Filters for 580EX, where, when how?

[LexLuther]

As much of my shooting seems to fall indoors, dimly lit with tons of tungsten bulbs, I was wondering what someone could do to help with getting proper color in their photo's? Currently I will shoot in RAW, and leave the camera in AWB. I wont use a flash and just crank up the ISO. I get decent results but they could be much sharper since my shutter speeds still don't seem quick enough (1/30th at f4 with iso 1600).

I bought the 580EX and it's helped a ton with having less motion blur in my shots, but it becomes hell to try and pick a WB in my raw conversion software since the tungsten lights still seem to be so overwhelming.

Can you shoot a white card and use a Custom WB to overcome this or is it safer/better to use a tungsten filter over the flash? If going the filter route is best, do they have filter kits for the 580EX?

[cmM]

roscolux has a swatchbook for all their colored gels.... they fit just fine over my 550EX, there are like 500 of them and they cost 1 cent. (not exactly the most conventional method however) :)

[slin100]

roscolux has a swatchbook for all their colored gels.... they fit just fine over my 550EX, there are like 500 of them and they cost 1 cent. (not exactly the most conventional method however) :)
Conventional or not, it's the same method I use. :)

Included in the sampler is a CTO (Color Temperature Orange) gel, which is perfect for dropping the color temperature of the flash down to tungsten. Each gel is just big enough to cover the flash tube. Just use a bit of tape to hold it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=45189&is=REG

[WestFalcon]

Are you shooting people or interiors or what? I shoot kitchen interiors with my camera on a tripod on tungsten wb. Any other corrections are in photoshop with the photofilters. If I shoot people, I shoot with the flash and don't worry about the tungsten because the flash is brighter than the tungsten lights. Tungsten lights look orangish in the picture but that's what they are supposed to look like and I've never felt a need to cover my flash with anything because they don't seem to affect skin tones at normal flash shutterspeeds. In a situation where time is important, I don't have time to try to perfectly balance lights and I've never had any client complain about it either.

[mr.photoguy]

Conventional or not, it's the same method I use. :)

Included in the sampler is a CTO (Color Temperature Orange) gel, which is perfect for dropping the color temperature of the flash down to tungsten. Each gel is just big enough to cover the flash tube. Just use a bit of tape to hold it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=45189&is=REG
Hey do you have any sample photo's with that.

[LexLuther]

West Falcon, I'm shooting interiors with people in the shots. Big open rooms with people standing about 10 feet from me, posing for a candid shot, meanwhile 30-40 feet behind them is lit strongly with tungsten lighting. The people look fine with the flash, but the entire background is, well, orange from the tungsten.

[WestFalcon]

Thanks...that's a tough lighting situation....Maybe the lens filter would get everything the same color...I've never tried a filter but it makes sense...good luck

[Mike Panic]

roscolux has a swatchbook for all their colored gels.... they fit just fine over my 550EX, there are like 500 of them and they cost 1 cent. (not exactly the most conventional method however) :)
i got 2 packs for free :)

[SteveO]

I just got the Roscolux sampler pack for the whopping price of 1 cent. Yes the copper 1/100th of a dollar kind. (Brom B & H and with about $5 shipping)

Looking through the swatch book I see the #3304 "Tough Plusgreen" says "To balance daylight sources to cool white fluorescents." Anyone tried this with a flash? Any recommendations on what swatch to use for warmer flouorescents?

[Incomplete Pete]

Those swatchbooks are great. I started okaying with mine yesterday: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=77464

I would like some proper filters which fit over the flashgun like the OmniBounce diffusers though.