SpyderCube

I was really excited to receive the Datacolor SpyderCube for my birthday from my wife and was anxious to try it out.  This evening was my first chance to try it as I was taking a couple of pictures of my parents.

Perhaps I should give a general explanation as to what the SpyderCube is:  The SpyderCube is an accurate fast tool for helping set the white balance of a photograph.  Datacolor presents it as a RAW calibration tool, (and that is where it is most effective) but I would venture out on a limb and guess that you could possibly use it to help with a JPG image as well.  

How do you use it?  

The basic principle of using the SpyderCube would be to use it in one or two test frames at the beginning of  a series of photos.  If you’ve used a grey card before, this would replace your grey card.  Proceed with your shoot, reshooting the SpyderCube when you move your subject or the light changes.  The little reflective ball on the top of the cube can be helpful for balancing flash, so I would recommend taking a shot with flash and also without at the beginning of the shoot.  As an added bonus, it can be mounted on a standard 1/4 inch threaded mount, so it can be placed in the scene on a tripod.  I used a Joby Gorilla Pod and asked the subjects to hold it upright in the frame.  This seemed to work better than them holding onto the SpyderCube directly.

Did it work?

In a word… Yes!  It worked really well actually, and I was surprised at how accurate just performing the general white balance fix was in Lightroom.

Is this a novelty item, or will you actually use it?

No, this isn’t just a novelty item.  You can go read the specs, description and various uses on it’s website.  Let’s just say that this is tougher than a 18% grey card and will be accurate for years to come.  After seeing the initial shots, I fully intend to use it whenever I can.

Do you see it helping with your workflow? 

Yes actually I do see it helping speed up my workflow.  After determining the white balance, brightness and a couple of other factors in the test picture; it was just a matter of creating a preset and then applying it to the other proofs in the set.  Where this will come in really handy will be in processing bridal party shots where the bride is stationary and other members move in and out of the shot. 

Couldn’t you already do this with a grey card?

You could only do part of the process with a grey card.  The SpyderCube also allows you to properly adjust for highs, lows and pure black, meaning that it allows you to adjust these types of settings faster and more efficiently and consistently.

Conclusion

In the end, I am very thankful to have received the SpyderCube for my birthday.  I’m excited to start using it in different situations to see how it fixes colour cast.  In the end, the photos that I was working on, looked like the light that I remembered that was present when I took the shots and that is what matters.

Update on Monday, September 21, 2009 at 10:43PM by Jared

Thanks to Charlotte’s suggestion, I took some time to resize one of the pictures that I was working with to show an example of the difference the SpyderCube can make.  Please note that there hasn’t been any other colour correction to these examples other than using the SpyderCube as a reference for the white balance.  What do you think?  

 OriginalSpyderCube Adjustment 

Comments

[Charlotte]

Excellent!! I'm glad you like it. And to think, I found it myself! Wow! ;) You should post a small before and after picture with this entry to show what kind of difference it makes.

[Jared]

Thanks Charlotte! I guess I shouldn't have been so lazy last night. :-)

[Kristelle]

I like it! Great shot of Mom & Dad too.

[Charlotte]

Thumbs up! Hey Kristelle, I'm glad you still recognize your dad, given he's the incredible shrinking man!!

[MOM]

Hey guys,
Pretty good looking parents, don't you think!!! Thanks Jared for our one claim to fame, a picture posted on the internet!!!
MOM

[Jared]

Thanks all! Mom, I thought "I" was your claim to fame... LOL :-) I'm glad you like the picture!

[Everett]

WOW - what an amazing difference! The colours are SO much more vibrant and lifelike! Amazing piece of technology that little SpyderCube!