# Best buy?



## askungen (May 31, 2012)

Hallo. I have just participated in a ISF level 2 seminar/course here in Sweden and need to practise now. I have never done this before and I wonder if the Calman DIY with spectracal 6 and the DPG-1400 test pattern generator (cost $1495) is a good kit to start with or is very complicated? The 3 day seminar/course wasn´t an education,more a presentation and then we where supposed to achieve experience on our own. Best regards, Cinderella. (askungen in Swedish!)


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

The C6 is a very good meter but if I were doing this professionally, I would back it up with an i1Pro spectro. 

The C6 and DIY license are fine for practice. But once you start doing this professionally, you'll need a commercial license.


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## askungen (May 31, 2012)

I´m far from doing i professionally today, I need to persuade my friend to let me calibrate theirs tv´s to start with so I get to practise. What´s a iPro and what is the difference between them? Thank you for answering me. /L.


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## dsskid (Aug 19, 2011)

First, welcome to the forum.

An Eyeone Pro (i1Pro) is a spectroradiometer (spectro), which is very accurate at roughly 20 % stimulus to 100 % stimulus. 

The C6 is a colorimeter which is based on filters. Very accurate at low light readings and very fast. Most are profiled for display types. 

The problem with a filter based instrument, is that they may not always play nice with all display decoders, and most times not as accurate as a spectro, although they are getting a lot better. 

It's very common for many to utilize both. They usually profile a C6 off a Eyeone Pro, giving them both speed and accuracy.

For performing your own calibrations, or those of your friends, the C6 wil do what you want, but for professional work, you'll need greater accuracy. 

Now should you invest in the equipment to perform your own calibrations? That is up to you. A pro calibration can run from $250 to $350 in most cases, as opposed to buying the equipent which can be substantially more, and take many hours perfecting your craft. Spectracal also offers a rental program where you can rent the equipment and software for a certain time period, which is obviously less than owning. 

Since you took the class, I will assume that you are interested in doing it yourself. Not sure I would rent though, since it seems you want to practice a lot. You can pick up a used i!pro on ebay for a few hundred bucks, and by a beginner version of Calman for a few hundred, or Chromapure, or you can use the free HCFR calibration program which isn't as good as the ones you buy.
Mechman posted a step-by-step Calman tutorial on the site that you might find helpful.

Either way, welcome, and feel free to ask questions. Pleanty of helpful folks here.


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## askungen (May 31, 2012)

Thank you very much for welcoming me. And for the answer.:sn: I took the course because I want to try to make a living of it. There are not many proffesional calibrators here in Sweden, and I find it interesting. It fells good to know that I can rely on you here when help is needed.


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