As photographers, we spend thousands of dollars on camera gear and lighting equipment. We also take great care to pose the subject and achieve accurate focus, but how much time and effort do we put into making sure the colors are spot on?
The Datacolor SpyderCHECKR is designed to help you create very accurate color profiles in Adobe Lightroom Classic, Photoshop or Hasselblad Focus. To do this, you take a test photo that includes the SpyderCHECKR’s 48-swatch color grid. Then, during post-processing, you use Datacolor’s software to create a profile that you import into Lightroom Classic, Photoshop or Focus to produce perfect colors.
I put together a detailed YouTube video (below) showing you how to use this great tool. Hopefully, it helps you understand the process and the rationale for using the SpyderCHECKR.
One of the advantages of using this tool is it enables you to create consistent colors across multiple lighting scenarios or multiple camera bodies. For example, if you are using different cameras on a photoshoot, the SpyderCHECKR allows you to create profiles so the resulting images are similar in color, contrast and tone.
The SpyderCHECKR is made of heavy-duty plastic and has a quarter-inch by 20-inch thread on the base so you can mount it on a tripod in the scene. It also has a quarter-inch by 20-inch thread on the top so you can mount the SpyderCUBE for dual-reference white balance, white point, shadows and black point adjustments.
You can purchase the SpyderCHECKR independently, or as part of the SpyderX Capture Pro kit. If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me directly. I’m always happy to help!
Note: Datacolor sent a SpyderX Capture Pro kit for me to test in my photography business. Check out the other Datacolor videos here on Photofocus and on my YouTube channel to watch detailed hands-on reviews of each tool in the SpyderX Capture Pro kit: Spyder X Elite Colorimeter, SpyderCUBE, SpyderLENSCAL and SpyderCHECKR color calibration chart.
