Another tool for getting the right White Balance/Colour


Status
Not open for further replies.

Hitman

Senior Member
Stumble over these while attempting to justify to myself whether I should get an Expodisc... so thought to share this on the forum.

http://www.colorright.com/

http://www.lallyphotography.com/store/

Looks interesting, but I guess it's not tried and tested compared to the Expodisc...

Hmm... Expodisc - should I or shoud I not? ;)
 

Haha Hitman you are not alone! I'm in the same situation as you, in a dilemma too. I have done a search and realised a fellow bro here even DIY his own and his result is pretty good when he compared it against his Expodisc. To get or not to get...
 

I have both colorright & expodisc.
colorright claims that it does better than expodisc under flash conditions.
Background is a white wall.

Camera is S5 Pro with SB-800 flash. No PP except to rescale.

here is a comparison:
1. Expodisc
sample expodisc.jpg


2. Colorright
sample colorright.jpg


3. Camera white balance (AUTO)
sample auto.jpg


4. Camera white balance (Flash)
sample flash.jpg
 

here is another set of images
1. Expodisc
tissue expodisc.jpg

2. Colorright
tissue colorright.jpg

3. AUTO balance
tissue auto.jpg

4. Flash balance
tissue flash.jpg
 

I have the Expodisc. From what I understand, it is more accurate than Colorright, but since it samples incident light, using it with flash can be a pain.
 

shoot raw @ auto white blance, during PP, click for white balance. This is the best tool...
 

both colorright and expodisc are suppose to take the measurement from the subject position, if your light source is hotshoe flash, mean you have to detach the flash and aim at the camera for custom WB, cos the subject is receiving direct flash, and your need to let colorright/exposdisc is receiving same direct flash for measurment.
 

still trying out the two...

I like to use expodisc when outdoors when the lighting is consistent and expodisc can also be used as a incident meter to set the manual exposure.

for flash, I'm still a little mixed between the two. expodisc does fairly okay if using flash in room with white walls/ceiling using the "bounce flash at wall" technique.
 

I use exposdisk for flash as well. Works great but for people you might want to correct it later a bit towards the warm side.
Expodisk can also be used for bounce flash. Just setup flash, aim roughly at the direction where the objects are as to capture a mixture of bounced flash and ambient light and use the picture for Custom WB. Very useful when the walls are not white, the resulting colour casts are PITA. With expodisk you get it sorted out nicely.
 

Does any one know where to buy colorright in Singapore?
 

TS, what is color of your wall?

among the 4 WBs, which very near to the color of your wall?
 

shoot raw @ auto white blance, during PP, click for white balance. This is the best tool...

But you will need a white/ neugral grey object in the picture... which is why I have a spydercube.

http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-cb-spydercube.php

For example, nothing is white or neutral grey in the following picture:

200909_7290.jpg


The original room lighting is heavy tungsten. So, I cannot really use plain flash or the lighting will be a mish-mash composite and impossible to correct. So, I gel my flash with a full CTO and shot a couple of shots at the spydercube first. After that, I apply the same correction for everything I shoot in the room. Works pretty well.
 

I have repeated my experiment to test: auto, Preset flash, custom (white card), custom (grey card), custom (Expodisc), custom (colorright), custom (flashright), custom (Flashright warm).

Camera used is S5 pro with Standard setting (no firm simulation) and SB-800 flash. No photoshop except to resize.

Auto
color_auto.JPG


Preset Flash
color_flash.JPG


Custom (white card)
color_white_card.JPG


Custom (grey card)
color_grey_card.JPG
 

Last edited:
Custom (Expodisc)
color_expodisc.JPG


Custom (Colorright)
color_colorright.JPG


Custom (Flashright)
color_flashright.JPG


Custom (Flashright Warm)
color_flashright_warm.JPG
 

on my calibrated monitor, I would say that the gray card looks very close to neutral. You can decide which of the 4 products seems the most accurate.
 

Ultimate WB tool:

Minolta or Sekonic Color Meter. :devil:

Also applicable for flash and mixed lighting.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.