Others say...

"Did the job I needed."
I can't vouch for this thing the way a professional photographer/graphic designer might, but it did what I needed. I have a Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22" LCD Monitor (did not get it at Amazon, BTW), and 3 different manufacturers make the panels that are sold under that name (thanks a lot, Samsung). Mine was way too blue, and I couldn't fix it very well with the monitor settings. But after I used the Spider2 Express it was like a blue plastic filter was just detached from the screen. Its colors' now match monitors I know are fairly accurate, so I am pretty happy.

"Most Spyder2 sensors simply are not accurate!"
As the author of likely the most extensive "Greyscale & Colour Calibration for Dummies" guide available, I thought I should chime in on my thoughts on the Spyder2 sensor vs. the other less expensive sensors out there (such as the Eye-One/i1):

In my tests and speaking with various calibration experts we've concluded that: Approximately 1/3 of Spyder2 units are very accurate. The next 1/3 are off making their use questionable. The last third are considerably more inaccurate making them useless. Unfortunately there's no way to know how your Spyder2 unit rates unless you have a known accurate colorimeter to compare it against.

The Eye-One on the other hand is consistently accurate and readings do not vary between units. Those of you that would never consider spending more than $70 on greyscale calibration may consider using the Spyder2. You may luck out. Those that want to do this right should order the Eye-One at approximately twice the price as it's the cheapest probe recommended by the pro's.

I am not affiliated in any way with Spyder or Eye-One. I'm simply a home theater enthusiast who looks for accuracy and value in equipment. The Spyder2 is certainly inexpensive but given that most units are not very accurate, it does not represent good value to me or anyone else serious about correct greyscale.


"Good but.."
This is a great product but you are better spending more money on the pro version because you cannot change any of the settings with this one it is all preset.

"Not too bad"
I don't think this could be much easier. The on screen step-by-step directions are pretty easy to follow. The one issue I did encounter was with setting the contrast/brightness of my (old) monitor. The first time I ran the calibration I set the monitor to the factory defaults and the result left all my whites looking yellow. I tried a few more times but the results weren't much better. This wasn't the fault of anything other than using an ancient monitor.

Shortly after I tried to calibrate the old monitor I went and bought a new 22" widescreen LCD and fired up the Spyder2 - this time with pleasing results. Quick and easy to use, but still not 100% perfect - of course still way better than what I've ever had.

"fast, easy, accurate!"
i was a little skeptical, but after i ran this, i was amazed by the difference the Spyder2Express has made on my laptop monitor. the "before and after" feature really shows you the difference. initial setup (you have to install software first) and calibration took under a half hour, and was fairly straight forward. calibration alone only took 10-15 minutes. i plan to use this on my desktop LCD as well. as a photographer, this is going to be an invaluable investment.