White Balance Correction Lens Cap

[AndrewWG]

Has anyone ever tried one of these white balance lens caps? Apparently you shoot a pic with the lens cap on and set it as your custom WB. Sounds like a neat idea, but I am not sure how they are in practice. Not cheap, but if they work, it might be a good idea. I imagine that it works like the expodisc things that I have seen and not heard great reviews about. Not sure though.

Here is the link:

http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/white-balance-lens-cap?src=DPS

 

[boBQuincy]

Similar in application to the frosted diffusers we used to use to determine the "white balance" when enlarging a color negative, these devices integrate the scene to determine the average color balance. Surprisingly this is very often a close balance of R, G, and B, giving some shade of neutral gray.

The success depends greatly on the mix of the scene, a closeup of a green (or any other single color) object will not work, nor will sunrise, sunset, or tungsten-lit scenes unless a neutral balance is what we really want from these scenes (which usually ruins the effect of shooting in these conditions). In a studio these devices may be very useful but in a studio we probably already know the temperature of our lights.

If we shoot in RAW the color balance matters little anyway, it is only used as a guideline and does not affect the image. There is a *really* good explanation of all this in RockyNook's book on HDR.

 

[AndrewWG]

Yeah, I shoot in RAW which really negates the purpose of these items but I would like to get the WB more correct ahead of time without having to carry a gray card or something. I usually have to just fix it in Lightroom but it gets annoying and can be time consuming. Of course, if you are shooting a bunch of different things, the WB would have to be set each time the scene changes which would also be a pain. I guess there is no easy answer, huh?

 

[jann1033]

well that and i'd be sure to lose a $45+lens cap the first time out

 

[AndrewWG]

well that and i'd be sure to lose a $45+lens cap the first time out

 

[boBQuincy]

To clarify (or confuse) things a bit further, the ExpoDisc is a bit different in that it is (supposed to be) used by aiming at the light source, not the subject. This will almost always give the "correct" white balance even though, like exposure, it may well give results the photographer does not want.

The "correction" would likely take the Winter alpenglow on Half Dome and convert it to neutral gray!

There is still no substitute for creative expression!

 

[Groucho]

Yeah, I shoot in RAW which really negates the purpose of these items but I would like to get the WB more correct ahead of time without having to carry a gray card or something. I usually have to just fix it in Lightroom but it gets annoying and can be time consuming. Of course, if you are shooting a bunch of different things, the WB would have to be set each time the scene changes which would also be a pain. I guess there is no easy answer, huh?

I carry a Spudz 18% gray microfiber pouch on the side of my camera at all times... that's an easy solution if you don't want to carry around a chunk of cardboard. Though really, 99.9999% of the time I just use it as a microfiber cloth, but it's really handy to have one at your fingertips at any time. I have mine clipped to the lens strap on the left side.

 

[AndrewWG]

I carry a Spudz 18% gray microfiber pouch on the side of my camera at all times... that's an easy solution if you don't want to carry around a chunk of cardboard. Though really, 99.9999% of the time I just use it as a microfiber cloth, but it's really handy to have one at your fingertips at any time. I have mine clipped to the lens strap on the left side.

That sounds like a good idea. I need a microfiber cloth as well so if I can get tow products in one, I am all for it! Although, I expect that as you do, I will use it as a cloth much much more than as an exposure guide. worth having though. I will pick one up. Thanks!