WhiBal and other WB reference tools for setting WB AND exposure?

[Gavjenks]

Oh my god. Chicken wings. Want.

 

[Helen B]

Go to the grocery store salad bar. Get white Styrofoam food container. It's free if you buy some chicken wings.

Joe

Yup.

 

[Gavjenks]

Can you put up the curve for a napkin covered in freshly devoured chicken grease, Helen? Because I think that's more realistically what will be available in this scenario. Kthxbai

 

[480sparky]

[.........Go to the grocery store salad bar. Get white Styrofoam food container. It's free if you buy some chicken wings.

Joe

With or without BBQ sauce?

 

[Ysarex]

[.........Go to the grocery store salad bar. Get white Styrofoam food container. It's free if you buy some chicken wings.

Joe

With or without BBQ sauce?

buffalo.

Kidding aside, this is what I have my students do and it's as effective in practice as any commercial product I've seen. And the bottom of egg cartons work like the dome on an incident meter if you turn them toward the camera and not the light source.

Joe

 

[KmH]

I used the Whibal card and the X-RITE ColorChecker passport.
X-Rite MSCCPP ColorChecker Passport

 

[table1349]

Meters Don't See 18% Gray by Thom Hogan

Interesting. Well does anybody sell 12% cards? Can't seem to find any. An extra half stop seems like a small issue, but one main advantage of the card is to smooth work flow, so it is non trivial to have to do something versus nothing extra.

Amazon.com: DGK Color Tools DKK 5" x 7" Set of 2 White Balance and Color Calibration Charts with 12% and 18% Gray - Includes Frame Stand and User Guide: Camera & Photo

 

[Ysarex]

Now look what you all made me do. I had to go to the grocery to get a head of lettuce and there I was thinking about white balance.

So my wife wants to know why I'm taking pictures of chicken wings.

Joe

Generic household CF lamps -- custom WB set from inside lid of the container and unchanged during processing:

 

[Gavjenks]

Those are the most accurately colored chicken wings I ever did see.

 

[Tony S]

Whenever I used to needed to set a custom white balance I would resort to an old trick using a coffee filter. They were pretty darned close, unless it was a used one.

here's a DIY for Gavjenks to white balance with his new Fresnel lens. I did it an even easier way, I would just rubber band it over the lens hood.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Coffee-Filter-'ExpoDisc'

 

[photo_enthusiast]

I use the expodisc and it is amazing. I rarely have to adjust wb though I don't use it for exposure as much. I prefer my photos a little brighter than the expodisc exposes them.

I guess the reason why you prefer your images brighter is the whole exposure to the right thing?

Correct exposure and colour balance isn't a 'one tool' job, rather it requires a suite of tools to get the best possible result. When I'm doing work where WB/CB is absolutely critical, then I will start by dialling in a custom WB on my camera using the Expo Disc. I will base exposure off of multiple incident meter readings of the scene, and then I will shoot a Color-Checker shot for every different lighting scenario so that I can fine-tune things exactly in post. Remember too that even though your WB might be technically exact, that may not be the best look for the image, and a slight warming of skin tones or other scenes is very common.

I always wondered how ColorChecker fares on the field where environment is much harsher than in the studio? Plus sometimes it could become quite cumbersome to use it. On the other hand, white card seems like an easy way to set CWB (taking a picture of it).

I find that the palm of my hand is convenient, because I usually have at least one available.

Clearly, you're not drinking enough beer, then.

:mrgreen:

Meters Don't See 18% Gray by Thom Hogan

Interesting. Well does anybody sell 12% cards? Can't seem to find any. An extra half stop seems like a small issue, but one main advantage of the card is to smooth work flow, so it is non trivial to have to do something versus nothing extra.

There're couple of products, but quite hard to find. For example, EzyBalance 12%.

One of the original grey cards, the Neutrowe from 1939, was 14% because that was found to be empirically optimum. Not all light meters are calibrated the same, so a 12% card would not be 'right' for all meters. It doesn't matter, because you need to calibrate your system, not follow some arbitrary pseudo-standard....

:thumbup:

A reference is a reference is a reference -- as long as it's consistent and you test it. The key is test and calibrate. Go to the grocery store salad bar. Get white Styrofoam food container. It's free if you buy some chicken wings.

Joe

Interesting idea. I assume if I cut out a credit card size piece of styrofoam it would be DIY WhiBal? Does styrofoam quality matters or any kind will do?

 

[photo_enthusiast]

[.........Go to the grocery store salad bar. Get white Styrofoam food container. It's free if you buy some chicken wings.

Joe

With or without BBQ sauce?

buffalo.

Kidding aside, this is what I have my students do and it's as effective in practice as any commercial product I've seen. And the bottom of egg cartons work like the dome on an incident meter if you turn them toward the camera and not the light source.

Joe

Could you elaborate a bit about eggs carton part? With this and stryrofoam CWB and exposure questions would be covered.

I used the Whibal card and the X-RITE ColorChecker passport.
X-Rite MSCCPP ColorChecker Passport

Again, how well ColorChecker performs on the field in terms of durability?

Now look what you all made me do. I had to go to the grocery to get a head of lettuce and there I was thinking about white balance.

So my wife wants to know why I'm taking pictures of chicken wings.

Joe

Generic household CF lamps -- custom WB set from inside lid of the container and unchanged during processing:

View attachment 50433

Did you also use here ColorChecker?

Whenever I used to needed to set a custom white balance I would resort to an old trick using a coffee filter. They were pretty darned close, unless it was a used one.

here's a DIY for Gavjenks to white balance with his new Fresnel lens. I did it an even easier way, I would just rubber band it over the lens hood.

How to Make a Coffee Filter 'ExpoDisc': 5 Steps (with Pictures)

I always wondered how this DIY project fares compared to the real thing. In other words, if requirements for WB aren't too critical, does the difference even matter? I understand sometimes it's subjective, but does DIY Expodisc provide good ground for further adjustments?

 

[photo_enthusiast]

Thanks everyone for replies and apologies for getting back to this thread so late. Hope no one minds further questions.

 

[Ysarex]

Could you elaborate a bit about eggs carton part? With this and stryrofoam CWB and exposure questions would be covered.

Think about the dome on an incident light meter. It's a dome because when you hold it at the subject position and point it back at the camera the dome shape adjusts for light direction. The egg carton bottoms can do the same, but you'd have to make an adjustment for the fact that they're white.

Did you also use here ColorChecker?

No. I set the white balance from the inside of the container and then just dropped in the color checker for reference. Given the chicken wings on one side and the color checker on the other I was happy to make the exposure with the camera's average meter reading.

Whenever I used to needed to set a custom white balance I would resort to an old trick using a coffee filter. They were pretty darned close, unless it was a used one.

here's a DIY for Gavjenks to white balance with his new Fresnel lens. I did it an even easier way, I would just rubber band it over the lens hood.

How to Make a Coffee Filter 'ExpoDisc': 5 Steps (with Pictures)

I always wondered how this DIY project fares compared to the real thing. In other words, if requirements for WB aren't too critical, does the difference even matter? I understand sometimes it's subjective, but does DIY Expodisc provide good ground for further adjustments?

I was serious about my comment of how I teach my classes. I show up that evening in class with a white Styrofoam salad container and cut out the top with a box cutter. I tell them to go to the store and get their own and I show them how to set a custom white balance. You won't find a commercial product that will do a better job. I do caution my students that if they ever become professionals they'll need to get the commercial product so as to keep up appearances when they're out working.

Joe