Using a grey card

[jfrancho]

I'm not sure how many people use a card for exposure readings these days.

I use the palm of my hand more frequently than a gray card.

[Paul Shields]

Originally Posted by jfrancho

I use the palm of my hand more frequently than a gray card.

I too use the palm of my hand more frequently than...

Oh hang on - wrong thread .

[jfrancho]

Originally Posted by Paul Shields

I too use the palm of my hand more frequently than...

Oh hang on - wrong thread .

Easy Paul, I'm drinking coffee and wearing a white shirt today!!!

I really opened the door for that one!

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by tomtom

If I were to meter off a grey card then should I expect accurate exposure and WB for those shots? I guess that when shooting RAW that it isn't such an issue (). If so then is this only something that I need to consider when shooting jpegs?

When possible, I use a Kodak grey card, purchased from B&H. I prefer this to relying on tinkering with white balance in the RAW conversion process.

Actually I like to try to avoid using RAW altogether, and this is one more way I can do that.

[Unkl Buck]

If I've forgotten my "zebra" card, I've even used white t-shirts that people are wearing. Or the white socks that I wear. Or anything else that I see that is white or what I want to be white in the image. I usually will use a zebra card that I got from my lab. It is a 8x12 print on foamboard that has alternating black (255,255,255) & white (0,0,0) with a gray bar down the middle. I then cut it into quarters (4x6) so I can carry them easier in my pocket or camera bag.

Notebook/copy paper works just as good in a pinch. Or even cardstock. It really doesn't have to be too technical. As long as you know what should be white in the image.

[Unkl Buck]

Heck,
in a wedding, if I know that the bride has a white dress (not off-white or ivory or cream, but white), I've even used it to white balance with.

[jfrancho]

Originally Posted by Unkl Buck

Heck,
in a wedding, if I know that the bride has a white dress (not off-white or ivory or cream, but white), I've even used it to white balance with.

I have some images with mixed lighting (incandescent and daylight) from this past wedding, and the white dress looking white is a priority for me. There a couple where I used this technique to balance the mixed light.

[Paul Shields]

Originally Posted by JDArt

When possible, I use a Kodak grey card, purchased from B&H. I prefer this to relying on tinkering with white balance in the RAW conversion process.

Actually I like to try to avoid using RAW altogether, and this is one more way I can do that.

OK - I'm going to disagree here. I really don't know why anyone would choose to not shoot RAW, unless restricted by card capacity, post-processing time etc. I personally think that shooting jpegs means that you're losing a lot of potential to work on the image later. It's as though you're shooting, then 'virtually' sending the film off to a 1-hour photo lab and accepting the prints they give you and accepting that the negatives have been lost for good. Seems like a backwards step to me.

[Mark McCall]

Originally Posted by Paul Shields

I really don't know why anyone would choose to not shoot RAW, unless restricted by card capacity, post-processing time etc.

It's actually faster to process Raw files than Jpg.
Color correction, sharpening, rotating, vignetting and especiallly exposure correction can be done in real time, to hundreds of images at once or in groups in seconds.

With the price of memory cards, I'd be suprised if that was a factor in deciding Jpg or Raw.

[busterc1]

On the backside of the kodak gray card is white for the white balance

Mike