18% Gray Card - A must Have

I got my Gray card from the photo store today for $5 bucks.

Best 5 bucks I ever spent =)

Its so worth having one for white balance for for exposure. When I want to use ETTL, I just FEL on the gray card and boom, perfect exposure =)

It makes me re-think in re-buying my speedlights back for the portable portrait setup.

Or use your hand with FEC...
Or use a meter...

I bought the gray card for white balance. I have a meter, and dont plan on using my gray card for exposure. For people who cant afford a meter, gray card rocks.

Ok - I'm new to the gray card but was reading a lot about them. So how do they work? I mean, what do you do step by step to get th exposure right? Thanks!

Exposure? Take your meter reading directly from the grey card in the light the subject will be under. Meters are generally calibrated to assume a scene averages out to 18%. Using the grey card will mean that a scene that's very bright(snowscape) or dark (coal bin) will be properly exposed since the meter will not read from and thus try to make the white, or black, grey.

White balance? With a DSLR, photograph your grey card (filling at least the center image circle/all the AF points with it) in any WB setting. In your menu, select Set Custom White Balance, then follow the directions to point to the picture to use for the CWB. Then set your White Balance to CWB, and you're set. Don't forget to change it back when you move out of that light though. IIRC on the PowerShots you just select "Set CWB" and point the camera at your WB target.

I use my gray card to set white balance every time I shoot. I use my meter for exposure but prior to having the meter I found the gray card to be a useful tool in learning and understanding about exposure.

Great - thanks! I'm going to pick one up. They sound handy to have.