C300: Portable Grey Cards - Use them?

D

DDirector

Veteran
I was thinking, is it worth getting a cheap grey card for a few bucks on eBay to expose the images when shooting C-Log?
If I'm going run n' gun style, I want to expose to the best I can as quickly as possible. This seems like a great solution, but maybe not so great?
 
We include 18% gray cards with our C300 PL cameras for rental clients. I use them when shooting C-Log as a baseline. 70% zebras can be used to monitor reflected whites. What isn't very reliable is using flesh tones as an exposure tool, due to the wide variations in complexions.
 
What Dino said and if you’re shooting run’n gun with a C300 your best tool by far and away is the waveform. I have mine set up to waveform + spot. It works like this - the waveform is represented by whats on your screen left to right ok nothing new there, but theres a red box in the middle of my screen. Anything I put inside this red box will appear in a red centre bar on the waveform. So to know where the exposure is of something like someones skin tone I fill that red box with that skin with the key on and I can see it clearly. Very useful for when you really need to move yet keep hitting exposures.

My preferred ideal exposure method is a mix of: waveform and light meter.
 
Way back a long time ago, I was in a workshop training event with Christina Fox (doyen of UK training) and we did a simple test, white-setting off a variety of 'white' stuff, from paint to napkins to T-shirts to photocopier paper, and it included a £60 DSC white card. Needless to say, the DSC Labs card was visibly better for R-G stuff, and I've carried a 'proper' white card (not grey card) ever since. Unfortunately I lost my DSC Labs chart and replaced it with a Vortex Media set, and whilst it has done a workman-like job, I miss the DSC Labs card. Not quite sure if one could really spot the difference between the two, though. But the point remains - no, the back of the Crew Call printout doesn't really cut it. LOL

Just wish there was a 'spot' function for WB like there is for exposure. Sigh.
 
Matt - the card I linked to is like that in its made to be spectrally neutral. I don't know how it compares to a $500 DSC card.

Another option is a X-rite Colorchecker Custom WB card http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...M50101_ColorChecker_Custom_White_Balance.html

Neither is pure white but I don't know if that's wanted. With stills, at least, you want to do a custom WB with a card that is just shy of white, a light grey, because it's more accurate when none of the channels are clipping.
 
the card mentioned above is great for dialing in custom profiles with the canon EOS cinema cameras but I wouldn't use it for a WB card.
My favorite Wb card is the X- rite neutral gray card ( B&H sells these cards) set your exposure level to something between 60 & 70 % on the wfm and you'll be in the sweet zone color balance wise.
 
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