![Lightdow 12 x 12 Inch (30 x 30 cm) White Balance 18% Gray Reference Reflector Grey Card with Carry Bag [Folded Version]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/616NhxHaV1L._AC_UL165_SR165,165_.jpg)
If we keep in mind that all cameras guess what "white" is in a given environment, then you will see the immediate benefit of using such a simple and useful device.
I shoot a Nikon D90, typically in RAW mode. The D90 offers a wide variety of white balance settings for a variety of lighting methods. This is to say Nikon knows what the color temperature is for "Incandescent" or "Daylight" in their sterile lab environment. I don't shoot in such a place or, for example, with their style of incandescent light bulbs.
When I need to make sure the colors in my shots are reasonably free from color casts due to white balance issues, I use the WhiBal card.
It is a simple matter to snap one shot in the subject's lighting and use that shot to really get a handle on what the light spectrum is for that environment. Shooting the WhiBal in the first shot or last shot is unimportant.
For example: When I take shots in direct "Daylight" with the D90 set for that, I take one shot with the WhiBal. Invariably, when I use Nikon Capture NX2 to check the white balance, there is a discernable change in the color balance correction. Most times it is relatively small but I have seen huge moves as well.
My experience indicates there are other things that reflect colors into the scene. Cameras set for "Daylight" can't reliably account that. In my usage, the WhiBal captures that unique spectrum distribution for that environment and Capture NX2 corrects for white balance with a couple of mouse clicks. I then copy that info from the "calibration" shot and paste it into the subject shots. These shots are now white balance corrected and ready for other adjustments as desired.
It is a simple and quick matter to do this. Total time to take the calibration shot, make the post processing correction and then adjust the actual subject shots is 2 or 3 minutes at most. Unless you are feeling lucky, I think this is a must thing to do when colors need to be reasonably free of color casts.
Of course you can always use the "PRE" or manual white balance on the D90 but that means you have a true "white" object that is of sufficient size to fill the entire picture field. The WhiBal fits in my pocket and works just great.
Is it pricey? Kind of, but I think it is worth it for good color rendition.
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Perfect white balance every time
Fits perfectly in camera bag or around my neck. I just hand it to my model whenever we move to a new area or change the lighting and I get perfect white balance every time.
