Card for Setting Custom White Balance

What card do you all recommend? I guess the best to use is an 18% gray but which is the best one to pick up at a reasonable price. I took photos tonight and it is apparent I need to set the white balance due to the "Purple" problem of turning blue under certain lighting. I just do not know whether to use a white or gray card. What do you recommend and where is the best place to buy? Thanks.*

just got this one, seems to work great
http://cgi.ebay.com …em&rd=1&item=33​0183044015

I have WhiBal, pocket kit.
http://www.rawworkflow​.com/products/whibal/i​ndex.html
I like it, it’s easy to carry and easy to use..

http://www.colorbalanc​ecoach.com/features.ht​m

At the top right of the page the various sizes are shown - I have the little 8" diameter that folds into thirds and fits in my shirt pocket. It has a white side and a grey side and fits into a little zippered pouch that is also 18% grey. Handly little sucker.

I will sometimes use a pocket sized Gretagmacbeth Gray Scale Balance Card in one of the pictures that I am taking when they are all under the same lighting conditions. This allows me to easily correct color balance during post processing. I also occasionally use a Gretagmacbeth White Balance Card (7 X 10.5) when I want to set the in-camera white balance color compensation for a known lighting set up prior to shooting my subject -- for me the subject is normally turned wood art so the lighting conditions don't vary much from one time to the next.

dude i use a piece of typewriting paper....why spend? LOL

Expo disc...

I'll take a look at all these, thanks guys. What do you think of the caps you hold over the lens? I saw some from China for like 12.00 or something. There before and after shots look good but I guess they are like the expodisc somewhat. Just asking. They are sold on ebay and come from China and then some are sold from the UK.

Lunajen wrote in post #4267504
Expo disc...

I'll second the Expo Disk -- I think it gives me better results than a gray card. Get a size that'll fit your largest lens (or larger for new fast lenses) and you'e set.

I shoot RAW, so can adjust white balance to suit me, but it's still nice to have a good starting point!

ccp900 wrote in post #4267492
dude i use a piece of typewriting paper....why spend? LOL

As long as it is cheap paper, then you are probably about as good as the pricey cards. The expensive white paper often contains optical brighteners that will alter the correct WB considerably towards the blues.

Throw a coffee filter right over the lens. Switch to MF and shoot. I use that for white balance all the time and it works pretty well.

WhiBal vote from me.

bill boehme wrote in post #4272161
As long as it is cheap paper, then you are probably about as good as the pricey cards. The expensive white paper often contains optical brighteners that will alter the correct WB considerably towards the blues.

Seemed like this was worth an experiment.

This is a flash shot of my Kodak 18% gray card with a sheet of ordinary white inkjet paper slipped behind it.

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Me, too. But the measurebaters will still do what they do best?

Gray Card…White Paper. What’s best?

Can someone explain to me in "stupid" terms how to use a gray card?

Do I have the person hold the card while taking the shot? Or do I fill my frame with the card in that light (have the person hold the card and shoot it from there?

Also to get the correct lighting as well I should aim at the card to get the correct exposure?

Sorry I know these are elementary questions, but it has always confused me. Usually I just use AWB, but I want to learn more about this.