Card for Setting Custom White Balance

AthleticsPhotog wrote in post #4275121
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.

Your manual should give the proper procedure for setting a Custom White Balance with your specific camera. Generally you have the whole center exposure circle within the area of the gray card, whether someone's holding it or it's propped up on something, then use a menu item to set that pic as your Custom White Balance reference, then you set the camera to custom white balance depending on which control your manual says to use.

You could use a medium gray card to set exposure, sure, why not?

For basketball, I'd slap my grey card on the court and shoot a needle-centered pic of it in M. Use that for my CWB image AND in that same instant I got my exposure settings for the entire game. Done.

cdifoto wrote in post #4275763
For basketball, I'd slap my grey card on the court and shoot a needle-centered pic of it in M. Use that for my CWB image AND in that same instant I got my exposure settings for the entire game. Done.

I'd have one of the players or a referee hold it for me. It'd be waaayyy cooolll!

tonylong wrote in post #4275832
I'd have one of the players or a referee hold it for me. It'd be waaayyy cooolll!

It's not that cool on the NCAA Div II level.

Good stuff guys, appreciate all the help.

You could. I don't want to carry one, so I use this for exposure: First set the f-stop & shutter speed you need. Then adjust the ISO. Need an exposure crutch?

Some like it for outside shots, but don't use it for inside. Post #37: Notice that the very last exposure in the 2nd group of tests was of a gray card.
Auto White Balance - works really well

And there's a great illustration on page 2 (Post #58.) that illustrate easily seen information loss in a web jpeg shot in the camera & one derived from a RAW file.

Great thanks for the information

I shoot raw so I don't really worry as I can fix it later, but as I said I want to learn how to do it just so I know

I bought one of theseon ebay. It works pretty well, the price is right and the shipping was fast to US east coast.

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