Got the blues!

Mike McCarty · 08-25-2004, 10:31 AM

Thanks guys and gals,

This white balance is all new to me. I am going to get one of those gray cards, I can handle $12 dollars.

I went back and found an example still loaded in my camera. The first is with the white balance set on incandescent and the second is using auto white balance and a reflector board just off camera to our right.

In these two examples there are two 24x60 windows flanking the head board of the bed, all on the wall to our left. In front of each, on a night stand, is a lamp, which shows as a golden light in our left corner of the second.

What is really amazing is just how smart this camera got when it was allowed to figure it out for itself. I'm still going to get the card.

Garth Herrick · 08-25-2004, 12:14 PM

Some gray cards are too warm in tone for color balancing purposes. The specific hue of the gray will make a huge difference. I don't trust my gray cards for the PRE custom color balance setting on my Nikon D100. What I use and works great is an ultra-white variety of regular bond paper. The whiter the better. The cleaner the white, the better the warm flesh tones will be captured. If a gray card is already a warm gray, it will weaken and add blue to the flesh tones.

By the way Mike, you are an incredible photographer with a fantastic eye for capturing the perfect moment. I love to see what is new from your camera.

Garth
Nikon D100, 67,500+ shots so far.

Holly Snyder · 08-25-2004, 12:38 PM

That's really interesting Garth. I wouldn't have guessed that the gray hue would vary between manufacturer's, as that would seem to negate their purpose? My first gray card was probably 20 years old (it was my Dad's, who was a smoker), and it had yellowed over time. The new one is much grayer (blue gray). I keep it stored face-down, so it doesn't fade from sunlight.

What brand/style of white paper do you use? Have you tried taking a picture of a painting, and including in the picture a gray card and the white sheet of paper you did your PRE balance with (just sitting them on top of the canvas or taping them to whatever the canvas is resting on). Then in Photoshop Elements, using the Enhance/Adjust Color/Color Balance and clicking on the gray card and the white sheet. Does the color of your painting change significantly with the gray card vs. the white sheet? Ideally the color of the painting won't change at all when you click on whatever you used to set your white balance, but I'd be curious to see how much it differs (or doesn't) between the gray card and white sheet.

Holly

Garth Herrick · 08-25-2004, 01:00 PM

Hi Holly,

I am currently out of the paper I like: EPSON Premium Bright White Paper 500 Sheets. I need to get more; it makes my correspondence look pretty snappy. It has an ISO brightness of 108.

I can keep a sheet folded in my shirt pocket for the day, handy for whenever I need to calibrate a new PRE custom color balancing on my Nikon D100. I like to keep a natural degree of warmth in my photos, and the bright white paper seems the most direct way to achieve ths end. If the white paper becomes soiled or stained, just simply replace it with another sheet. Since it is white and not gray one must be careful to not use it in too bright a light. It works great for indoor incandescent situations, and for me works better than any built in color balance setting (Auto, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Shady, etc.).

A really great application for this white sheet of paper method is taking pictures in museums. It seems every painting and sculpture has a unique color balance of light falling upon it, especially from room to room in the galeries. I f I am serious about photographing a work of art, I will do a custom PRE setting first.

Garth

Holly Snyder · 08-25-2004, 01:57 PM

Garth,

I'll definitely try the white paper and do the Photoshop color cast test to see if I can see any difference. By the way, what manufacturer's gray card do you have that you don't like? I couldn't find Kodak cards, so I had bought Delta 1's at Ritz Camera. Interestingly, my D100 always seems to be biased towards the reds (warm), which I had accepted as a sensor calibration problem and always do a bit of Photoshopping to compensate. I'm interested to see if there's a difference with a white sheet.

Sorry to write so much in your thread Mike!

Regards,

Holly

Mike McCarty · 08-25-2004, 05:09 PM

Garth,

Thanks for the wonderful compliment, and for the input from such a prolific photo taker and accomplished artist. I don't know how many photos I've taken but I'm sure I couldn't match that number.

Holly,

Mi casa es su casa. I'm learning a lot from you guys, it's all just one big playground for learning. Where would I be without this wonderful resource?

Garth Herrick · 08-25-2004, 06:05 PM

Holly,

I have old Kodak cards I must have bought 20 years ago, and I noticed the gray was a little warm.

It's too bad we can't compare all our cameras side by side to see if they behave the same capturing the same scene.

Mike,

I'm sure that after a year and a half you will have a high number of pictures too! I've had my D100 just a few days under two years time. The counter counts to 9999. I have reached 9999 six times, and counting.

Garth

Kimberly Dow · 08-26-2004, 02:14 AM

I know I am late and all, but what kind of camera did you end up getting Mike?

Nevermind! I saw the answer already...duh.