Blackmagic Forum

Can anyone tell me if the Spyder 4 Elite is still good to calibrate (Macbook M1) monitors or is it worth to get more current hardware? I'm asking because I could have one for very little money.

Or is the Spyder generally not that good? What would be an older calibration device that still does a decent job that I could look for on the used market?

I want to use it with DisplayCal.

EDIT: I think a used X-Rite I1Display Studio is better.

Those displays are different. No older devices will work well. If you can’t afford a Calibrite, better stick to the factory settings. Further details:

Michel Rabe wrote:Can anyone tell me if the Spyder 4 Elite is still good to calibrate (Macbook M1) monitors or is it worth to get more current hardware? I'm asking because I could have one for very little money.

Or is the Spyder generally not that good? What would be an older calibration device that still does a decent job that I could look for on the used market?

I want to use it with DisplayCal.

EDIT: I think a used X-Rite I1Display Studio is better.

As long as it is accurate still and the software supports it, nothing wrong using an older colorimeter.

Any colorimeter needs the right correction values for the light source(s) of the display.
I doubt you’ll find those for the older Spyders.

Hey Uli,

should have been precise, I have Macbook Air's M1, which do not have a Liquid Retina XDR but a normal Retina display.

Uli Plank wrote:Any colorimeter needs the right correction values for the light source(s) of the display.
I doubt you’ll find those for the older Spyders.

Do mean software-wise or hardware? Software I would use DisplayCal. But I've also read the older Spyder colorimeters degrade over time and are also aimed at photography/print, although I don't know how that would affect calibration.

Yes, the older Spyders were never really great and the filters definitely age.
Non XDR Apple screens are pretty close to Rec 709, so I doubt you’ll gain much. But if you have any chance to compare to a calibrated screen, just give it a try. Your factory settings won’t get lost.

mpetech wrote:As long as it is accurate still and the software supports it, nothing wrong using an older colorimeter.

Thanks, I read several times now that all Spyders prior to X suffer from degradation over time.

Uli Plank wrote:Yes, the older Spyders were never really great and the filters definitely age.
Non XDR Apple screens are pretty close to Rec 709, so I doubt you’ll gain much. But if you have any chance to compare to a calibrated screen, just give it a try. Your factory settings won’t get lost.

Thanks Uli.

Those displays are great out of the box but they did run for around 12 hours every day for 2 years, so I think it's not a bad idea to check them.