So what’s wrong with existing white balance tools and why is the ColorRight Pro supposed to fix it?

Using the ColorRight Pro

The main problem with most white balance tools is that when you take your calibration shot, the gray card or white balance filter can be getting light contamination from different light sources. The theory here is that the only light source that really matters is the main (key) light. If we can narrow down the source of light we are calibrating for to mostly just the main light source, then the subject will generally have the correct white balance.

The ColorRight Pro attempts to solve this by having an angled opening in the dome that collects light from multiple angles yet favors the light from specific angles by “aiming” the dome at the main light source.

Does it work?

This may seem like a simple question but the answer can be fairly complicated. For the sake of keeping things simple, let’s just say “it depends”. This isn’t to say it doesn’t work in some situations, but more that the usefulness may vary from situation to situation which is of no fault to the ColorRight Pro and probably speaks more to improvements in modern DSLR’s ability to have automatic white balance. Let’s look at a few examples:

Automatic 4800k

ColorRight 4850k

In the first example, the ColorRight Pro corrected the white balance by only 50 degrees. Not really enough to make any real difference in the visual appearance.

Automatic 4850k

ColorRight 4850k

In the second example, the ColorRight Pro produced exactly the same white balance values as the camera’s automatic white balance.

Next it was time to see how it would do in a more unfriendly environment…under the hot lights!

Automatic 4150k

ColorRight 2900k

Under the tungsten hot lights the ColorRight Pro really showed what it is capable of. The camera’s auto white balance failed miserably to correct adequately for the extremely warm cast from the tungsten bulb. After getting a shot with the ColorRight Pro and setting the custom white balance, the next shot was perfect and required no color correction in post production.

Is the ColorRight Pro For You?

If you are only shooting outdoors during mid-day or using flash for really solid daylight balanced conditions, you may not need the ColorRight Pro and your camera will probably do pretty good. If you ever shoot in the late afternoon when the color from the Sun has gone into the warm side, ever have to deal with awkward lighting setups, or ever need to shoot JPEG, then you certainly need some kind of white balance tool.

The ColorRight Pro sells for $129.95 at B & H Photo which might be a bit pricey for some people but when you really need to rely on your white balance tools, you want to make sure what you are getting is going to do the job correctly.

Summary

I said it right up front, I don’t often use a white balance tool but when I do need one, I REALLY need one. There is simply no better way to speed up your post production workflow than to be able to completely ignore having to do white balance correction. Secondly, if you find that you need to shoot in JPEG (yes folks, there are reasons like I described above) then white balance is absolutely essential to getting the shots right.  What you have to ask yourself is if it’s worth $130 to have exceptionally good white balance. This is going to depend on you. You can spend $15 for a cheap white balance lens cap and it may be better than nothing or you can spend $130 for extremely accurate color. Only you can place a monetary value on the quality of your own images.

ColorRight Website: http://colorright.com

What is white balance?
While we have another article that goes into more detail, let’s do a quick summary refresher about what white balance is. Light actually comes in different temperatures, measured in degrees Kelvin. Daylight and flash is typically around 5200 degrees which is considered to be neutral. Late afternoon/evening light and incandescent is warmer (more orange) and is usually around 6200 degrees, Fluorescent light is on the cooler side (around 3800 degrees) and has a greenish tint. While your camera will generally do a decent job of estimating the white balance, the problem is that the camera is measuring the white balance based on the reflected light on the subject. This method works alright most of the time but it is not going to be absolutely perfect, nor will it even be close under some conditions. A very common example of this is shooting a scene in the snow, this can really throw off the sensor and you can end up getting a blue color cast on your images. If you are shooting in RAW, you can easily compensate for poor white balance but this just adds to your workflow. If you are shooting in JPEG, this poor white balance makes it much harder to recover the scene without losing image quality.

Good Balance

Too Warm

Too Cool

Getting a good white balance
The best way to get a good white balance is measure the light temperature from the position of the subject towards the camera, while a camera is looking at the subject and can only measure reflective light and not direct light. Other methods for measuring white balance include placing an 18% grey card where the subject is and setting the white balance against that. While this is the most common method used by experienced photographers, the theory that you are still using reflected light instead of measuring the direct light.

Using the Colorright
To get the best results from the Colorright so put yourself in the position of the subject and aim your camera towards where the camera will be when you take the shot, place the Colorright disc over the lens and take your picture. Using the custom white balance settings on your camera, select the image to use as your white balance reference. Now go back to the camera position and you are ready to shoot. This should result in a perfect white balance since your camera measured the light from the light source and not a reflected light that can be altered by the reflective property of the subject.

If you cannot put the camera in the position of the subject, you can also use it by aiming it at the subject like you would use a gray card. While this may not be ideal, it is certainly far better than not having other means of getting a good white balance.

Results
The results are absolutely spot-on. While the design is very similar to the Expodisc, the difference with the Colorright is that is doesn’t allow light from all directions to hit the sensor, instead a smaller area ensures that the light hitting the sensor is exactly what you are looking for. The Colorright disc sells for $89, and the obvious question is “is it worth it?” Like many other things this depends on how many images you take and how much time you end up spending doing post correction. In some places you may only need to get a good white balance setting once or twice and you are good, in other places like weddings and receptions there can be several different locations that have radically different lighting and when you have to process hundreds of images from a place like that, the Colorright can pay for itself in post production time savings the first time you use it. If you shoot fewer or smaller events it may take longer for you to realize the benefit of getting your shots right in-camera versus processing the images later.

Website: http://colorright.com
Author: Kerry Garrison