custom WB
May 21, 2018 11:24:04 #
canon Lee wrote:
yes I use a calibrated white/gray target.. Astrolite.... I was just wondering if the white is for WB as well as brightness?? Where the gray would be for the camera 18%?
The reason you use a three stripe target and center the outer two spikes in the histogram is that the center spike will be off dead center, one way or the other, depending on your chosen Picture Style and Contrast menu settings.
May 21, 2018 11:56:27 #
May 21, 2018 12:03:09 #
SteveR wrote:
I'm sure a gray card is the optimum way to go.
Why are you so sure?
The primary purpose of the gray card is to determine exposure, not white balance.
May 21, 2018 12:13:22 #
rook2c4 wrote:
Why are you so sure?
The primary purpose of the gray card is to determine exposure, not white balance.
The primary purpose of the gray card is to determine exposure, not white balance.
That depends on whether the card was made to use for WB, so it is color neutral. Some of the cards made before digital were meant only for exposure and are not necessarily color neutral. Even using a random white piece of paper might not be truly color neutral.
May 21, 2018 12:17:19 #
The X-Rite Color Checker Passport has a built-in 18% gray card in addition to the color patches.
May 21, 2018 12:48:13 #
canon Lee wrote:
yes I use a calibrated white/gray target.. Astrolite.... I was just wondering if the white is for WB as well as brightness?? Where the gray would be for the camera 18%?
If you want to emulate an incident meter using the camera spot meter then the 18% gray is the one to use. For WB I think both work about the same except that when the light is low the white card would give the camera more light to work with. I think it's more difficult to make the gray card neutral than the white card but I can be wrong about this.
May 21, 2018 12:59:45 #
SteveR wrote:
In a fix, a plain white piece of paper will work (it did for me). I'm sure a gray card is the optimum way to go.
Hi Steve.. I am not sure which to use... I feel the white is more accurate because it might adjust for brightness as well as WB...
May 21, 2018 13:00:48 #
BebuLamar wrote:
If you want to emulate an incident meter using the camera spot meter then the 18% gray is the one to use. For WB I think both work about the same except that when the light is low the white card would give the camera more light to work with. I think it's more difficult to make the gray card neutral than the white card but I can be wrong about this.
Makes sense to me.. its logical.. I'm tending toward the white ...
May 21, 2018 13:47:11 #
May 21, 2018 13:56:20 #
rook2c4 wrote:
Why are you so sure?
The primary purpose of the gray card is to determine exposure, not white balance.
The primary purpose of the gray card is to determine exposure, not white balance.
Kodak gray cards are/were “warm cards”. They were greenish, which, when read as neutral, yielded a slightly warm print.
Delta-1 gray cards are a good neutral reference. We used them extensively in the school portrait business, where we wanted accurate skin tones.
May 21, 2018 13:58:46 #
burkphoto wrote:
Kodak gray cards are/were “warm cards”. They were greenish, which, when read as neutral, yielded a slightly warm print.
Delta-1 gray cards are a good neutral reference. We used them extensively in the school portrait business, where we wanted accurate skin tones.
Delta-1 gray cards are a good neutral reference. We used them extensively in the school portrait business, where we wanted accurate skin tones.
I don't know I have both the Kodak and Delta-1. When measured with a densitometer the Kodak is off by only a couple of points while the Delta-1 is off about 10.
May 21, 2018 19:26:34 #
BebuLamar wrote:
I don't know I have both the Kodak and Delta-1. When measured with a densitometer the Kodak is off by only a couple of points while the Delta-1 is off about 10.
Hmm... maybe it’s batch related?
May 21, 2018 19:29:02 #
canon Lee wrote:
Makes sense to me.. its logical.. I'm tending toward the white ...
But which white? 89, 92, or 96 brightness? With or without optical brighteners?
May 22, 2018 00:38:40 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
canon Lee wrote:
Which is better to set a custom WB? White or gray?
As far as the WB is concerned, it doesn't really matter so long as they are "pure" white and gray. For that matter, a "pure" black can be used, too.
However, I use an 18% gray target a lot because it also provides an easy means to check my exposure settings, at the same time I'm setting the Custom WB.
I use a Lastolite EZ Balance... gray one side, white on the other. And it folds up smaller to stow away.
Another type of target I use are Warm Cards. The set has three blue tinted cards to produce a warmer Custom WB (preferable for a lot of portraiture, for example)... two yellowish tinted ones that make for cooler rendition.... one for fluorescent light... as well as gray & white cards.
May 22, 2018 05:21:09 #
canon Lee wrote:
Which is better to set a custom WB? White or gray?
Lee, do yourself a favor and get an XRite ColorChecker Passport. You are already shooting raw, which makes it easier to get accurate, repeatable results. It has a gray card, but the color swatches are far more accurate.
This is all you need to know about the ColorChecker Passport, and why it totally blows away any other method you might be considering for getting correct color (white balance and color tint balance).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDtebpvATzc
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