Calibrite ColorChecker Custom White Balance Card

ColorChecker White Balance

The ColorChecker White Balance target delivers accurate white reproduction. As lighting conditions change, your camera shifts the way it reproduces white; resulting in colour shifts in your photos or video footage. Most white balance targets aren’t neutral and could cause colours to shift under different lighting conditions. But the ColorChecker White Balance target is a scientifically engineered, absolute neutral white reference that prevents colour shifts and provides precise, uniform surface that is spectrally neutral – in any lighting condition. That means you can be confident the image or footage you capture is as close to real life as possible.

Key Features:

• Eliminate colour casts
• Improve the colour preview on your camera’s display so your histograms are more reliable
• Make post production colour editing faster and easier by eliminating the need to neutralize each image individually

ColorChecker White Balance also gives you a way to adjust your digital camera's colour sensitivity to exactly match the ambient lighting conditions; in effect, change what the camera “sees.” The perceived colour of white changes based on ambient conditions—outdoor it is perceived to be cooler, indoor it is perceived to be warmer, and under fluorescent light, greener. Even in a controlled studio environment, this can be a problem. Whether on location or in your studio, establishing an accurate custom white balance before each photo session or video shoot ensures accurate colours from the start.

ColorChecker White Balance is a full-size version of the white balance target included in both ColorChecker Passport products. The actual colour of the target is a light gray which provides the best white balance result. Starting with an accurate white balance ensures the colours you capture are true and provides a point of reference for post-shoot editing. The ColorChecker White Balance target is a spectrally flat target that provides a neutral reference point across different lighting conditions that you encounter during a photo or video shoot. Since the target reflects light equally across the visible spectrum, creating an in-camera custom white balance can properly compensate for varying lighting.

Setting a custom white balance for each lighting situation will make the previews on your camera’s built in display more colour correct, make your histograms more reliable, and speed up post production colour editing. Raw shooters can capture anytime during the session to gain these benefits, while JPEG shooters should make it your first shot.

Why can’t I use just any white object?

White balancing on a piece of paper or other gray element in the scene may seem like a simple workaround, but most objects are not actually neutral under all lighting conditions; and they’re certainly not consistent. An inaccurate white balance will result in colour casts and a lack of consistency between lighting conditions.