Custom 18% Grey Scale Card?

massahwahl

massahwahl

VIP Member
Is it possible or recomended to create your own 18% Grey scale card for setting custom white balances? I finally figured out how to correctly do this in my camera and noticed that some of the commercially available cards are fairly pricey for all that they are. If I printed out my own scale, would it be accurate and what shade of grey would I need to print out?
 
go to and art shop and ask for a 50% grey card

the 18% is a reflectance value the card its self is actually just half way between black and white


the card actually comes in more useful for metering exposure than setting a white balance i find the auto whit balance will work quite well in most situations

also you could just shoot in raw because then you can change your white balance after the fact

but yeh you should just be abble to get that card or mount board is a bit more sturdy at any art shop
 
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I bought a 18% one at the camera shop today. The auto WB of my camera is probably one of the only complaints I have about it so I opt to use the Custom WB. How do you use the card to set exposure? also, Im confused about what you mentioned shooting in Raw format, will raw format work and let me edit in Photoshop CS2?
 
same as me

right for exposure just have you camera on manual put the card in your scene choose the metering point that its on and set your exposure (works best in studio conditions but it still works outside)

right you should also have gotten software with your camera that allows you to adjust setting on raw images after you have taken the shot and put it on the pc once you have the right setting you want you can use said software to conver to tiff or jpg ether way you have more data than you would have shooting in jpg but it will take up twice as much memory on your card

get back to me with and more questions i will answer if i can :)
 
I have LOADS of questions actually, lol. Im new to doing this kind of photography and sort of got thrown into it on a whim from our company. When I was shooting at the board of elections last night, I tried using the card to determine WB but everytime I set it and took another picture everything had gross green haze to it.

As far as 'metering points' go, is that the spot I choose to focus when I press the shutter down half way? And from what your saying I shouldnt be using the card to determine WB anyway? (Sorry for being a noob :P) Im learning all of this stuff sort of little by little but I need to learn as much as I can because im getting more and more demanding assignments that require me to have some sort of picture taking skills.
 
if your setting custom whit balance you may be better just taking a shot of the room or scene on auto and then going to custom and setting it from that but you can normally just get along useing the presets that come on there just look at the light your shooting in and see what you think matches tungsten, sunlight etc

yes the metering point is the point you set to focus from but you can also pick a metering mode depending on what your shooting on you can choose from these by pressing the left button of the four buttons around the set button

you can choose from
evaluative, partial, and centre weighted average
read more on that here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metering_mode

can i also recommend you get a copy of this it will help you learn what every thing on you camera is and how to use it i got one with my camera and i found it very help full
http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Lantern...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204750139&sr=8-3

and if you r really interested in learning your stuff you should get a copy of Michal Langford's basic photography
http://www.amazon.com/Langfords-Bas...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204750255&sr=1-1

this is the eighth edition witch surprised me because Michal Langford died shorty after he finished writing the 7th edition befor it was even published
also that says basic but i don't yet understand quite a bit of the advanced so that basic is always a trusty friend :)

i went of on a bit of a tangent there so if i missed something let me know :)
 
4NGU$ said:
can i also recommend you get a copy of this it will help you learn what every thing on you camera is and how to use it i got one with my camera and i found it very help full
http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Lantern...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204750139&sr=8-3
Click to expand...

Bought a very similar book this afternoon, lol, funny you suggested it! Same thing but by a different author. Goes into LOTS of details...I have some studying to do!

and if you r really interested in learning your stuff you should get a copy of Michal Langford's basic photography
http://www.amazon.com/Langfords-Bas...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204750255&sr=1-1
Click to expand...

This book looks informative, I take it must be a college textbook? Im gonna look around and see if I can get it as an ebook for my palm.

I keep going back to the white balance, but I really am struggling with that aspect. The presets dont ever look right to me, but I am using manual mode so any number of other things could be mucking the colors up. I was under the impression that if you bought this card and used it for WB it would magically make everything ok... I was little misinformed! lol.

I appreciate all your help, I still tons of questions but let me search through this book for a while and I will get back with you. Thanks 4NGUS!
 
any problems you do have with white balance can be sorted out with a quick click of auto color or level on photoshop but i do see your want to get it right in camera as thats how i like it to be the problem is the sugested preset isnt always the right one the room im in right now hasnt got fluresent tubes but works most accurately in florescent preset

wb is all based on color temperatures tungston bulbs being about 2800k and daylight being around 5500k-6500k depending on the time of day

its all in here more for you to read :P
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature


and yet more
this seems like a sound tut
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/white-balance.htm
 
Thanks again 4NGUS, the links are making things a little clearer, who knew photography could be some complicated! Ill def check back and let you know if I have any more questions.
 
1. You can also go to paper shop and print shops :)

2. If you're in a pinch you can use the picture itself to whitebalance itself. :)
 
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