Before you lay down the cash on your next lens consider purchasing something that will make your images look better.
The device pictured above is one of the many monitor calibrators that are out there today. I included a picture of the ColorMunki by X-Rite and it is my personal favorite. The ColorMunki is affordable (under $400) and not only allows you to calibrate your monitor, your projector and even your printer as well. This is great because you are ensuring that your images are accurate from capture (use a gray card) to your screen and finally to the print. What you see is definitely what you get.
So why am I stressing a monitor calibrator over getting that new camera or lens that you have been drooling over? Simple. I want your past, present and future images to look good. Chances are that your monitor is not properly calibrated so all the images that you have been editing on it are probably way off from what their true colors should be. They may look good to you on the screen but wait until you get a print back of one!
Here's the nitty gritty details on why you should calibrate your monitor:
All computer monitors are not created equal. The settings and colors are pretty out of whack by default. The big problem comes down to when you are editing your pictures. Say you used a gray card and took a properly exposed image using an accurate white balance setting... Great. However, you may get back to your computer and the image will appear too cold or too warm. Definitely not how you saw it on your camera's LCD... So you have no worries and make the image warmer or cooler and then send it off to print.
When you get the print back it is totally screwy and the colors are WAY too cool or WAY too warm. Must be your camera right? Time to get a new one... WRONG!
It is because your monitor was fooling you into thinking your image was incorrect. You over compensated when you shouldn't have and the only way you can tell is in your print.
A monitor calibrator ensures that this does not happen anymore. All you have to do is re-calibrate your screen every month and you should be all set and on your way to better looking pictures.
A monitor calibrator will prevent your images from looking, well... like crap. See, back in the film days, your photo lab would process and develop your film for you. They were your post-processors and you didn't have to do a thing. With digital, WE are each on our own. Now if you don't have a monitor calibrator then you have not been
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