The CXI Color Calculator is the second of two products that Wybron have released for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This application certainly has a more limited appeal than their other offering the iSwatch, the review of which can be found elsewhere on the site.
The application simulates their CXI IT dual-gelstring colour changer and allows you to mix your colours on the iPhone or iPod Touch. Like the other application this also requires you to have the latest iPhone software which has support for Apple’s App Store. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the program you can use the multi-touch display to wheel though the two gel strings and mix colours on the panel above. The interface is very easy to use and can save you a lot of time by working out your colour values in advance.
Not only does it provide the ability to manually mix the gel strings individually, it also has a limited number of popular gels from GAM, Lee and Rosco pre-programmed. So, if you want to produce the equivalent to Lee 181 – Congo Blue, you simply select the gel from the list and the application will display in percentages, the values needed to recreate the colour from your changer. Enter these values shown into your lighting console and you should be away.
The idea is that this application will replace the Colour Calculator wheels that have been in use for years. This program is certainly easier to use than that, and it fits in your pocket a lot better. However I’m unconvinced it is a suitable replacement for the wheel. For design work, unless you know the colour you want it is difficult to get a feel for the actual colour you will get from the changer by looking at the screen. Also, if you have a chart then you can get all the basic colour values from that and have access to far more than are provided by the application, though again, this is far more convenient to carry around.
Unfortunately there is no search function provided to find a gel colour unlike the iSwatch. However, given the limited number of pre-programmed gels, perhaps they didn’t deem it necessary. It is also missing the transmission chart found in their other product which would be a useful addition here.
Once again Wybron have made this available at a very attractive price, just £2.99. However, the limited market appeal for this application is going to limit potential sales. If you don’t own a CXI IT dual-gelstring colour changer then there is absolutely no point in buying this. If you do then for the price it is certainly worth adding to your iPhone. However, more could have been made of this application with the addition of more pre-programmed gels, a search function and transmission chart.
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