Set monitor to manufacturers defaults before monitor calibration

Hi, I just want to be absolutley sure here about something. I am wishing to do a complete fresh calibration of my monitor with spyder3 pro. When you calibrate for the first time you are asked to set the monitor back to default settings. In my IMAC under Preferences-Display-Colour-Profiles associated with this display one is given two choices, either Apples 1.8 or s'RGB (i know I have others when I untick that little box, I originally set my monitor back to 1.8, I had done my own calibration at 2.2 before i invested in the spyder software, so i went ahead and re-set the monitor to this profile since this was how it was shipped).

Was this the correct thing to do, if so, when I wish to RE-CALIBRATE, that is NOT CHECK THE CALIBRATION for accuracy, but to do a new calibration. Should I keep setting this monitor back to its default settings. Have I done the right thing?

Thanks

Chris.

Gamma should be 2.2 and the whitepoint native

EyeOne Match (with the EyeOne Display 2), basICColor display (which also accepts the Spyder as a colorimeter) and other monitor profiling packages will reset the monitor for you, without user intervention.

Try the Spyder with a trial copy of basICColor display, and see how that works for you.

It doesn't matter what profile you set in Apple's Display Preferences. The i1 Display calibrator clears the TRC and gamma curves from the video card LUTs from whatever profile is loaded no matter if it's 2.2 or 1.8 gamma. You set target gamma (should be 2.2) or native gamma in i1 Match and run it.

On the iMac all you can do is adjust the backlight with the brightness slider in Display Preferences. It should be adjusted according to how bright a white sheet of paper looks under available ambient light to display white. The preloaded profile would only influence the appearance of contrast in a grayramp as you adjust the brightness slider, not the brightness of the white on the display.

Other than that the preloaded canned profile doesn't influence anything but allow i1 Display to reload it after final calibration to compare before and after affects of calibration.