White balance hmc150

B

bryan777123

Member
I have been using WHITE CARD to manually achieve WHITE BALANCE. The results have been good (not sure what perfect result should be!). I have read Barry Green.s HMC 150 Book. Barry states that white card (or similar) is required. I have also read elsewhere that to achieve "best results" for white balance, that GRAY CARD "18" gives better results. I have also considered a simple plastic White Balance cap to achieve consistency. Can anyone give me their input about the 3 options - a) WHITE CARD (b) GRAY CARD (c) WHITE PLASTIC LENS CAP. Any guidance would be appreciated.
 
why are u posting in several topics? thats confusing :)

its better you're only starting one thread when having the same question.

Well coming to your question. I mainly use a white balance card... but you can also use for example a handkerchief, the clouds, white cars etc pp... even a grey card should work but some grey-cards are made for light-metering in photography so they dont reflect the full spectrum perfectly.

But the technical "perfect" white balance is often not the best for our eyes... So you have to play a little bit with the light sources if you want a more warm or more cold tone to get the camera make the color you prefer for the situation. For example when i'm filming a wedding i try to get a more warm color-tone :)

I never used the whithe plastic lens cap method. So i cant say antyhing about it.
 
I am new to the forum. You asked what a "perfect" white balance is. To me, the Gold Standard of white balances is skin tones. I always use that as my guide.
 
A white card and a grey card will produce the same results. Neither have a colour cast.

A white balance taken from a lens cap (IMO) won't give the best results. The item you are white balancing from needs to be in the scene you are shooting under the same lighting conditions.

Using skin tones for white balance isn't a good idea in my opinion.
 
I have experimented with this, and belive it or not, I think the AWB (auto white balance) gives a better look than using a white card. AWB also saves you if you forget to re-set, or simply don't have the time to re-set, each time you go into a different setting, something I do a lot when shooting outside in bright sun and harsh shadows. The problem with AWB is that if someone with a white shirt passes in front of your camera, it can throw it off.
 
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