma, Tamron, etc.) may have larger differences from your camera manufacture's lenses due to the multicoating process they use. You can create and use a single camera profile with your "most-used" lens, and then just adjust "white-balance" settings based on "actual" lens used and lighting condition. For highest precision, simply photograph the Colorchecker Passport target for each new shooting location, camera, and lens used.

NONE of this is complicated stuff, when you use the Colorchecker Passport to create custom camera profiles for each body and perhaps different lenses you use with them. One important step that X-Rite does not stress enough is the need to "White Balance" each profile as well. The camera profile does NOT contain "White Balance information, this must be done as a separate step. You can then save the new "white-balanced profile" as a "Develop Preset" in Adobe Lightroom or Camera RAW application. Make sure you select just the "White Balance" and "Calibration" boxes before saving the preset. "The Colorchecker Passport can also create "Dual-illuminant" profiles for Daylight + Tungsten balancing- WOW! Read the X-Rite PDF user manual for full information.

The results I have obtained with CC Passport completely blow away the Adobe Lightroom provided profiles, with better color rendering, saturation and contrast balance. WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET, but only if your monitor is (and can be!) properly calibrated! I use an X-Rite i1 Display 2 monitor calibrator, which does a great job for both my LCD and primary CRT dual display system. No I do not work for X-Rite, but have been a serious photographer (and engineer) for 40 years!

Despite its great performance, I gave the Colorchecker Passport 4-Stars. This product should be priced closer to $75, or it should include a reduced-price replacement program. To maintain accuracy X-Rite recommends replacing the Colorchecker Passport every two-years. You may have to do that sooner if it gets soiled or damaged, which is easy to do! The color chips are very fragile and exposure to even a few rain drops can degrade their accuracy! This issue aside, the Colorchecker Passport is a "must have" have for ALL serious Camera Raw photographers!

Most times when I'm taking pictures I'm looking to express myself artistically rather than get a 100% accurate capture. So, color accuracy is not my primary concern - I'll play with color in post processing to get the picture to reflect what *I* want to depict, which may or may not be what others see when they look at what I'm shooting.

But, there are also times when you want the color to be 100% accurate. For those occasions, the Color Checker Passport is an excellent tool to have in your bag.

Using it is pretty straightforward if you're comfortable with working with color balancing charts and profiles. There are a variety of color samples and a white balance card that come in a sturdy plastic case. You unfold the case and include it in your shot (according to X-Rite, the chart needs to take up at least 10% of your image).

The case is well-designed so that it will stand up so it can be properly lit. Construction is solid - it will seems like it will easily survive the usual bumps and bruises of being carried around (unlike the more traditional paper MacBeth Color Checker).

The case alone would make this worthwhile to have in your bag, but the included software extends the functionality so you can create color profiles. It's pretty straightforward to use. First, convert the RAW file that includes the Passport in the shot to a DNG file. You can use Lightroom for the conversion or the Adobe DNG converter. You then load the DNG and the software creates the profile that you can use in Lightroom or Photoshop.

If you're a Lightroom user you can use the included Lightroom plug in which streamlines the workflow a bit. Lightroom will convert the RAW file to a DNG automatically, so you save a step.

You can create a profile from a single illumination (one DNG image) or from two different illuminations (2 DNG images). Using two DNG images allows you to create a more flexible profile that covers a broader range.

My first use was to take a shot of my kitchen counters so I could bring a photo to the store to pick out a coordinating paint color. The counter is ceramic tile with a number of subtle shades running through it (and, of course, I don't have any extra tiles to bring with me). The Passport ensured the shots I took were spot on accurate.

The shortcomings are few. The software seems a bit bloated in size, but that seems to be par for the course nowadays. I'd also like it if the case were just a wee bit bigger. Yes, the compact size is a plus, but I think X-Rite was a bit too focused on getting this to be about the size of a passport (which I'm guessing is the genesis of the name).

Excellent addition to your tool chest, especially if you do a lot of production shooting under controlled conditions.