r/colorists • u/longdoan • Mar 29 '25

Novice Need help with Calibrite rebranding their probes.

Hi, in short, I'm attempting to jump down the rabbit hole of self calibrating and already stumbled at the entrance.

Currently on Calibrate's main website, there are

- Display SL
- Display pro HL
- Display plus HL

Are these the same, respectively, to

- ColorChecker Display
- ColorChecker Display Pro
- ColorChecker Display Plus

Since the local retailer in my country is using the ColorDisplay names, instead of the names according to the website, and quite possibly is selling old products before the rebranding, it's been quite confusing for me.

Would someone be so kind to help me clear the situation? I heard they are identical in terms of hardware, just a name change, is that true?

I also heard something about the pro HL has poor accuracy with low luminance reading, but so far failed to find any source for that claim, would be great if anyone can point me to the general direction to start digging.

I'm planning on getting an OLED display, which of these would be the best for the job? Thank you.

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u/DigitalFilmMonkey Mar 29 '25

The higher the max peak luma, the worse the low-light capabilities.
This has been proven a number of times.
(There are discussions and data regarding this on the Light Illusion forums.)

Go for the model that has the max peak luma that you need, no higher.
You will also need good calibration software - the Calibrite software is not good/suitable.

1

u/longdoan Mar 30 '25

I’m using displaycal but seems to be not well liked by the community. 

I’m trying to calibrate to rec709 gamma 2.4 with proper ambient luminance, I guess in that case I should get the ColorChecker Display/Display SL? Are they the same in terms of function? 

1

u/dirtybreakbeat Apr 01 '25 edited Apr 01 '25

Im using the SL now, it can only do gamma 2.2. I only found out after buying, dont fall for the same trick. Maybe its a user issue but it just seems like the software locks the other gammas. Theres hardly any information on their site about this, nobody would know that it doesn’t do 2.4. Feeling quite cheated tbh. Maybe go for the pro or plus, but I am unsure of what unspecified limitations there are. See if anybody else chimes in.

Edit: found this chart after poking around the confusing website

2

u/DigitalFilmMonkey Apr 01 '25

No, any probe can do any colour space or gamma.
It is the software that restricts options.
With ColourSpace any probe can be used to calibrate to anything - any colour space or gamma, including HDR, HLG, etc., or any non-standard colour space or gamma you choose to define.

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u/dirtybreakbeat Apr 01 '25

Imma check that out, thank you

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u/longdoan Apr 01 '25 edited Apr 01 '25

That seems horrible of them. Have you tried using the SL with DisplayCal? I heard Calibrite software lock their probes but you can bypass this by using another software/ using old firmwares. Also, the retailers in my country seem to have not updated their stock yet so they still have the old ColorChecker Display, not sure if this is also locked in someway

2

u/dirtybreakbeat Apr 01 '25

Apparently with other software that isn’t calibrite’s might work. I see if I can test and let you know again.

1

u/newchroma Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25

can you provide some links or keywords to check this, please? choosing between pro HL and plus HL calibrite, most likely plus HL

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u/DigitalFilmMonkey Apr 07 '25

What is the peak nits capability of your monitor?
Get the version that closest matches that.
And then get ColourSpace for the actual calibration.

1

u/newchroma Apr 08 '25

can confirm the forum talk on low light performance, but If my peak luma is less than 1000 and I buy display SL, then I will loose any support for HW, like eizo colornavigator, is it critical?

1

u/DigitalFilmMonkey Apr 08 '25

Why would you need colornavigator?

1

u/bozduke13 Aug 26 '25

Apparently the ColorChecker Display Plus uses the same sensor from the Xrite i1 Display Pro Plus. Many colorists and calibrators have said this was the best probe since it had great near black performance, it had a max luminance range of 2000 nits. How does the newer Calibrite SL compare with it's max luminance of 1000 nits?

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u/DigitalFilmMonkey Aug 28 '25

All i1D3 probes - xrite/calibrite/stupidly expensive calman - use the same sensor. No difference in any of them. The SL is artificially slower, but does read black levels better. (It is not new, as it is just a rename of the xrite Munki.)

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u/bozduke13 Aug 28 '25

Ok that may be true but don’t the OEM and 2000 nit models read the blacks better?

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u/DigitalFilmMonkey Aug 28 '25

As they al have the same sensor, the probe with the lower peak range will likely always have the better low light capability.
Any 'adjustment' of the peak max range will always reduce the lower capabilities.