White Balance Card or Lens

wb lens cap is like a very fuzzy filter
it scrambles the entire picture
camera then just sees 1 "colour" which is the integration of the scene before you

grey card is a fixed 18% grey reflector that reflects the ambient light

I suspect a grey card would give MUCH better results!
 
Agreed with above - i believe all cameras are calibrated to the 18% grey colour, so using that again would optimize the results.
 
Lid from a pringles tube, same as :D
 
my manual tells me to take a picture of something white, not something grey :|
what's this 18% grey about ?
 
recrudesce said:
my manual tells me to take a picture of something white, not something grey :|
what's this 18% grey about ?
Click to expand...


18% grey i believe is what they calibrate cameras with when produced.
 
ooh, so i should be setting my custom white balance using an 18% grey card ?

EOS450D manual says:

Photograph a white object.
�� The plain, white object should fill the spot metering circle.
 
recrudesce said:
ooh, so i should be setting my custom white balance using an 18% grey card ?

EOS450D manual says:

Photograph a white object.
􀀠 The plain, white object should fill the
spot metering circle.
Click to expand...


I've always been told to setting custom white balance via the 18% grey card. I keep a small one in my camera bag always. Not sure why the 450 manual says that (suppose I should check, having one!)
 
page 90 :]
gonna check my 450D for Dummies book now.

edit: ok, dummies book says "either neutral grey or absolute white reference card"
 
For White Balance you just need a neutral card, white or grey.
White paper often has stuff in it to make it fluoresce and seem whiter so a neutral grey is better.

For exposure you need an 18% grey card, although some digital cameras are calibrated at 12%.
 
Suvv said:
For White Balance you just need a neutral card, white or grey.
White paper often has stuff in it to make it fluoresce and seem whiter so a neutral grey is better.

For exposure you need an 18% grey card, although some digital cameras are calibrated at 12%.
Click to expand...


for a moment I thought I was going :cuckoo:, cheers for confirming im not!
 
Also the larger spudz lens cloths are 18% grey.
 
AndyBorzi said:
If you have a lowepro bag, then the insides of them are 18% grey (so I am led to believe)!
Click to expand...

wow, now that's a hint !

i'll see if i can get me a set of cards that has white and grey neutrals for white balance, and an 18% grey for exposure.

thanks for help you lot :]
 
yeah, that's what i currently do, but i want to avoid an extra PP step if i can.
 
Mickwreay said:
Wow, the search button really works :lol:

I was about to buy a WB card but I have a Lowepro bag :thumbs:

Cheers for the tips peeps

Mick
Click to expand...

Tried this with my Lowepro bag when I got in from work and it works a treat! lol
 
A gray card is for white balance. A white card is for exposure. A piece of white paper will work for white balance in a pinch except for the fact that any brightener (which is usually a bluing) added to the paper will skew the accuracy. Here's a link to the RawWorkflow.com website videos that may be of use in trying to understand some facts and fallacies. I've been using their calibrated gray cards for some years now on both my Canon T2i, 350D and Nikon D300. I have one in each camera bag for each camera. I hope they are of some use. Best Wishes.

http://www.whibalhost.com/_Tutorials/WhiBal/01/
 
You can use a white sheet for both. Any neutral grey/white works so long as it's exposed correcty.

I have the cap and a card. I fiond the expodisk better than the grey card cause it's quicker and easier and can also work well as an incident light meter too!
 
J Bruja said:
A gray card is for white balance. A white card is for exposure. A piece of white paper will work for white balance in a pinch except for the fact that any brightener (which is usually a bluing) added to the paper will skew the accuracy. Here's a link to the RawWorkflow.com website videos that may be of use in trying to understand some facts and fallacies. I've been using their calibrated gray cards for some years now on both my Canon T2i, 350D and Nikon D300. I have one in each camera bag for each camera. I hope they are of some use. Best Wishes.

http://www.whibalhost.com/_Tutorials/WhiBal/01/
Click to expand...

:thinking: Sounds like the wrong way round!

The thing about a calibrated grey card is that you can use it for both exposure and white balance. The inside of a lot of camera bags is grey, often quite neutral grey which is the important thing, but none of the manufactuers advertises them as such - I have three Lowepro bags and they are all very slightly different and none of them is exactly 18% grey (they're lighter).

The reality of white balance is that it's not an exact science and colour consistency is usually more important than absolute accuracy, though sometimes not even that matters much. You wouldn't want a sunset neutralised! What looks right usually is right unless you're shooting for a clothing catalogue or something mega critical.

I use the white balance presets mostly, or if not then anything white that's to hand - ceiling, door, car, tablecloth, back of an envelope. Sure there's room for error there, but it's usually pretty damn close. These expensive white balance accessories certainly work, but seem to be a expensive sledge hammer to crack a nut. I've got a calibrated card in my bag but I can't remember when I last used it!
 
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HoppyUK said:
:thinking: Sounds like the wrong way round!

The thing about a calibrated grey card is that you can use it for both exposure and white balance. The inside of a lot of camera bags is grey, often quite neutral grey which is the important thing, but none of the manufactuers advertises them as such - I have three Lowepro bags and they are all very slightly different and none of them is exactly 18% grey (they're lighter).

The reality of white balance is that it's not an exact science and colour consistency is usually more important than absolute accuracy, though sometimes not even that matters much. You wouldn't want a sunset neutralised! What looks right usually is right unless you're shooting for a clothing catalogue or something mega critical.

I use the white balance presets mostly, or if not then anything white that's to hand - ceiling, door, car, tablecloth, back of an envelope. Sure there's room for error there, but it's usually pretty damn close. These expensive white balance accessories certainly work, but seem to be a expensive sledge hammer to crack a nut. I've got a calibrated card in my bag but I can't remember when I last used it!
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. Gray is for exposure and white is for color balance. It was a hard day at work yesterday and it drove me crazy. For me it was a short trip. Thanks for the correction.
 
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