 Cheryl Flood |
Type of Gray Card to Use I have a Nikon D70S digital SLR. I need to get a gray card and am wondering if there's a difference in which type? I don't have a lot of money to spend and need the thing to be portable, yet large enough to be useable. I'd found on ebay an 18% gray microfiber lens cloth (multi functional, I guess!) Has anyone used something like this with success, or do I need to the the grey CARD?
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W. |
Hi Cheryl, a grey card needs to be 18% grey precisely. But there are other ways to set White Balance. Get a write-up here: And if you shoot RAW, you can adjust White Balance to your heart's content, AFTER the fact! Have fun!
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John H. Siskin |
Hi Cheryl, Don't get a Kodak grey card. They have good density but the color is not neutral. Thanks, John Siskin Ps. I have a Gretag Mcbeth color checker, but the damn thing was $70.
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Jagadeesh Andrew Owens |
I second WS. Just shoot raw.
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John H. Siskin |
I just wanted to point something out about doing a balance with a neutral grey target. If you are trying to get accurate color rather than pleasing color, the grey card balance is very useful. I have done many jobs photographing both artwork and product where a very important part of the job was to achieve accurate color. Although you could do this with an uncorrected raw file, it is easier if your files are balanced to your light. This is so because you don’t have to go back and forth adjusting your files, trying to find all the right colors. This can be like trying to solve Rubik’s cube. Of course even with a balanced file you may still need adjustment. I usually shoot in raw when I do this sort of job. When I have the lighting set I take a shot with an accurate grey card in the image. I use this file to balance all the files I shoot with this light set-up. I can apply the balance in the proprietary program from my camera manufacturer or in Photoshop. There are other ways of getting balanced files, but this works for me. Regardless of whether I am shooting for pleasing color or accurate color I use raw to store my images. Thanks, John Siskin
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