Which Expodisc

[goslayer]

Hi all,

I know you can get cheaper copies of the Expodisc which I have tried, just that the expodisc write-ups look good.

I was wondering if anyone has tried the expodisc warm

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-expodisc-77mm-warm-balance-disc/p1008265

they look good and warm up the picture as well as corecting white balance. The idea being that you spend less time in photoshop adjusting the colours.

My question is, do you think they are any better than the standard and will they be less versitile? i.e. only good for portrait shots?

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-expodisc-77mm/p1005591


Thanks

 

[goslayer]

anyone used these?

 

[HoppyUK]

I have to admit I've got no time for these unnecessary and ridiculously priced things. If you want to set white balance in this way, use one of those ebay jobbies. I think it's much easier just to use a piece of white card, or paper. There is absolutely nothing special about that Expodisc.

As for "they look good and warm up the picture as well as corecting white balance" well it can't do both. It's just light blue which fools the camera into setting a high Kelvin white balance value. You can do that yourself by dialing in a high K manual white balance setting, or shoot a piece of light blue card in custom white balance setting so it makes the image go a little yellow/amber/gold/orange - you choose.

If you are expecting the Exposdisc to do something clever that cannot be achieved in any other way, you'll be disappointed. Accurate custom white balance is very easy to set, as described in the camera manual.

 

[rickyp]

I use one of these http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-lee-lens-cap-pack-of-3/p1018197

They're cheap and flexible so you can just chuck one in each bag/pocket and not worry about it breaking. They do a great job when used in just the same way as an expodisc (just cover the lens with the cap and set the white balance by shooting back through it towards the point where you will be taking your photo from).

If you want to warm up your shots then just set the white balance and then dial in a different K value yourself. Unless you are looking for a massive warm up then you could just do this post production as well, it's a doddle with any half decent photo editing package.

 

[DiddyDave]

I use the Expo as recommended to me by a 'tight' Pro I respect a lot - by 'tight' I mean I doubt he'd have bought one if the cheaper ones are indeed as good

Anyway, buy the normal version (Expo or cheap copy) and warm it up later if you fancy

DD

 

[goslayer]

Thanks for the repies.

I have got one of the cheap ebay ones already, but heard some good things about the expodisc. I understand I can correct later but if I can avoid this all the better.

DD.
thought about this last night, if I go for one it will be the normal version as I will be using a white background and not sure what the warm version will do to it.

I use the Expo as recommended to me by a 'tight' Pro I respect a lot - by 'tight' I mean I doubt he'd have bought one if the cheaper ones are indeed as good

Anyway, buy the normal version (Expo or cheap copy) and warm it up later if you fancy

DD

Thanks All

 

[HoppyUK]

Thanks for the repies.

I have got one of the cheap ebay ones already, but heard some good things about the expodisc. I understand I can correct later but if I can avoid this all the better.

DD.
thought about this last night, if I go for one it will be the normal version as I will be using a white background and not sure what the warm version will do to it.

Thanks All

If your ebay whiter balancer is neutral (and I'm sure it is) then it will give exactly the same result as the Expodisc. Which will give exactly the same result as custom white balance off a plain white card, which is exactly the same as putting a piece of plain white paper over the lens and using that as a diffuser.

The 'warm' Expodisc is just light blue (cyan) which forces the camera's custom white balance to correct it, resulting in a yellow or light orange cast (opposite colour of the spectrum to cyan) over the whole image. Including a white background.

However, if you are doing a studio shoot and over exposing the background to blow to bright white, it will still be bright white - blown is blown. And the main subject will be orange with an all-over tan (all over their clothes, too).

I think you may be misunderstanding what white balance is, and how it is adjusted. If you just want to put a bit of colour into people's faces, maybe adjusting the colour tone in Picture Styles is what you want (it will not affect other colours so much) or you could try white balance correction in the menu. Both of these methods are more sophisticated than basic custom white balance, more akin to post processing but done in-camera.

 

[goslayer]

Thanks Hoppy,

I'll have a play with those functions

Cheers