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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
ExpoDisc vs Gray Card?
Lisa Hall, Photographer
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Oklahoma City | OK | USA | Posted: 7:23 PM on 08.16.09 |
->> Without getting into color temperature, which do you prefer?
Thanks! |
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Phil Hawkins, Photographer
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Fresno | ca | usa | Posted: 7:45 PM on 08.16.09 |
| ->> For indoor lighting I love the ExpoDisk. For outdoors I use the gray car. |
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Nick Morris, Photographer
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San Marcos | CA | United States | Posted: 7:49 PM on 08.16.09 |
| ->> Expo is a nice little gadget. It seems to do quite well. I also use the photovision Calibrations Target. They come in different sizes and the larger ones second as a reflector. |
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Curtis Clegg, Photographer
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Sycamore | IL | USA | Posted: 8:01 PM on 08.16.09 |
->> The ExpoDisc is great for situations where you can't get to the location where the subject is (e.g. a speaker at a podium, theater lighting, concert, etc.). I will normally take a 1/2 or one-second exposure with the ExpoDisc on and during that time point the lens over all the light sources on stage to get a good average temperature. One downside of doing this, though, is that it doesn't account for light reflection off of walls and floors and onto your subject. In places like basketball courts, and ExpoDisc reading won't take into account the yellowish reflection off the hardwood.
On the other hand, though, if you can get to the location where your subject is a WhiBal or similar gray card will give you a good accurate reading, taking into account all light sources and reflections.
I carry both in my bag. It's like incident vs. reflected light meters... different tools for different situations. |
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Matthew Mullen, Photographer
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Brick | NJ | USA | Posted: 8:43 PM on 08.16.09 |
->> Lisa,
I mostly use a Gretag Macbeth grey card and it is always spot on. I have had mixed results with the ExpoDisc, the white balance is OK but never quite as good as the grey card. But after reading Curtis' reply I feel he has nailed the way to use an ExpoDisc and I probably wasn't using it properly, and like he said it is great for situations where you cant set up with a grey card. |
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David Bailey, Photographer
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Flower Mound | TX | USA | Posted: 11:04 PM on 08.16.09 |
| ->> For indoors I use the Expodisc and it works great. Handy to carry as well. |
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Brian Dowling, Photographer
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 11:25 PM on 08.16.09 |
| ->> I bought the expo, used it a few times and it was always too cool(color temp wise) for me. I haven't tried the warm one, but I've heard thats the way to go. |
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Christopher Szagola, Photographer
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Richboro | PA | United States | Posted: 8:30 AM on 08.17.09 |
| ->> Expo disk,here, either indoors or night games, I haven't had a problem |
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Jeff Stanton, Photographer
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Princeton | IN | USA | Posted: 10:29 AM on 08.17.09 |
->> I have the Photovision Calibration Target and it has performed so-so. Under conditions such as a classroom with fluorescent lights, it gives me a pretty good WB. In dimly lit high school gyms, it's not done so well and I've tried my readings in a variety of ways.
The embarrassing part of it all is the best, most accurate white balance I got last season at the gym here in town was taken with a white coffee filter from my kitchen cabinet. I saved the reading in my D300's white balance presets and tried to use it at the next home game, but the white balance was off due to the age of the lights in the gym and their ever-changing color balance.
But for consistent white balances, I have found the 15 percent gray card to be the most accurate. I spent something like $40 on the Photovision target when the gray card was all I really needed. Live and learn. |
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Jonathan Castner, Photographer, Assistant
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Longmont | CO | USA | Posted: 11:11 AM on 08.17.09 |
| ->> When I'm outdoors/running about I tend to shoot a blank page from my notebook and correct later as I shoot RAW. However I'm going to be getting a small grey card that fits on my credential lanyard like the ones from http://www.digitalimageflow.com/ In the studio though I've been using a Lastolite collapsible http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/330874-REG/Lastolite_LL_LR1250_EZ_Bal... that is much like the Photovision but is solid gray on one side and solid white on the other. It works great. |
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Jim Colburn, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McAllen | TX | USA | Posted: 1:32 PM on 08.17.09 |
| ->> I find the expodisk to be easier to use. |
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Jeff Mills, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 4:34 PM on 08.17.09 |
->> Has anyone tried the Color Right one ? http://www.colorright.com/
Looks similar to the Expodisc but the pricing is a bit better and there sounds like some interesting options such as the calibrated range of skin tone options |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 5:06 PM on 08.17.09 |
->> I use either a coffee filter or a gray card. Keep one or two in a zip-loc bag always on the ready. Writing paper and copy papers have whiteners (not all but some) that will throw off your wb measurements. Coffee filter paper is bleached and rinsed to be food safe.
If you are going to buy a gray card look for one of the plastic models that you can sand smooth once in a while. That way when the card becomes scuffed an crappy you can sand it clean and smooth like new. Medium grits work best. You don't want too fine a grit it as it will cause hot spots, leave the card 'textured' and matte.
And on the original question, I tried an Expo-disk for a day. Didn't care for it. |
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David Bailey, Photographer
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Flower Mound | TX | USA | Posted: 10:31 PM on 08.17.09 |
| ->> I have a couple of friends that actually just use live view and set it visually. I've never tried it myself. |
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Clay Carson, Photographer
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Little Rock | Ar | USA | Posted: 10:10 AM on 08.18.09 |
->> +1 on the coffee filter.
Clay |
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