WhiBal white balance reference card

kygarden

Playing around with my new WhiBal. I took a photo of the card like you're supposed to. In this case the lighting was an overcast sky (cloudy).

Here's the card shot.



Here's a shot of my hand - uncorrected white balance.



And here's the same shot corrected with Nikon Capture and using the WhiBal reference shot as the white point, gray point and black point. Definitely a big difference.

wxwax

I like mine, too, as long as I don't get any glare on the shiny bits.

ian408

So supposing I'm on my way out the the Vierra Wetlands with my 500
(and the whole Wimberely setup)...never mind.

That's a pretty cool idea they've come up with

dogwood

ian408 wrote:

So supposing I'm on my way out the the Vierra Wetlands with my 500
(and the whole Wimberely setup)...never mind.

Yeah, it's not much good for that kind of shooting. But nice for studio and portrait shooting. I've even had success setting a custom white balance in camera off a whibal, even though that's not really how it's supposted to be used.

Rhuarc

Would one of those cards work for a point and shoot camera? I know I couldn't actually adjust the white balance since I wouldn't be shooting raw, but could I then use the curves or levels white point tool to set the white point based on the card?

kygarden

Rhuarc wrote:

Would one of those cards work for a point and shoot camera? I know I couldn't actually adjust the white balance since I wouldn't be shooting raw, but could I then use the curves or levels white point tool to set the white point based on the card?

It'll work. The example I showed was a JPG photo out of my D200, but it could have just as easily have been a JPG shot out of my Fuji P&S camera. It's all in the software you use afterwards.

SteveF

While it would be tough to get the while bal in with the 500, I take a pic with a shorter lens and an expodisc. Set the wb in camera then switch to the 500 and start shoting.

Having the card in the frame is ideal for post processing, but for far away things I like the expodisc.

And as those hand pics show it really can make a big difference, but unless you saw them side by side one might just accept the first and be done.

claudermilk

That G6 card looks even more convenient than my G5. I find it extremely useful & like Michael says, so long as the lighting doesn't change, you can make your WB shot any time during the shoot.

DavidS

I have not had very good luck with mine. I have shot with it in a room with mixed light and outside on a sunny day. How do you use it outside on a sunny day when taking shots from numerous angles and inside in mixed light taking shots in various parts of the room? It seems like you would need numerous readings, when taking numerous shots, which almost makes it more of a hassle than it's worth.

I probably just don't understand how to use it properly. Any advise for these conditions? I've read the material and watched the videos. I don't want to give up on them yet.

kygarden

DavidS wrote:

I have not had very good luck with mine. I have shot with it in a room with mixed light and outside on a sunny day. How do you use it outside on a sunny day when taking shots from numerous angles and inside in mixed light taking shots in various parts of the room? It seems like you would need numerous readings, when taking numerous shots, which almost makes it more of a hassle than it's worth.

I probably just don't understand how to use it properly. Any advise for these conditions? I've read the material and watched the videos. I don't want to give up on them yet.

Maybe someone here cn answer that. I've only tried it once so far. I haven't had time to experiment.

marlinspike

Has anybody ever compared it to an expodisc? An expodisc seems to have the benefit of adjusting to the white balance of your subject as opposed to the white balance of where you are. It has the negatives of price. Are they both equally accurate though?

kygarden

marlinspike wrote:

Has anybody ever compared it to an expodisc? An expodisc seems to have the benefit of adjusting to the white balance of your subject as opposed to the white balance of where you are. It has the negatives of price. Are they both equally accurate though?

Of course he's biased, but the WhiBal guy tried to address the Expodisc here:
http://www.pictureflow.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7555

For the record, I'd love to have an expodisc for every lens I have.

marlinspike

Hmmm, I didn't realize with expodisc you have to shoot from the perspective of your subject, I thought the whole point is you can set your WB from far away from your subject with an expodisc.

SteveF

marlinspike wrote:

Hmmm, I didn't realize with expodisc you have to shoot from the perspective of your subject, I thought the whole point is you can set your WB from far away from your subject with an expodisc.

You set up the shot, use the expodisc, take it off and take the shot. Subject can be feet or miles away.

I didn't look at the link but if it said otherwise I think it is incorrect.

marlinspike

SteveF wrote:

You set up the shot, use the expodisc, take it off and take the shot. Subject can be feet or miles away.

I didn't look at the link but if it said otherwise I think it is incorrect.

He says

• To gain proper WB reference I must change my shooting position so that I am where the subject is and I must shoot into the light. Not convenient or even possible in most of my work
• if you shoot from camera position aimed at subject an inaccurate WB ref will occur as ED is now measuring the subject as well as the light. Does not work, no matter what anyone says. Simply try it.

So I guess he's wrong. Still though, over $100...I'll keep using coffee filters for now until I have some spare disposable income.