Why it's best: The i1 Display 2 is a great piece of hardware with a good reputation. Not coincidentally, this is the colorimeter that comes with the NEC SpectraView professional monitors. It's supported by many different calibration programs and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux (not Linux officially). The bundled software is decent and provides nice calibration options, but it is not quite as comprehensive as Spyder's package. It's a good value for the price and the hardware is very accurate. It can calibrate LCDs to within around 0.40 deltaE 1994 (the human eyes can't really tell above 3.00). Since calibration drifts over time, it's always good to get color precise to begin with. This package is also sold by Pantone, which contains the same hardware and software (according to the Pantone site). Read Full Review
Why it's best: Of the relatively new Spyder3 series, the Studio product is by far the priciest of the bunch. It offers the combined features of the Elite and Print variants of the Spyder3 product. It actually contains two colorimeters, one for measuring paper and doing print proofing (equivalent to the Print product), and the other for calibrating the monitor (equivalent to Elite). This is the ultimate package for anyone who does both photo editing and print proofing. The hardware is not necessarily any better than the i1 Display 2 and external software support may still be forthcoming. Read Full Review
Why it's best: The Elite's price is reasonable and offers many advanced calibration options missing in the Pro version, like L-Star calibration, calibration history, gamma curve editing, and projector calibration. It's intended for the multimedia/color enthusiast but the Pro will probably do fine for photo editors. It has great software with more options than i1's package, although the hardware is no better. The software seems to be set up better and easier to use. However, more external calibration programs support the i1 than the Spyder3 at this point. Read Full Review
Why it's best: At a lower price, the Pro lacks some features of the Spyder3 Elite product but has plenty of bang for the buck. It's the best option for photo editors on a more lenient budget while still providing world-class calibration quality for the targets it does offer. The software is the same, limited only by the particular model of Spyder3 that you have. Buying the Pro version limits you to certain options in the software, but external software supporting the Spyder3 can exploit its full potential. Read Full Review
Why it's best: The Huey Pro product is considerably cheaper than the others and offers still reasonable calibration performance. It's a great choice for photo editors on a budget. Its software is not as comprehensive as the other offerings', and its calibration is not quite as tight. Make sure to get the Huey Pro instead of the Huey, which is a grossly inferior product. Read Full Review
