ZipBalance Grey/White Balance Reference Cards Kit

Product Description

Set of two cards: One 8.5 x 10" & One 4.25 x 5.5" When accurate colour is imperative, Calumet Zip Balance Cards provide a spectrally neutral reference to precisely balance your images. Each pack contains one large card ideal for studio use & one smaller card perfectly sized for your camera bag. Zip Balance Cards feature a matte surface that eliminates glare & reflections to ensure accurate data capture. The front side

Includes:: certified, spectrally-neutral white & grey references properly balanced for optimum colour balance, along with a black point reference for brightness/contrast adjustments. The reverse side provides a neutral white reference for white balancing video cameras. Each card is protected in a zippered vinyl storage pouch to withstand rigorous daily use. Zip Balance Cards are ideal for portrait, commercial, medical, & scientific use where colour accuracy is critical. The Calumet Zip Balance Cards are perfect for eliminating colour casts & balancing images when shooting digitally with any kind of lighting, anywhere! Tips for Using Calumet's Zip Balance Card Zip Balance cards can achieve precise custom white balance both in-camera refer to your camera's manual) or in post-processing RAW & JPEG files. The best way to ensure that your images are properly white balanced is to photograph the Zip Balance card as a reference for each lighting situation. A Zip Balance reference shot can be captured before, during, or after a series of images in a session. We also recommend that you set your camera's white balance to closely match the current lighting conditions, rather than using auto white balance. Shooting Inside If your lighting source is in a controlled studio environment, simply have your subject hold the card near their face & take a reference shot anytime during the session. Or place the Zip Balance Card next to your subject in tabletop still life or product photography. As long as the light source does not change, you'll only need one reference image. When shooting with mixed lighting sources such as fluorescent, tungsten, or daylight, use the same process as above. Further image adjustments may be necessary, but the Zip Balance reference shot can be used as a neutral guide in the editing process. Photographing Outdoors If you are photographing outside, place the Zip Balance Card on the ground or at arms length for a Zip Balance reference shot. If the lighting conditions have not changed drastically, there is no need for intermittent reference shots. However, if your subject moves to another area of light or your camera is positioned at a different angle, capture another reference shot for the most accurate reading. Videography When using the backside of the card to white balance video cameras, simply insert the card into the scene, making sure the exposure is correct. Zoom in & focus the camera lens until the card fills the entire frame, & activate the " White Balance" on your camera setting & your white balance is set. Your camera should confirm that the white balance was performed. Postproduction By using conversion software such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® & Adobe® Photoshop® (Adobe Camera RAW), you can accurately & automatically adjust the RAW images that were captured in the same lighting conditions by referencing the perfect middle grey from the Zip Balance Card. When using a RAW converter program, open your Zip Balance reference shot, select the "white balance" tool, & click the eye dropper over the grey section of the Zip Balance card. Once your image is perfectly colour balanced, you can save the settings & apply to all of the similarly lit images in that session. If using JPEG files, adjust the images in Photoshop within the "curves" or "levels" dialog using the middle grey eyedropper. Batch-process your images captured in the same lighting conditions to achieve uniform color without any casts or noise.