White Balance / Colour correction tools

So does anybody regularly use any white balance / colour correction tools? I have come across quite a few systems a varying prices and wondered if they are worth bothering with.

Graham

Are you talking hardware or software?

Hardware

Do you mean on the camera or the computer?

I normally just take a photo of a grey remote control off a Pure Evoke 3 Radio or a Kodak 18% Grey Card, even though a lighter grey such as a WhiBal would be preferred. .

I don't think Pentax cameras can do AWB straight off a grey object I have to check it on the PC using an Eye-Fi card to transmit a test shot.

Edit: You might find the videos on this site useful. WhiBal

can't see the point with digital!

The only time you might have a white balance problem is if you have a specific spikey spectrum that is interfering with colours - for example flourescents in factories often have a nasty green spike. Or orange street-lights. However, filtering on the camera won't solve that, you'd have to gel-up or change all the luminaries... which isn't practical for anybody on a normal budget!

I can't see the point either especially if you shoot RAW

Useful if you want to shoot a load of Jpegs and not have to correct each one. Even flash shots can have a cast due to the flash bouncing off coloured walls etc.

I've just noticed on the WhiBal site a tip for importing Jpegs into Camera Raw to colour correct them the same as RAW files.

I should have colour balanced these Jpegs for a lens I sold on here, then they would have looked the same colour

FLASH




AVAILABLE LIGHT (Flash switched off)

As regards JPEGs, just avoid AWB and use Daylight instead. Then you will record the actual colour of the ambient light. Don't forget to switch off the auto adjustment feature on the K20D and later though.

I do any fine adjustments to colour in Photoshop CS2 using Photo Filter, correcting colour just like I woulod have done with film, but after the image is shot rather than as it's shot.

Maybe I should be clearer, I have just purchased a flash for my first steps in understanding artificial lighting and intend to couple that with portrait shots (Not a subject I am comfortable with at all). I have seen several examples of white balance cards, the Wibal for example, that provide an initial white balance reading giving consistency to to all your images in a shoot. I always use the RAW setting and have Photoshop CS5.

I hope this is a bit clearer for everyone
Graham

What about a grey card or something like a colour checker from Pantone/x-rite?
here is a little review link I think for studio shots it might be handy.
Shoot one photo with the card and you can make a perfect profile (white balance and colour) for all your other photos.
The usefulness goes away though if you don't need to capture so accurate.

I sometimes use a camera RAW white balance card for the first shot. I then use the eye dropper in ACR to set the white balance from that card.
I use a card I got free with a Scott Kelby book btw .

You can do some many fun tricks with that if you use filters

The flashlight is very close to daylight and that's a range the AWB metering is comfortable in so you could probably leave it on AWB and get good results from that.

Also with portraits you might be lucky enough to get a white reading from a persons eyes
Not perfect, I know, but it might be good enough.
I mostly photo shop a bit anyway so no need to have it completely accurate as long as it looks good.

Anything grey will do the job, remote controls, some empty Pentax boxes (£10 off ebay ) but some are a bit off grey. Get some GREY paint sample cards from Homebase or buy grey card from an artshop. The Kodak Grey card isn't an exact grey anyway.

Don't try to WB off white. The RGB for pure white is R255 G255 B255 and if there's 15 units too much blue and it's got a blue cast, it won't record as R255 G255 B270..... B255 is the maximum so it will still record as R255 G255 B255..... Strangely Canon tell you to use white for WB

Whatever you do don't buy one of the screw in filter ones. I wasted £50 on an Expodisc only to find that the camera couldn't do a simple white balance in the same way that video cameras have done for the past 30 years. Come on Pentax

It's better to get it right on the 1st shot and then all the others are right and don't need extra PP work. The reason Ansel Adams invented the Zone System was to save having to do things in the darkroom that could easily be done in the field.

I've just tried quickly to make the two shots I posted the same with PP, but can't get them exactly matching. I could have done at the taking stage though.

It isn't called white balance for nothing
And also if you're 15 units off from grey it isn't grey any more either.

The grey card is used for exposure although it can also be used of course for the white balance.

What's a problem with those?