Customer Reviews

Adorama QpCard 101, 3 Cards with Black / Gray / White Colors used for the White Balance System of Digital Cameras.

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

These are pretty good for digital photography colormatching. Through there are more precise methods out there involving lots of color samples and lots of steps (I should point out that those are necessary in print matching since printers don't print white and usually don't use color ink to make black),these get it right 99% of the time. To use them just take one picture with the card in it and shoot the rest of your pictures useing the same white ballance and color settings in the camera. load the picture with the card into your favorite editing program and equalize the RGB levels, use LEVELS in photoshop, for the white and the black. do the grey last as you will probbably need to match it useing color curves instead of levels (or else you'll change your white and black settings at the same time). save the color corrections (or remember them) and apply them to all subsequent photographs.

I was disappointed with these - you can't tell how light and thin they are from the photos. They are made out of light paper. I would have gotten something more durable and not wasted money on these if I had known. When they are in the camera bag they get crumpled and damaged easily, and if they get wet (I should have known!) they turn into a soggy mess. For a paper card printed with black, grey and white paint, these are too expensive.

You get three of these when you purchase.

They are made of flimsy paper. The cards crack if you fold them and the colors rub off in your pocket.

These become worthless after a day if you don't baby them.
I would buy the hard, keychain size 18% gray cards if I had to do it again.

Don't waste your money on this one.

I looked and looked for a size when I was buying and then just decided to get it thinking it must be reasonable - but no, it is like 1 square inch and absolutely useless to me. I'm no good at returning things so I'm just out the $20.

I have used QP Cards for a few years now and am very happy with them. They are small, light, and disposable. The patches are small, but large enough for obtaining an in-camera white balance, just get close enough to fill the inner part of the frame. The newer version has near black and near white instead of pure black and pure white, but middle gray is the same. They have the Lab color values for each patch printed on the back side. This is useful for adjusting black and white point during raw processing or afterwards during post processing. They fit in a camera bag nicely, so you never have a reason not to have one on hand. I keep one card in each of my bags. You get three cards in the package, so when one gets spoiled you simply grab the next one out of the pouch. I have tested an in-camera white balance using the QP Card and got a perfect white balance with it.

I gave one of these to a friend and taught him how to do a custom white balance. Since then I have heard from his daughter about how his photos have improved since using that "thingy" I gave him.

Keep in perspective what you are buying with these and you will not be disappointed. The card is small and thin, so don't get it wet and don't get it dirty, but if you do, just move on to the next card. If you need a large, heavy duty white balance card for the studio, this is not for you. If you need something to throw in the camera bag to always have on hand, I have not found a better product at this price point that will do the job with this kind of precision.

I use these cards to take a raw digital image that I can then use to get an initial color and exposure adjustment on my following images. It is small enough for my small camera bag.
I would prefer a more rugged coating, but the price is right!

The grey card was made of a thin, piece of paper. What happens when you have a small piece of paper in your pocket,or in your bag? The paper is easily bended, scratched, scrambled... that's what will happen to the card shortly after you take it out.

Just don't buy it. Three coloured small papers for $12 is just rediculus. Its too small when framed with your subject while shooting. It's paper and not durable at all. Cannot be used for monitor calibration as some ppl may think, you would need a proper calibration equipment if you wish to do so, because the idea of the caliboration is not to depend on your eye evaluation for colour matching. For $25 you could get a much better folding plastic cards.

Up to now I used only the white part of it to get custom white balance. It is amazing how accurate the colors are! Very useful!

You might be confused (as I was) by the description referring to "a pad of 15 QPcards" but it's actually only 3 cards. That said, the cards are a good size for carrying in the camera bag, and come in a resealable envelope.