white balance cards?

chrisjlee

anyone know of a good custom white balance card?

geoeremite

I like the WhiBal card(s).
They work great... at least when I remember to use them

Scott

ian408

There are a few ways to set custom WB. You can use an Expodisk or a
coffee filter (the white one). With either, you put the filter over the lens,
shoot a frame (into a well lit area) and use that frame as your custom
WB.

Ian

TristanP

I have a couple of these that work well for me.

chrisjlee

ian408 wrote:

There are a few ways to set custom WB. You can use an Expodisk or a
coffee filter (the white one). With either, you put the filter over the lens,
shoot a frame (into a well lit area) and use that frame as your custom
WB.

Ian

you put the coffee filter on the lens i'm guessing?

ian408

chrisjlee wrote:

you put the coffee filter on the lens i'm guessing?

Yes. Turn the AF off too.

Red Baron

I have and use the ExpoDisc (http://www.expodisc.com/) and WhiBal (http://www.pictureflow.com/products/whibal/index.html) - both work great and I would recommend either one or both . Yes, the ExpoDisc is expensive but, in my opinion, it's well worth the money. It's probably the most durable white balance tool out there and it can double as an incident light meter as well. I bought a 72mm ExpoDisc and a stepping ring to 77mm which enables me to mount the ExpoDisc as a lens cap on my walk-around lens so it's right there ready to go whenever I need it. WhiBal is particularly useful where light conditions are constantly changing. Either of these tools will save you considerable time in post-processing. I can always replace the money I spend but I can't do the same with my time.

mynakedsoda

chrisjlee wrote:

anyone know of a good custom white balance card?

The Expodisc works pretty good. I especially like it in any type of mixed lighting. That said I don't use mine as often as I used to. I simply shoot Raw and fix it later on if it's not right on.

As far as cards and other such things, I've used various ones and liked them OK. You could just make your own if you have a home printer though. Not as durable but then again, much cheaper if you are just wanting to experiment some. Here are some free ones as a matter of fact...
http://mynakedsoda.smugmug.com/gallery/169094/2
http://mynakedsoda.smugmug.com/gallery/169094/3

Savas K

Is doing white balance with cards synonymous with the use of either a gray or white card?

Antonio Correia

Show us samples of photos using Expodisk, please

Red Baron wrote:

I have and use the ExpoDisc (http://www.expodisc.com/) and WhiBal (http://www.pictureflow.com/products/whibal/index.html) - both work great and I would recommend either one or both . Yes, the ExpoDisc is expensive but, in my opinion, it's well worth the money. It's probably the most durable white balance tool out there and it can double as an incident light meter as well. I bought a 72mm ExpoDisc and a stepping ring to 77mm which enables me to mount the ExpoDisc as a lens cap on my walk-around lens so it's right there ready to go whenever I need it. WhiBal is particularly useful where light conditions are constantly changing. Either of these tools will save you considerable time in post-processing. I can always replace the money I spend but I can't do the same with my time.

Hello.
I own a gray card which works fine. But I am allways tempted by new gadgets. Usefull ones.:):
I do have some quick questions for quick answsers:
The results are the same gray card cersus expodisc ?
Do you "expodisk" on the beach, at sunset, for example ?
Could you be so kind as to post some results ?

Please look at http://www.antoniocorreia.com/gallery/1119624
I have done this with a gray card.

Thank you.

DavidTO

Another vote for whibals.

Blurmore

I use a regular Delta gray card costs about 5 bucks. I've played with the mini whibal things, and they are great to shoot for use in post as they give white and black as well, but they do not cover the partial metering circle to set custom WB. The regular ones may be big enough to cover the partial. I've also played with the Expodisc and I think it may be the best for mixed lighting and multi flash set-ups, especially when you are "burning in" using slow shutter speeds and flash just for a little pop in the exposure. I'd stay away from the pringles can/coffee filter/white copy paper method except as a rough guide as the consistency of these materials can vary widely and respond with a different color spectrum depending on the light source.