Custom/Preset White Balance with the ExpoDisc

I'm always on the lookout for neat photography tools and my latest purchase has given me great results.

Expodisc
It's an ExpoDisc, a white balance filter, used to achieve accurate white balance results.

You use it to set a Custom or Preset White balance on your DSLR, much like you would use a grey card. The difference is that you place the ExpoDisc on your lens and shoot through it at the light source rather than shooting at a grey card. Because you shoot through it, it gives more accurate white balance results than a grey card.

Here is an example of the ExpoDisc results (all photos are SOOC).

Using the Auto White Balance setting on my D300, I snapped a picture of a bamboo plant sitting by the kitchen window in the morning sun:
Stalks

Auto White Balance does the best it can to estimate the proper white balance, but has rendered the scene on the cool side. The resulting photo doesn't represent what my eye saw - no golden morning light on the stalks.

After using the ExpoDisc to set a Custom / Preset White Balance, here is the result:
Stalks, WB
This is what the bamboo really looked like in the morning light.

Normally, I don't get all that excited about White Balance because I shoot in RAW format and can adjust the White Balance in post processing. But sometimes that can take a long time. I was really happy with the ExpoDisc results and happier to have one less thing to monkey with in post processing. Hopefully I'll be disciplined enough to take the time during while shooting to set that Custom white balance.

Finally, one more shot of the little bamboo plant that sits by the kitchen window.
Sunlit

Linking up with Deb Duty and This or That Thursday

Anonymous –   – (March 1, 2012 at 7:52 AM)  

Do you leave the ExpoDisc on at all times? OR just for some of your photos?

Anonymous –   – (March 1, 2012 at 9:55 AM)  

What a great idea, Shirley. Thanks for sharing :)

deb duty  – (March 1, 2012 at 11:06 PM)  

I've been thinking about getting this and now you've convinced me. I have a lot of trouble with white balance and it's not fun to try to fix it in photoshop!

MaggieGem  – (March 2, 2012 at 11:02 PM)  

Wow, fabulous results! Great tool, I shoot in RAW all the time too, but getting the WB right out of the camera certainly is a time saver. :-)

Denise at Autumn Sky  – (March 4, 2012 at 9:50 PM)  

I am struggling with WB settings because it's fairly new to me. I am getting so much blue and haven't really figured out why:-/ This looks interesting.

Post a Comment

Followers

Copyright Notice

All images on this blog (unless stated) are the intellectual property and copyright of Shirley LeMay Photography and Shirley Behind the Lens (© 2005-2020). Do not steal, borrow or pirate the images here.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code. and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act) prohibits the use of digital property to be used without the consent of its owner.

Blog Archive

Label Cloud

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

  © Blogger template Shush by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP