ExpoDisc: Why does it cost so much?

[AlbertP]

The thread on white balance reminded me of a question I've had ever since I discovered the ExpoDisc:

http://www.expodisc.com/products/pro...px?id=MTAwMQ==

Why in tarnation does this thing cost so much?

A 77mm ExpoDisc is now going for $139.95!!!??

Have you folks seen one of these things? It's a little round plastic "filter" with a string attached to it. Yikes!

Could be useful, but at that price, I'll take two aspirin and call the doctor instead.

[Kevin Barrett]

Most likely because it's associated with photography. Most photography equipment (especially accessories) carry
hefty margins.

In light of the fact that the original white Pringles cap can also yield good results. The prices that they're getting
seems a bit EXTREME. In balance we should make a slight allowance for the 180 degree light gathering ability....
so a device fo this sort in my estimate could be $24.95 USD and still carry a hefty margin.

I'm sure I'm missing something....

I think there is a conspiracy in the works. Pringles has moved to a clear plastic cap instead of the nifty white
translucent one. Hmmmmmmm.... something fishy here. :P

[ohenry]

I have one (paid much less than $140 for my 77mm one) and, for the life of me, I cannot explain why it would cost so much. Then again, why does a high end UV filter cost $75+?

[JohnC]

If I remember correctly, the ExpoDisc has been around for quite a while as a metering aid. I used to see "discussions" of its merits on the CompuServe photography forum years ago. The price was more reasonable then, too. But the inventor died about 4 years ago and his family took over the business, targetted it to a new audience (white balance instead of exposure), and raised the prices considerably.

John

[mikej]

It was originally used in the movie industry... and yes, it was considerably cheaper. The guy selling it gets real bent out of shape if you ask him why he's charging so much too.

It's also limited in it's use in that you have to point it towards the light rather than reading the light falling on the subject. But people spend the money for it. Although many that have bought it said it either stays in their bag or never leaves the junk draw.

Maybe he figures he'd rather sell 1 for that price than sell 10 to get the same amount. I'm sure they are probably being made in China for .50 cents each.

Mike

[JDArt]

I have e-mailed representatives from ExpoDisc to invite them to contribute to this discussion.

[mikej]

Can you e-mail one of the coffee filter peopleand Pringles too? We might as well get all the parties that do a good job of color balancing. Actually, the filters you get for face masks at Home Depot did an excellent job as wel, although if I remember right, they were introduced after the big shoot out that tested a bunch of things against the Expo Disk. I think I saved that big thread somewhere. It was pretty interesting to find that something that costs pennies works just as good as something that costs over $100.




Mike

[badpickev]

yes maybe we can get pringles to go back to the old caps. it was great, a snack and white balance.

[fuentes]

the thing is, the comparisons are betweent the expodisc and preset camera white balances. i shoot in auto, but i've seen the presets on several cameras. none of them are settings i would leave the image as. i always fine tune the white balance to a personal, and in my opinion, more realistic value. for me, and i'm sure many others, the expodisc would be a waste of money. to get a ballpark balance, just use a white card before the shoot in place of your subject, get the white balance you desire in your program of choice and do a batch.

adrian

[mikej]

Adrian, a gray card is a better choice most of the time. A white card can reflect light, which can throw the white balance off.

Mike

[scoundrel1728]

Originally Posted by Mike Jordan

Adrian, a gray card is a better choice most of the time. A white card can reflect light, which can throw the white balance off.

Do you mean a white card is more likely to have glare reflections? If so, I'm not so sure that it would be any worse than a gray card with the same texture and surface finish in this respect. Indeed, because the white card reflects more of the desirable diffuse light, the glare would be proportionately less of the total light.

[JohnC]

Not sure I understand what you are saying here. Pointing it at the light reads the light that is falling on it. It is like using an incident light meter (as opposed to using it at the camera position reading the light reflected from the subject).

John

Originally Posted by Mike Jordan

It's also limited in it's use in that you have to point it towards the light rather than reading the light falling on the subject.*

[mikej]

Scoundrel, Every photo gray card I have is not as reflective as the white cards are. Also, white by it's very nature will reflect more light than a 18% gray card will... 82% more. So you can get reflective highlights from a white card that you might not get from a gray card. A lot of sources also recommend a gray card over a white. I've used both, including white tee shirts, white paint, whites of the eyes, whites on clean tenna shoes... anything that would get it close when I was under very difficult lighting conditions. Try getting white balance correct when shooting under halogen, iodine, floresent and some green swamp gas color light... all at the same time in a big horse arena. It makes for very interesting white balance settings.

John, the light coming from the light source can be and often is different than the light bouncing back from the object or objects it is hitting. Anytime light hits a object that has color to it, it is going to pick up some of that color, changing the color balance from that of the original source. If you point the Expo disk at a light then you are reading the light that hasn't been changed by the surrounding area. This is why when you have a gray or white card in front of your subject and take a white balance reading, you are getting the same light that is hitting the subject, the source light and all the light that is bouncing around and reflecting off the other objects in the room or area.

Mike

[JohnC]

I'm still missing something in the description of how this works.

If I'm using a color meter it is in incident mode and gets placed at the subject facing back towards the light. An incident light meter works the same way. Putting a gray card in the scene and reading that with a reflected meter should be a very similar reading.

If you put your camera in the subject position with the ExpoDisc on it pointing back towards the position the camera will be in when you take the actual photo it should be reading the same thing.

Are people using the ExpoDisc at the camera position? I thought it should be used at the subject position.

John

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by JohnC

Are people using the ExpoDisc at the camera position? I thought it should be used at the subject position.
John

That's a good question. I've used it both ways and have noted no memorable difference in results. It's "like a filter," so using at camera position would seem logical.

[ohenry]

1.i. Where to Aim the Camera
The best results are obtained by pointing the camera in
a direction that allows the light you wish to balance, or
that light which is illuminating the subject to strike the
front plane of the ExpoDisc.
When shooting people, simply stand near, or in similar
lighting as your subject and point the camera back
towards the position from which you will take the picture.
10
Occasionally you may experience a colorcast that
results in unsatisfactory color. This can usually be
corrected simply by balancing to a different light source.
First identify what light is actually illuminating your
subject. Aim the camera away from the subject and
balance to the incident light falling on the subject.
Do not balance towards a backlit subject if the
background light is a different color than that which is
illuminating the front of your subject. Instead, balance
towards the light illuminating the front of your subject.
Consult the tips below for help in some common lighting
conditions.
1.i.1. Artificial Light
1. Single Light Source. Aim the camera towards the
light source.
2. Dual Light Source or Studio Lights. Aim the
camera midway between the lights.
3. Flash. For bounce flash, aim the camera and the
flash towards the ceiling (avoid pointing the camera towards
a ceiling light). For off camera strobes, or removable/
remote flash, aim the camera towards the strobe,
or flash unit. You may get inconsistent results by aiming
the camera and the flash directly towards the subject.
11
4. Mixed Lighting (More than 2 Light Sources).
In open spaces with multiple, diffuse light sources,
aim the camera in the general direction of the
lights. In spaces with multiple bright lights, it may be
necessary to balance to the dominant light.
1.i.2. Natural Light
1. Sunlight. Aim the camera towards the sun, but only
after installing the ExpoDisc.
2. Sunrise and Sunset. When shooting the warm light
of a sunrise or sunset, aiming the camera towards the
sun will neutralize the warmth. Aiming the camera away
from the sun will enhance the warmth of the light.
3. Open Shade. Stand near the subject, or in similar lighting
and aim the camera back towards camera position.
4. Clouds. Stand near the subject, or in similar lighting
and aim the camera back towards camera position.
5. Filtered Light. Aim the camera through the filtering
medium towards the light source.

[ohenry]

To set Custom WB

Canon 1D and 1Ds
1. Install the ExpoDisc and set the camera to Manual
Focus mode.
2. Allow the camera to set an automatic exposure using
the “P”, “S” or “A” modes, or set the correct manual
exposure in “M” mode.
3. Aim the camera in the appropriate direction for the
given lighting condition and press the shutter release
button. See the ExpoDisc Instruction manual for more
information on where to aim the camera.
4. Press and hold the “MENU” button while turning
thumb dial to select the camera icon, then release
“MENU” button.
5. Press and hold the “SELECT” button while turning
thumb dial to select “Custom WB”, then release the
“SELECT” button.
6. Press and hold the “SELECT” button while turning
the thumb dial to select the desired ‘gray frame’ just
taken, then release the “SELECT” button.
7. Press and hold the “SELECT” button while turning
the thumb dial to select “OK”, then release “SELECT”
button to import the ‘gray frame’ white balance data.
8. Press and hold the white “WB” button while turning
the thumb dial to select the custom WB icon in the
control panel located below the LCD screen, then
release the “WB” button.
9. Remove the ExpoDisc, return camera to auto focus
mode (if desired), and start shooting.