What do you guys usually use to manually white balance your camera? (cards, paper?? Etc.)

I have a wedding coming up in a few days and just trying to get all the last minute things figured out.

Thanks

I've WBed on a hankerchief .. my mates white shirt .. one of the chorasters blouses . . Went to a tutorial given by a bloke from the BBC you WB-ed on a light bulb . . nah wouldn't do it meself .. Cards . . never used them . .Used A4 white paper . . do some experimenting IF you have time .. see what takes your fancy. .. At the end o fthe day whatever you do do . .DO WB .. . made my life simpler . ..

.. nearl forgot, caterers tablecloth!

I like to use the back of my Don Earl clap board.

Anything near-white will do the job. I generally use the white plastic white balance cards that Porta Brace includes with many of its bags.

The target does not have to be large but it should be flat. It is also important that you focus on the target and properly expose it -before- striking your manual white balance. (A common mistake by new shooters.) It's also important that the target be completely illuminated by the light source you're trying to balance against.

As you move forward you may want to try out some WarmCards, which are white balance cards designed to shift the camera's manual white balance in various ways.

Have fun!

But why are warmcards from http://www.warmcards.com so freekin' expensive. I mean $65 for some laminated pieces of card stock? Couldn't I just use construction paper that is a similar shades of blue that they use? Or is it made with some sort of special paper? Or special lamination?

It's a percentage of grays and colors, and you can do it yourself. You just need to know the right percentage.

<<<-- Originally posted by Thomas Smith Jr : But why are warmcards from http://www.warmcards.com so freekin' expensive. I mean $65 for some laminated pieces of card stock? Couldn't I just use construction paper that is a similar shades of blue that they use? Or is it made with some sort of special paper? Or special lamination? -->>>

You could, indeed, replicate the colors on a good printer. Then laminate them to sturdy stock. But the basic value proposition of Warm Cards is that of time. I doubt that Warm Cards considers hobbyists as their primary market. Their market is more likely to be shooters facing time/cost premiums.

good point.

You might want to check out the thread in "Open DV discussion" about using bleached coffee filters. It sounds like a stroke of genius. I haven't tried it out myself, since I just read it, but here it is:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28088

Ken, you mentioned in an earlier post that it is important to have your target illuminated by the light source to be balanced against. That makes total sense.

Any tips for how to white balance when the light source is a bunch of spotlights and overhead lights on a live theatre stage with a camera at the rear of the auditorium?

Thanks.

.. uh-huh? . . this should be interesting ....

G

Here's an excellent recent thread on the general subject of shooting a theatrical performance (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28945).

Stunningly useful. Thank you so much Ken!

ps, I won't tell you that I had in fact seen that thread a few days ago and had made a mental note to read it properly at a later time. That would make me look like an idiot . . . so I'll keep it to myself.

It's such a good thread that it's a good application of a little-used, rarely-noticed feature of our system: the "Show Printable Version" link at the bottom of each thread page. That link will reformat the thread into a form better suited for printing.

<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Toogood : What do you guys usually use to manually white balance your camera? (cards, paper?? Etc.)

I have a wedding coming up in a few days and just trying to get all the last minute things figured out.

Thanks -->>>

Jeff I found the perfect white balance card for my kit. I was at office depot and found this:

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=460711

The pic doesn't do it absolute justice though. The board is very white and I always WB my GL2 by it. You should definitely check it out, especially if there is an Office Depot near you.

:)

I have a piece of foamcore whiteboard, paid maybe $2 for it. It is in two pieces, around 18x22 each, and hinged together with gaffers tape on one side. I fold this over, and it holds my CT gels. When open, it makes a decent surface to bounce light, and even white balance off of it.

This I like - I like this!