Datacolor Spyder5CAPTURE PRO
Hi, this is Jay P. Morgan. Today on The Slanted Lens we’re gonna take a look at a bundle of products that Datacolor has put together. It’s called the Spyder5CAPTURE PRO. It’s got tools for everything from being able to calibrate your lenses to getting great color on set, and your post editing process when you’re back in the studio. Datacolor’s got some great products here, and they’re offering them for an insane introductory price– just $269.99. Let’s take a look at each one and see what we’ve got.
SpyderLENSCAL
Every good shoot starts with making sure that your lenses are calibrated. This is their lens calibration kit. This is a fabulous kit because it’s a DIY process. You get to do it yourself. You set this thing up, to be able to set your micro focus inside your camera to be able to adjust the autofocus on every single one of your lenses. The lenses now when you put it on the camera, the camera recognizes them automatically. It sets it for the micro adjustment for that lens and your autofocus is spot on. This is gonna save you time and money because you don’t have to send your lenses out to make sure that they’re spot on. This is a great item, a great place to start and make sure that all your lenses are calibrated.
SpyderCHECKR and SpyderCUBE
The next item is a great color chart called a SpyderCHECKR. This is a fabulous color chart and black and white scale. Datacolor also put this in a hard plastic case. That’s great because it means it will be durable on set. These things get thrown around and bent and all kinds of things. I just love the fact that it’s in a hard case. It closes, it’s easy to store, and it’s got a quarter twenty on the bottom. That means you can put it on a tripod or on a stand that’s got a quarter twenty on top of it and be able to set it next to your subject. This gives you a way to check your white balance and your color right there in the same settings you’ve got your subject in.
You can also add the next item in this bundle from Datacolor, the SpyderCUBE. It just twists right on top of the color checker because they’ve got that quarter twenty on the top. It’s a three dimensional gray card. I can use it to check my exposure, my contrast, and it’s got what’s called a black trap as well. I can use that when I get into post to put my dropper on and get absolute black. It’s a nice trap that catches all the light and it will give me true black for this scene.
Unlike a regular color chart, the SpyderCHECKR comes with software Datacolor has developed that allows you to create a profile that you can move into Photoshop, Lightroom, or Hasselblad Phocus. Take all your images in there and it saves you a ton of time because you’re not having to go through one by one and fix all these things. You can apply the preset it’s given you to all of them. This is a fabulous way to make sure the images you shot on set are going to move right into the studio and into that final process in post.
The nice thing about these two products is you can use this either as a color chart on set and get all of your color and contrast and things with it, or you can just simply use this on its own. You can hang this in the scene, you can have a person hold it. It’s great at Christmas time, too. You can put a little photo thing on the Christmas tree, that’s nice. Or someone could kiss you under the SpyderCUBE. That’s always fun.
The SpyderCUBE gives you a quick reference with that three dimensional gray card. It’s got the ability to easily and quickly help you get your blacks, your whites, and your mid-tones spot on. You can throw it in there, take a couple of shots, and move on.
Spyder5ELITE
Last, but certainly not least, is the Spyder5ELITE. This is the new color calibration device from Datacolor for your monitor or projectors. The Spyder5ELITE has a more powerful optical engine that gives you better tone and better quality. It’s compact, it’s got a lens cap that goes on the back so you can carry it with you. It’s going to give you the ability to monitor the room to ensure you see the detail you want to see with the ambient room light. I love that they’ve included a before and after evaluation. You can look at your image and you see a before and after the calibration and make sure you’re seeing the things that are important to you in that calibration. It’s a fabulous product. Gonna make sure that all of your post work is spot on.
Bundle
So there you have it. Everything you need from calibrating your lenses and monitor, plus that shooting process in-between. The SpyderCAPTURE PRO comes in a great case. I love it when a company puts their product in a decent case. It keeps it all together, it’s easier to store and I know right where it all is. One last thing I love about it is that they put your registration code right inside the case, on a card, so you have it right there all the time. It’s just a great kit. And at $369.99 it’s really a great price. 30% less that what you’d pay for each of these individually. And until September 30th you can save $100 or €100! So they put together a great bundle. This is a great kit that’s going to keep your images sharp and color balanced from beginning to end.
So keep those cameras rollin’ and keep on clickin’.