WhiBal vs kodak grey card

is the whibal significantly more accurate?
hence, is it worth the money over a kodak grey card?
i dont want to feel like im being suckered into buying one because they claim its much more accurate.

The camera pre-sets for white balance are pretty good but setting a custom white balance using an 18% gray card is more accurate. Most folks on this forum seem to prefer adjusting WB in PP but I get a lot satisfaction from getting it right in the camera.

I have and use a Whibal, especially in lighting situations that don't change or where having the proper color is extremely important, usually product shoots.
The main difference for me is that the Whibal is made out of plastic, so the grey tends not to rub off or become damaged with use as it can on the cardboard Kodak card.
That...and my wife bought me the Whibal for my b'day a few years back!

For me, the WhiBal cards are better than the Kodak cards for color balance reference for two reasons. One is the ability to prop the cards up with the provided stands. The other is that the color of the WhiBal product is uniform through the entire thickness of the product. If I smeared something on a WhiBal card, I could scrub it off and wind up with surface still being the proper color.

The Kodak card, if kept clean, is as good a neutral reference for color balance as the WhiBal cards or any other similar product. If the card gets dirty, it's tough to clean and have the same color in the end.

The WhiBal card is a lighter grey than an 18% grey product such as the Kodak card, and thus cannot be used for incident light measurement without some compensation.

The Kodak cards not only have a neutral 18% reflectance surface (grey) on one side (great for making incident light readings with a reflected-light meter) but a neutral 90% reflectance surface (white) on the opposite side. The WhiBal cards are the same grey on both sides.

I use this guy: LINK

Apart from questions of material durability, the WhiBal and the Kodak card are going to give you perfectly nuetral gray for WB setting.

For other alternatives, neutral gray is also on Photovision target (which has black, 18% neutral gray, and white sections which are useful for ETTR as well), the Douglas Grey Card is vinyl 18% neutral gray on one side and white on the other.

A question. When taking the picture of either the grey kodak card or the white balance lens cover....what setting do you have the camera's white balance set to?

I just realized I've been setting it from the previous setting.
is "AWB" the place to be when setting CWB?

Thank you.

Lou857 wrote in post #12884113
A question. When taking the picture of either the grey kodak card or the white balance lens cover....what setting do you have the camera's white balance set to?

I just realized I've been setting it from the previous setting.
is "AWB" the place to be when setting CWB?

Thank you.

If you are shooting jpeg, you should set a CWB.

If you are shooting RAW, you can set a CWB, but do not need to. In the RAW conversion, use the eyedropper to use the greycard to set the WB.

Remember....this is ONLY a starting point. You will need to adjust it to get the look that you saw with your eye (or in your mind's eye). For example, if you set a CWB/WB with a greycard of a beautiful golden sunset....you will not get a golden sunset.

The real key is knowing when you need to use a greycard and when you don't.

I have a Whibal card and found that it didn't work well for me, so I've been adjusting WB in PP. Not sure if I'll try it again. I definitely should have saved the $$.

Whibal cards make a world of difference inside with available light. I don't think I've tried using it outdoors. I think I read somewhere to use the Tungsten setting for sunrise/sunset photos.

GeeMack wrote in post #12884690
I think I read somewhere to use the Tungsten setting for sunrise/sunset photos.

Let me make a suggestion. Find a good sunrise/sunset....shoo​t at each of the WB settings....also try a CWB with the Whibal....then see which you like.

If you shoot raw...try a RAW shot and adjust it to taste....again, which do you like best.

Personally I don't need an accurate reproduction of the scene. I don't do product or documentary photography.

Instead I want create my own vision. So I always shoot raw with AWB. Later in LR I adjust the Temp (blue vs yellow) and Tint (magenta vs green) as part of producing the desired final image.

jrsforums wrote in post #12884606
If you are shooting jpeg, you should set a CWB.

If you are shooting RAW, you can set a CWB, but do not need to. In the RAW conversion, use the eyedropper to use the greycard to set the WB.

Remember....this is ONLY a starting point. You will need to adjust it to get the look that you saw with your eye (or in your mind's eye). For example, if you set a CWB/WB with a greycard of a beautiful golden sunset....you will not get a golden sunset.

The real key is knowing when you need to use a greycard and when you don't.

Thanks.
I do shoot in RAW, I like though to have the shots close on scence....probably just because.
I understand I'm shooting in CWB...that is after you set it though. So my question is when shooting the white or gray card......where do you set the camera? After all it needs thenshot in the camera to pull the WB from.

Thanks again.

YankeeMom wrote in post #12884663
I have a Whibal card and found that it didn't work well for me, so I've been adjusting WB in PP. Not sure if I'll try it again. I definitely should have saved the $$.

+1

I have a Xrite color passport now, hopefully thats better.

I've got an use both the WhiBal and Xrite Passport.