White balancing using GreyBal

[Overgaard]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Just updated my Leica sites with a page about the mysterious icon WB which quite many owners of digital cameras know what is (no joke intended, it's a fact many camera owners have wondered what WB could stand for)

 

leica.overgaard.dk - Thorsten Overgaard's Leica Pages - WhiteBal greycards for white balancing digital photography and video

 

Comments are welcome!

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Bo_Lorentzen]

Nice, Thank you.

[jrethorst]

Your web pages are very informative, especially for this inexperienced digital photographer. I stumbled on a Digilux 2 as a first choice and see how lucky I was. I also feel lucky that you use the camera and have so much discussion about it online.

 

One question about white balance: is it better to use a card such as you illustrate, rather than something like an Expocap, that simply lets you set white balance aiming at what you want to shoot for correct lighting, and doubles as a lens cap?

 

Thank you.

[ho_co]

Thorsten, one thing I've always valued about Leica is that their advertising material (in the print days at least, unfortunately less so now) always had nothing but excellent pictures. Other manufacturers would have a couple excellent photos, a number of pictures whose quality I might conceivably strive to match, an a number of clearly mediocre snapshots.

 

Leica presented a quality image at every level.

 

And on your web site, you do the same. The picture of your daughter (I suppose) holding the WhiBal card is purposeful but charming--that girl will be dangerous when she gets out on her own!--just as is the shot of the flower headdress.

 

Very good job!

[Overgaard]

One question about white balance: is it better to use a card such as you illustrate, rather than something like an Expocap, that simply lets you set white balance aiming at what you want to shoot for correct lighting, and doubles as a lens cap?

 

I think what works for one, is what one does.

 

I've been using walls, note paper, table cloths, coffee mugs, shirts and all for white balancing but knew white comes in many types. White paper can be bluish or yellowish.

 

So I got the GreyBal that can lie in the same pocket as the lightmeter and in that way be a way of remembering to always do white balancing (I'm dull too). But I think the most important thing is standardized: You have something you know how works so that you can get 100% standardized results each time.

 

So any type of thing will do. The same paper each time, GreyBal, Expocap, etc.

 

Personally, the most perfect item for me would be a thin piece of plastic the size of a Moleskin notebook, white on one side, grey on the other. That would fit all cameras and would lie in the same pocket as my notebook. The WhiteBal is a clumpsy piece of plastic (small enough to get lost in a pocket, thick enough to get in the way), perhaps in an effort to justify the price (though I wouldn't mind paying 50$ or whatever the price is, for a thin piece of plastic).

 

But one interesting test with the GreyBal: My wife steal it all the time to do white balancing. So that tells me it works; it's become a technique you use and which always goes with the camera whereas you might forget white paper or pointing towards the table cloth.

 

GreyBal is simply part of the list of stuff to remember amongst memory cards, batteries, cleaning cloth for the lens, notebook, etc.

[Overgaard]

Thorsten, one thing I've always valued about Leica is that their advertising material (in the print days at least, unfortunately less so now) always had nothing but excellent pictures. Other manufacturers would have a couple excellent photos, a number of pictures whose quality I might conceivably strive to match, an a number of clearly mediocre snapshots.

 

Leica presented a quality image at every level.

 

And on your web site, you do the same. The picture of your daughter (I suppose) holding the WhiBal card is purposeful but charming--that girl will be dangerous when she gets out on her own!--just as is the shot of the flower headdress.

 

Very good job!

 

Thanks. Yes, and she know already that such a thing as "audience" exist ;-)

 

As for advertising, packaging, etc. Leica seem to live in another century. They break every rule in the book of Search Engine Optimization on their website, fill up my closet with useless boxes and other things (don't get me started :-).

When one get a lens or camera back from CLA at Leica, it's in a black velour bag with a red Leica plastic logo. The thrill in the message that bag sends is the essence of Leica - and Leica could learn from this in all their communication.

[ho_co]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

...

As for advertising, packaging, etc. Leica seem to live in another century. They break every rule in the book of Search Engine Optimization on their website, fill up my closet with useless boxes and other things (don't get me started :-).

When one get a lens or camera back from CLA at Leica, it's in a black velour bag with a red Leica plastic logo. The thrill in the message that bag sends is the essence of Leica - and Leica could learn from this in all their communication.

Excellently said, and accurate!

[peka69]

Thorsten,

 

I think the ZEBRA card from Novoflex is the right piece of equipment you are looking for.

The size is 20 x 15 cm - so small enough to have it all the time with you and last but not least with 12.90 EUR rather affordable.

 

Novoflex has a lot of smart solutions for photographers, my experience is very good quality Made in Germany

 

special photographic accessories

 

I also would like to thank you for your very informative and inspiring website.

Your most recent e-book is stunning, wonderful work.

 

cheers,

 

Peter

[Jamie Roberts]

Hi Thorsten--

 

The actual item is called WhiBal--not WhiteBal, and not GreyBal.

 

It's very nice for getting a neutral white balance. I find, however, that with a neutral white balance most, if not all, digicams get skin tones wrong in all but the best light (which is where the AWB, which I call "Average Wrong Balance" is likely to work anyway).

 

Having tried them "all" for skin tones, I think the ColorRight Max is the best right now. It works like an ExpoDisc and WhiBal rolled into one, but also has skin tone patches for warming or cooling overall balance. Perfect for me since my photography is all about printing skin tones consistently.

 

COLORRIGHT MAX

 

If you scroll past the badly photographed examples, I actually reviewed the thing for another forum and they reproduced it.

[wda]

I think what works for one, is what one does.

 

I've been using walls, note paper, table cloths, coffee mugs, shirts and all for white balancing but knew white comes in many types. White paper can be bluish or yellowish.

Thorsten, I have used the WhiBal for some time (and lost one!) and find it invaluable. It is not foolproof; it cannot balance a mixture of lighting sources but it gives a good starting point.

 

I previously used grey card and similar white or grey substitutes. The trouble is that it would be a miracle if they were spectrally neutral. The WhiBal claims to be neutral within very close stated limits. White paper is rather unreliable because it often borders on the clipping limits. Even grey art card is far from spectrally neutral. With WhiBal and shooting Raw white balancing is a breeze.

[sandymc]

Having tried them "all" for skin tones, I think the ColorRight Max is the best right now. It works like an ExpoDisc and WhiBal rolled into one, but also has skin tone patches for warming or cooling overall balance.

 

Jamie,

 

Took a look at the product - very interesting - but would I be correct in saying that the same result can be achieved just by using a normal grey card, and then offsetting the white balance to make it cooler or warmer. Less convenient, of course, but technically the same?

 

Sandy

[Overgaard]

Hi Thorsten--

 

The actual item is called WhiBal--not WhiteBal, and not GreyBal.

 

It's very nice for getting a neutral white balance. I find, however, that with a neutral white balance most, if not all, digicams get skin tones wrong in all but the best light (which is where the AWB, which I call "Average Wrong Balance" is likely to work anyway).

 

Having tried them "all" for skin tones, I think the ColorRight Max is the best right now. It works like an ExpoDisc and WhiBal rolled into one, but also has skin tone patches for warming or cooling overall balance. Perfect for me since my photography is all about printing skin tones consistently.

 

COLORRIGHT MAX

 

If you scroll past the badly photographed examples, I actually reviewed the thing for another forum and they reproduced it.

 

Explains why I had so much trouble finding their website. I should have looked more carefully. Thanks.

 

The COLORRIGHT looks very interesting, though not as uncomplicated. But I think I will get one, and mention this on the page as well, together with ExpoDisc. It's very much a personal thing what works for one, I just think white balancing is important.

 

To begin with it might feel odd to measure by pointing the camera towards the light source, but then again, it's like using an external lightmeter where you also (and more precisely) measure the light hitting rather than the light reflecting.

 

Thanks for the info.

[Overgaard]

Thorsten,

 

I think the ZEBRA card from Novoflex is the right piece of equipment you are looking for.

The size is 20 x 15 cm - so small enough to have it all the time with you and last but not least with 12.90 EUR rather affordable.

 

Novoflex has a lot of smart solutions for photographers, my experience is very good quality Made in Germany

 

special photographic accessories

 

I also would like to thank you for your very informative and inspiring website.

Your most recent e-book is stunning, wonderful work.

 

cheers,

 

Peter

 

Thanks Peter, for all the nice words. And for the link. Cut in half or something that seem rather perfect, and it has both white balancing and greycard for metering in one. I'm onto it ;-)

[Jamie Roberts]

Jamie,

 

Took a look at the product - very interesting - but would I be correct in saying that the same result can be achieved just by using a normal grey card, and then offsetting the white balance to make it cooler or warmer. Less convenient, of course, but technically the same?

 

Sandy

 

Sandy--yes, I mean, you can easily tweak the white balance from grey for the overall tonality you want; with skin tones it's not always just warmer or cooler but also along the magenta / green axis as well.

 

What I find is that in mixed light with hundreds of shots, this thing gets me in the ballpark much more quickly than a "neutral" reference, though of course that's there as well should I want it.

 

So it's a time-saver, and you're completely technically correct.

[Jamie Roberts]

{snipped}To begin with it might feel odd to measure by pointing the camera towards the light source, but then again, it's like using an external lightmeter where you also (and more precisely) measure the light hitting rather than the light reflecting. {snipped}.

 

I found using an Expodisc like that a little odd as well at first, and the ColorRight Max is the same in that sense.

 

But you can also use it like a WhiBal. It has neutral patches, and 'skin tone' patches as well. So you put it in the shot and then click balance in post or make a custom WB prior to shooting--it's your choice.