X-Rite Hubble Non-contact Colorimeter
The Hubble non-contact colorimeter (also sold as the Sencore OTC-1000) is a surprisngly affordable high-end color analyzer for professionals, prosumers, and dedicated amateurs.
Description
The Hubble is an all metal machined tube approximately 8-inches long and 3-inches in diameter with a high-quality lens on one end and a USB connection on the other. Inside the sealed tube are filters that transform the light entering through the lens into a spectral profile that closely confroms to the CIE Standard Observer. The filtered light falls onto photo-sensitive diodes. Electronics within the unit interpret the electrical output of these diodes to calculate the color of the image being measured. This information is then passed through the USB cable to the PC, where ChromaPure displays the data in standard xyY format.
Advantages of this Design
This design offers several advatages over the more common and less expensive contact colorimeters.
- The size of the Hubble allows it to use relatively large photo sensitive diodes. Coupled with this are the custom optics that span the entire diameter of the tube. The lens focuses all of the collected light onto the diodes. The result is extremely effective low-light sensitivity. The Hubble will read down to 0.001 fL. This is ten-times the sensitivity of the Chroma 5 and sixty-times the sensitivity of the i1Pro!
- Because the filters are installed in a sealed environment, they are not subject to the same type of degradation in performance over time that is typical of less expensive contact meters.
- The speed at which the Hubble reads light and color is astonishing. Readings, even at low light levels, are nearly instantaneous.
- The non-contact design means that the readings will not be affected by the heat a display might emit (plasmas are especially prone to this), nor is there any danger of damaging the delicate surface of a flat panel. Also, because of the very cool laser aiming device built-in to the unit, you can precisely aim the Hubble and even take readings off the screen of a front projector from very near the normal viewing distance.
- Finally, every Hubble we sell is first meticuluously individually calibrated by us using a reference 5nm spectroradiometer to optimize its performance for a variety of different types of displays. For more information about how this works, please see the Chroma 5 PRO page. This ensures that the Hubble's color performance is near-reference quality.
This device offers world-class low-light performance, excellent speed, and near-reference color accuracy all at a price that is thousands of dollars less expensive than rival designs.
The Hubble ships with a carrying case, lens cap, and 20' USB cable.
Price
X-Rite Hubble Non-contact Colorimeter with ChromaPure Professional Software: $3495.00
