Hasta La Gadget!

SpyderGallery will color-correct your iPad, but only within one app

Thanks to the fact that you can’t dicker with the iPad at system level, there are lots of handy things developers can’t do. A multiple-item clipboard is one. System-wide, TextExpander-style text replacement is another. And a third is color calibration.

But there are always workarounds, and DataColor, the company behind the Spyder colorimeter, will now let photographers and designers color-manage their iPads. But first, what is color management.

Your camera, computer and printer all use color, but they may not all display it in the same way. To get consistency, whether viewing on the web or in a fancy, glossy book, you need to calibrate your gear. This involves using a tool which measures the light coming from these various sources, and then tweaking those outputs so they match.

The device is a colorimeter, and usually you just plug them into a computer, hang them on your screen or over a print, and let them do their thing. A profile is generated which will alter the way your monitor shows images, making it more accurate.

Obviously, there is no way to change color profiles on the iPad, but you can change how a single app shows color. That’s what SpyderGallery does. You hook your Spyder up to your computer, launch the (free) iOS app and lay the Spyder on top. The computer then runs its usual calibration tests, connecting to your iPad over your Wi-Fi network, and spits out a profile for the iPad.

Once that’s done, you can view all the photos in your Photos app through the SpyderGallery app, and they’ll be fully color-corrected.

I don’t have a Spyder to test, but from what I have read many photographers say that the iPad is already pretty accurate. Then again, if you own a Spyder already, then this is free, and probably a fun way to spend a few minutes. SpyderGallery is available now, and the Spyder machines start at $90.

SpyderGallery [iTunes]

SpyderGallery product page [DataColor]

See Also:

• Hands-On with the XRite ColorMunki: Great Hardware, Terrible …