warm cards

Wait, what ever happened to balancing through a 1/2 CTB gel on to white paper to get a warm effect. What's Rosco gel sampler cost...$2 or $3, probably free at a lot of places. That's always worked for me. Of course this says nothing to the decision of on-set warming vs. post, but come on, $60 for blue paper...ouch.
Peace,

-Harry
 
One problem with using any old paper that appears white (I know that's not what you said Ryan, I'm just pointing out a potential pitfall) to whitebalance is that some papers have been UV-treated to make them (and any colors printed on them) appear brighter.

This is often the case with heavier, premium papers that are also less likely to be somewhat translucent. The latter quality would make them a better choice for doing an impromptu whitebalance, but the UV treatment does affect the whitebalance of the camera and thus accurate color reproduction.

For more information, see this PDF file.
 
I've used the Warcards for the last couple of years and they have worked well for me. yes they are expensive but they are well made and come in a niced zipped pouch, together with a set of smallar cards to stick around your next for instant access.

They are great when doing interviews etc. Give the skin a nice tone.
 
THoff said:
One problem with using any old paper that appears white (I know that's not what you said Ryan, I'm just pointing out a potential pitfall) to whitebalance is that some papers have been UV-treated to make them (and any colors printed on them) appear brighter.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is definately something to watch out for if you use the DIY method. Just looking at some letter and legal sized paper here in my office and even they are slightly different shades of white ... Ithink in the end the old addage is true- you get what you pay for. Is $60 to much for some laminated paper? Depends- do you want to spend an hour or more reseaching the proper colors to get, and then making the cards; or do you want to spend that hour+ working on a billable project? After all time is money.

I'm all for DIY, as they DIY projects tend to be fun & a challenge- and I think this one is one of those projects that can easily be done. But after doing several DIY projects, and realizing the time that goes into them, I've realized that I may be saving cash, but I'm spending a lot of time. (I tend to be a perfectionist, and want things done right.) So a lot of times it would make better financial cent$ (sence) to just pay for the product that someone else has spend the time perfecting. And then there is the matter of looking professional infront of the paying client ...
 
Warm cards, Gretag Macbeth Color checkers, and DSC Focus charts are all valuable tools and every production can benefit from their proper use. Heck, warm cards are about $20 less than a single Macbeth chart and hundreds less than a series of DSC charts, yet I wouldn't want to be with out them.

I don't know why people will spend hours in post trying to get their colors right when they could have spent an extra 30 seconds or so with a chart up front.

People spend hundreds if not thousands for a mattebox to get "the pro look", never mind the light control aspect, but still shoot a sheet of paper for reference. Yeah, that will impress the client.

--

Rob
 
I like them because they are coated in a tough plastic and are matte finished so you have NO GLARE! I used these ALOT when I went to St. Thomas. I was doing mainly run and gun so the little cards worked great!

Best regards,

Andrew Hoffman
Senior Operations Manager
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com
 
If you use the small cards you need them pretty close to the lens don't you? If what you're shooting is away from you, is he camera location close enough match? Do you lug the camera over to where the talent is? Just wondering.
 
I bought my warm cards from evs the large, small cards and pouch i love them ive seen the difference they make. id rather use them than adjust the settings or make my own just cuz i dont trust myself enough to it rite so i let the cards do it for me.
 
fmaggi,

The card is supposed to be in the same light condition that the subject is. As long as the same light is falling on the card and the subject is not in shade, you should be fine as long as you don't have any reflections bouncing off your lens.

I use the big cards because I feel it's easier when I single hand.

To each his own.

Ken
 
These cards are great. You must white balance anyway, why not warm things at the same time? Be sure to get the 1/2. :beer:
 
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