Datacolor User to User Support Group.

I am having difficulty calibrating with Spyder3 Elite.  I had previously used Spyder2PRO with good results before purchasing Spyder3 Elite.  Whenever I calibrate now, my monitor is flat, not vibrant, dull, pale.  My soft proofing to my photos which I print with profiles I make from PrintFix Pro is also off.  It is not my prints, they are fine.  I just can't get my monitor to calibrate well.  

When I go through the new display process using Spyder3 Elite, I think where I am getting into trouble is with the backlight control and the white luminance. I check the backlight control button because the brightness control on my monitor controls the backlight. When I reset to factory default, brightness goes to 50%. If I calibrate at this level, the monitor is much too bright and CIExyY measures about 250. When I check the ambient light recommendations, it suggests 5800 and 125. 125-130 has always been the white luminance value I have used in the past when I calibrated with Spyder2 and my monitor always looked good at this setting. It was recommended to use Colorimeter CIExyY to see my white luminance value and so I have in the past tried to adjust the brightness control to get a CIExyY value of about 125-130 when I calibrated. This way always worked well for me in the past with Spyder2.  When I do that now with Spyder3, my monitor is still pale, flat, not looking as I am used to it looking. So the problem is, do I leave the brightness at factory default, which really looks bad, or do I adjust my brightness control, and if so, to what level?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Matthew Kraus