What should I carry with me for custom white balance setting?

[Majarvis]

Hi, I would like to know what I should carry with me to use as a measure for setting a custom white balance?

Some have said to simply use a white piece of paper, and others have said it has to be 18% gray... so, which is it? :confused:

I'm oh so confused :p

[cwphoto]

Aparmley uses a thingy called a WhiBal. Seems to bring him good results and is compact.

He usually chimes in once he gets out of bed eventually...:p

[coldrain]

IF you use RAW, the whibal thingy can be used to make a photo afterwards of that thing, and then adjust your photos with the info of that whibal pic, I think. But if you just want to have the right WB from the start, a white paper piece will do fine. Or any white abject,f or that matter.

[Majarvis]

Okay, thanks for the info.

This is where I get confused, because some say use a proper white balance card, and others say a white piece of paper is fine :p

[cdifoto]

You can also use a grey card. I'm not sure why (technically) but it works too. If someone is wearing a white shirt and you can get close enough to fill the frame, you can use that. I usually wore one of my plain white tshirts to the race track so I could shoot my chest and have a reference later.

[Majarvis]

You can also use a grey card. I'm not sure why (technically) but it works too. If someone is wearing a white shirt and you can get close enough to fill the frame, you can use that. I usually wore one of my plain white tshirts to the race track so I could shoot my chest and have a reference later.
Haha, good idea :p

I have a few questions about the WhiBal system. I only have a PowerShot S3 IS (on order, don't have it yet), so all I can do is set a custom white balance.

What would I use the black area for on the WhiBal G6 card? Also, which situations would warrant using the gray or white area to set the white balance? :confused:

[cdifoto]

Haha, good idea :p

I have a few questions about the WhiBal system. I only have a PowerShot S3 IS (on order, don't have it yet), so all I can do is set a custom white balance.

What would I use the black area for on the WhiBal G6 card? Also, which situations would warrant using the gray or white area to set the white balance? :confused:

I have the whibal too now since I shoot RAW, on aparmley's recommendation. It's nice to have and use but I have no idea what the black is for either.

[Majarvis]

I have the whibal too now since I shoot RAW, on aparmley's recommendation. It's nice to have and use but I have no idea what the black is for either.
Yeah, must be for something more advanced.

How do you know, in a given situation, to use the gray section or the white section as a guide for setting white balance? In other words, how do you know when to use gray, and when to use white?

Also, can the WhiBal system be used for night shooting as well? If so, what would you use to set white balance then? Gray or white?

[Norm in Fujino]

In my opinion (and limited experience) a Kodak gray card will work fine. The gray card comes with two 8x10s in a package, plus another smaller one (4x6?) in a small plastic case you can carry with you. I normally use the gray side to take WB readings, but if it's too dark, you can use the white side as well. It's a lot cheaper than the whibal.
The (or one) reason some people recommend not using white sheets of paper is due to the blue bleach used in some white papers. Not very visible to the eye, but it can be picked up by the camera's WB sensor, or so 'tis said.

OTOH, quite a few years back I worked as an interpreter on a couple of occasions for foreign television news crews here in Japan, and I remember the cameraman taking WB readings off of anything he could find in the vicinity that was white. Perhaps it wasn't so critical with Betamax video back then.

[Majarvis]

Oh okay, well thanks for your help!

Yeah, I think the WhiBal system is a bit much for what I need, but it would be nice if I was doing night shooting and needed the white... anyway :p

Out of curiousity, what is the black section on the WhiBal card used for?

[Coltess]

I believe the White and Black areas on the WhiBal are used for setting the WhitePoint and BlackPoint when working with Levels and/or Curves in software such as Photoshop. It lets you tell the software what is actually the "highest" color (white) and what is the lowest (black), as opposed to setting a blown highlight as something that was white and an under-exposed shadow as something black.
I could be wrong of course :o

[Majarvis]

Oh okay, that makes sense. Thanks!