chris_hardiker

Thanks for the input!

That's funny actually Mark, I was reading those tutorials right before I chekced the status of this thread. They are indeed very useful, some great reading material there! I agree with you completely, it's nice to have the freedom of artistic choice.

A prime example of this is the "Sunsets" etc. rule whereby grey cards, Expodisc et al will, obviously, neutralise the color and exposure level. I'm more interested in having the information infront of me so that I can make a decision based on what the effective colour temperature is; and the desired effect for the photo. Another reason why I'm leaning towards a cheap/used colour meter.

While a colour meter will seemingly take care of most of my needs, I'll still probably get a sturdy grey card or WhiBal at some point down the line, as both can be effective depending on the situation. As it stands though I can see myself using a colour meter more frequently for desired effects.

The same can be said for warm/cool cards. They are a convenient idea if the situation calls for them, however it's more pieces of equipment as opposed to altering the colour temperature directly onto the camera with one instrument. That minus green card sounds great though....more to research. Thanks for the link!

Once again, thanks for all the advice!

Chris

Thanks for the responses all, this was exactly the information and opinion needed. Now to take stock of what was said and see what the best solution is for me.

Once again, thanks for the info. This site is a fantastic resource for every aspect of photography - keep up the good work!

Chris

Thanks for the info L G. I have a DSLR on which you can directly enter the colour temperature in degrees Kelvin. The camera then automatically compensates for the colour temperature entered to give balanced colour.

Sorry to be specific on this, but I wasn't quite clear on your comment about your meter giving a readout in K. Is the reading dependant on the film-type that you set the meter to read for? Or does it just read the actual colour temperature regeardless.

If you have to enter a film-type first; which should one enter for Digital photography?

Thanks again!

Chris

Thanks for your replies; they are grately appreciated.

I'll get straight to the point.

Steve: Grey cards are fine, but not always what I'm after. I'd rather have the data infront of me, then base my WB decisions when entering the degrees Kelvin. I want to spend very little time in post production as possible. I have a light meter to deal with exposure, which I find to be a very useful tool. I also find grey cards a little cumbersome and time consuming (though as a quick, cost-effecting point of reference for many shots/situations they can be superb). Your answer was certainly helpful, though thanks! If a colour meter isn't going to meet my needs (and it might not) then a WhiBal will have to do the trick. I've been through such discussions with many regearding grey cards, Expodiscs etc.

Garry: Thanks for the welcome. Does your minolta give an unbias reading of degrees kelvin? Or is it dependant on what film-type you select the meter to measure at?

Emre: Again, I'd rather have the true data at the time of capture as opposed to post production. Every situation is different of course, but on the whole I like to get things as accurate as possible in the camera.

For general use, other processes might indeed be easier, I don't know. Never used a color meter (maybe the best thing to do would be to rent one and compare it to other methods....see what's right for me). However I shoot in Jpeg mainly, and while I shoot a wide variety of things (photography is a "hobby") I have the color meter in mind for shooting my main hobby, collecting prototypes of toys in which an alternating mix of flash, ambient/both will be used with the freedom to be creative.

I'll certainly keep my options open though, it's just nice to know how it all works.

With that in mind, does anyone use a colour meter in digital photography?

Thanks again!

Chris

I'll certainly keep my optio

Hi all,

This is my first post on these message boards, though I have found it most

useful in answering many questions.

One question that has been asked before, but has not quite garnered the

responses I need (or that I can see at least, this is a very vast archive...)

is the use of Colour Temperature Meters in digital photography. So here are my

questions:

Firstly; several articles/snippets that I have been able to locate online in

regeards to this topic have said not only does a colour temperature meter

work, but is also suggested as a means of getting true data for digital

photography. I have read that one must use the meter to measure the degrees

Kelvin of a light source and then dial that number in on their DSLR.

How is this done though? Do you not have to firstly enter the type of /film/

used (Tungsten/Daylight etc.) for a point of reference to which the meter will

base it's results upon? Or does this only apply to the filter compensation

aspect, and infact (for example the Minolta colour meter II) measures purely

and seperatly the colour temperature without the need to enter any film type?

With that said; does the data from the meter differ under the same light

source when each respective film type is chosen?

If one does have to enter a film type to garner the correct responce in

degress Kelvin; what film type should be chosen for digital and how is that

choice made?

What I am basically asking for, in a "newbie" kind-of-way, is a simple step by

step guide to using a colour meter with a DSLR.

Also, I am mainly interested in the Minolta Colour Meter II. Can anyone shed

some light in regeards to the Flash receptor unit and how that compares to the

Minolta IIIF's flash capabilities? I have read opposing thoughts.

It would be nice if it were as simple as metering, reading the data displayed

in degrees Kelvin, and entering that manually into the camera for

ambient/flash and both. Things are never that simple sadly.

Thanks for your time, and I look forward to any responses!

Chris

P.S. - Sorry if this is in the wrong forum/catagory. If it is I would

appreciate it if a moderator could move it as they see fit. Thanks!

Hi,

I was browsing the web for information regearding colour meters and digital photography and found this old thread.

I have a couple of questions regearding colour meters and digital photography.

Firstly; several articles/snippets that I have been able to locate online in regeards to this topic have said not only does a colour temperature meter work, but is also suggested as a means of getting true data for digital photography. I have read that one must use the meter to measure the degrees Kelvin of a light source and then dial that number in on their DSLR.

How is this done though? Do you not have to firstly enter the type of /film/ used (Tungsten/Daylight etc.) for a point of reference to which the meter will base it's results upon? Or does this only apply to the filter compensation aspect, and infact (for example the Minolta colour meter II) measures purely and seperatly the colour temperature without the need to enter any film type?

With that said; does the data from the meter differ under the same light source when each respective film type is chosen?

If one does have to enter a film type to garner the correct responce in degress Kelvin; what film type should be chosen for digital and how is that choice made?

What I am basically asking for, in a "newbie" kind-of-way, is a simple step by step guide to using a colour meter with a DSLR.

Also, I am mainly interested in the Minolta Colour Meter II. Can anyone shed some light in regeards to the Flash receptor unit and how that compares to the Minolta IIIF's flash capabilities? I have read opposing thoughts.

It would be nice if it were as simple as metering, reading the data displayed in degrees Kelvin, and entering that manually into the camera for ambient/flash and both. Things are never that simple sadly.

Thanks for your time, and I look forward to any responses!

Chris