Explain what sort of disc you are referring too?

(Welcome by the way :)..)

Thank you,

Carl

For white balance setting. Here's a link to one: http://expodisc.com/products/product_detail.php?prodid=2&productname=Exp...

I think someone mentioned it in the noncamera items they use frequently. I've looked at them at my local shop but they don't come in the size of most of my lenses.

Heather, thank you for bringing this up, what a great idea it seems to be. Haven't used it myself but this is something I can see trying out for sure.

If anyone has experience using this here, a nice little before/after 2 image post would be very nice!!!

Here is a quote from Expo Disc's page:

"The ExpoDisc is far easier to use than any gray card, white card or calibration target. Simply place the ExpoDisc in front of your lens and capture the incident light while setting your camera’s custom white balance. Using an ExpoDisc custom white balance will virtually eliminate the need for RAW or JPEG post-capture color adjustments."

That sounds easy to me!

Carl

I was actually looking at the Expodisc site this morning and they have a whole page of before and after samples under all different kinds of light. Every one I looked at though, I thought, "I could fix it faster in PS than monkey around with that thing on a shoot." I have a buddy up in B.C. that swears by his. He uses it mainly in the studio.
Scott

I have a Expodisc in 62mm I use it on everything from the 62 down and it works great. Just hold it up against the smaller lenses and set it. By the way it goes every where my camera goes.

Thanks for posting about this Heather, I hadn't heard about it either. Sounds great for white balance and good to know that for 55mm sounds like the larger ones might work out okay.

Heather, thank you for bringing this to our attention. I'm a real nut about getting my colors true and this seems like it could be a very useful aid in achieving that end. I currently adjust my colors in Photoshop on a calibrated monitor but this tends to be subjective. While the expodisc might provide a convenient objective way to manage WB.

I used the hyperlink you provided and read with interest how others have used this thing. Some use it by placing it over their lens between the subject they are about to photograph and use the light reflected from the subject to calibrate WB. Others take the camera to the location of the subject and point the lens with the expodisc in place at the light striking the subject. Which of these methods is the preferred way to use it? I wonder if a sheet of white paper temporarily placed over the subject might provide the best solution?

An animal in the wild might not cooperate when you place a sheet of paper next to it. I can think of other circumstances where you can not reach the subject or the light striking the subject.

Thank you for any insight anyone has had in the use of this thing.

Dave

The more I think about this, the less I believe it will work. Aiming your camera at a known white reference and telling your camera "This is what white looks like in these current lighting conditions" is a way to calibrate your color. This thing sounds like a translucent white lens cap. It will be illuminated by an unfocused Hodge Podge of colors and interrogate them together. While this might work now and then, I can't believe it works well.

Sounds like a rip off to me. :-( I would like to hear from someone who has used this thing extensively.

Dave

To use the expodisc I place it on a lens then bring up the custom white balance menu on my camera. Then point the camera at the light source striking your subject and press the release to capture the intensity and set that as my custom setting. I then remove the disc from the lens and start shooting. Gives great skin tones and colors. While the disc does not work for every situation I have found that I use it on about 80% of my shots. I have tried other things including putting a white piece of paper over the lens and that does not even come close to the results I get with the disc. The only negative I can say about the disc is the case, it is lined with some sort of velvet material which the disc attracts so you may need to wipe it off before using. Just so you will know I am no way associated with Expodisc, I am retired and found a great product. Here is the link to the website where you can pick your camera and it will give you directions on how to use it with your camera. I to thought this was a ripoff until I got to try one and that afternoon after using it I ordered one. Not one regret.
http://www.expodisc.com/support/cameratutorials.php

Thanks jwisecarver,

Using it by pointing at the light source the way you do, does make sense. I suppose this would work well for close up work were I can get next to the subject and look back at the light source. Have you tried putting the piece of white paper next to or over the subject so the paper is illuminated by the same light source, then calibrating by aim the camera at the paper? I would think that would also work well.

Dave

Interesting has anyone tried it for outdoor shots much? The experimenting I've done with trying to calibrate for outdoor shots(via white card or similar) has met with little success, I find auto white balance still seems to give best results in the circumstances I'm shooting for.

It seems like calibrating for white is more suitable for indoor shots, where when you point the camera anywhere the lighting and brightness isn't drastically changed. But was curious if this perhaps performed better outside for anyone.

I see they have some type of example here
http://www.expodisc.com/seeit/seeit.php?id=1&case_title=Outdoor_Twilight

thanks