The Spyder Cube seems to turn up in every product photographer’s kit. I finally gave in and bought one myself.
Datacolor has been giving the Spyder Cube away with registered purchases from the wider Spyder range. I spent days watching used listings for an unopened bargain, occasionally wondering whether I wanted it more for the idea of owning it than for its usefulness.
Then my regular shop offered a combination that made buying new more tempting than continuing to watch used listings. An in-house discount stacked with a credit card promotion, a gift certificate event, free shipping, and points back. Taken together, those offers were enough to settle the decision. I bought a brand-new unit rather than keep waiting for an unopened bargain to appear.
Now it’s here, I have to admit I rarely set up a serious shoot at home. Even when I do take pictures, I often reach for my phone. Acquiring more gear clearly doesn’t stop me from finding another way to justify it.
I should at least use what I’ve bought. With the Spyder Checker already in the cupboard, I’m planning to put the Spyder Cube to work on white balance and spend some time making proper product photos.
SpyderCube vs. SpyderCheckr: What Each One Does
They look like they do the same job, but they solve different problems.
- SpyderCube is a small cube with white, gray, and black faces, plus a black “light trap” hole and a chrome ball on top. You photograph it in your scene and use it as a reference for white balance, exposure, and contrast. Because each face catches light differently, it also shows you where your main light is coming from.
- SpyderCheckr is a color chart with a grid of color patches. It is built for accurate color reproduction, and you can use its software to create a custom color profile for your camera.
Datacolor’s own advice is simple: use the Checkr when you need precise color, use the Cube when you want white balance based on your main light source, and shoot both when color really matters.
How to Set White Balance with the SpyderCube
- Shoot the cube in the same light as your subject. Do this at the start of every new lighting setup. If you are shooting in daylight, shoot it again from time to time, because sunlight changes color over the day.
- Open the RAW file in your editor and pick its white balance eyedropper tool. Most editors have one, even if the name differs.
- Click the lightest gray face, the side facing your main light.
- Fine-tune exposure if you like. A common approach is to bring the white face to about 97–100% brightness and the black face to about 3–5%, with the black hole close to 0%.
- Copy the settings to every photo shot under the same light.
What Long-Term Use Taught Me
In the early days of my product reviews, I put the SpyderCube into almost every shoot. It was part of setting up the photograph rather than something I left in the cupboard. As my desk lighting became more consistent, that routine changed. I settled on a fixed arrangement, and the white balance settings became more or less fixed along with it. These days I reach for the cube less often. Its role changed with the lighting: once the setup stopped changing, I no longer needed to establish the same reference every time.
Natural light coming through the window is still a reason to take it out straight away. The same applies whenever I can’t fully control the light on the subject. With several lights in use, I have also noticed a slight white balance shift depending on the cube’s angle. It isn’t a difference that has caused a serious problem in my work, but it is something I have seen. For me, the cube remains useful when the light changes, even though it is no longer part of every shoot at my desk.
Who Should Get One
If you shoot in changing or mixed light, or you are just starting out with product photography, the SpyderCube is one of the most useful small tools you can own. If you always shoot under the same fixed lights, you may only need it to dial in your settings once, then keep it for the days when the light changes.
