Best way to attach a grey card

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Chris Ra

Registered
Messages
47
Reaction score
20
Location
Germany
# of dives
25 - 49
Hello,

for my upcoming trip I would want to include a grey card, so that I can do manual white balance under water with my Canon G7X. I know that I can use my palm or sand for this purpose, but I want to try it out with a grey card. The card is pretty big (20 cm x 15 cm) and I am trying to figure out how to carry it, so that it will not bother me. Do you have any suggestions for me? I'd like to attach it somehow to my right arm.
 
I use a piece of a wrist slate, more white than gray but works great for setting white balance on the sealife.
A6D5DBDE-5182-490C-83D9-135E233C83E5.jpeg


I just cut it smaller and add bungee and wear it on the back of my hand, it doesn’t have to be fancy and it’s out of the way.
 
It looks pretty small, don't you have to get with the camera very close to it? What happens with the white balance when you shoot objects which are much further away?
 
Hi @Chris Ra

I dive a G7X in a Nauticam housing and use a grey card with the one button shortcut white balance. My grey card is smaller than yours, 14.6 x 10.6 cm, it is plenty large enough. I attach it to my left chest D-ring with a small retractor and a stainless steel split ring. It is easy to pull out to use and then stays out of the way. I can tuck it behind my chest strap or into my waist strap if I want to. Perhaps you could trim your card down a bit.

upload_2021-5-20_15-47-56.png
 
Hi @Chris Ra

I dive a G7X in a Nauticam housing and use a grey card with the one button shortcut white balance. My grey card is smaller than yours, 14.6 x 10.6 cm, it is plenty large enough. I attach it to my left chest D-ring with a small retractor and a stainless steel split ring. It is easy to pull out to use and then stays out of the way. I can tuck it behind my chest strap or into my waist strap if I want to. Perhaps you could trim your card down a bit.

View attachment 660497
This. Exactly how I attach any card I care to bring with me. Grey card, Fish ID, other.. punch a hole, put it on a keyring and use a retractor. If you've never done it before, I think you'll find that using the grey card is a lot simpler than it seems.
 
It looks pretty small, don't you have to get with the camera very close to it? What happens with the white balance when you shoot objects which are much further away?
I dive mostly in Monterey, most of the time you can’t see things far away but it works pretty well even in those rare instances, I’m a diver that takes pictures not a photographer who dives.
 

Attachments

  • 6E9902F1-8C19-447D-BBEA-59D7D88EE79F.jpeg
    6E9902F1-8C19-447D-BBEA-59D7D88EE79F.jpeg
    22.3 KB · Views: 119
Another thing to keep in mind is that you may need more than one shot of the grey card on a given dive. If you change depth or visibility etc then it might be worth taking a shot of the grey card each time you change. I've found that gives me the best results.

Then, I load 'er up in photoshop. Sample the card with the white balance dropper and save my settings. Load the next photo and apply settings. There's probably better/easier processes to use, but that's what I've done.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is that you may need more than one shot of the grey card on a given dive. If you change depth or visibility etc then it might be worth taking a shot of the grey card each time you change. I've found that gives me the best results.

Then, I load 'er up in photoshop. Sample the card with the white balance dropper and save my settings. Load the next photo and apply settings. There's probably better/easier processes to use, but that's what I've done.
I redo the white balance any time I make a significant change in depth and/or if the lighting changes, works well for me. I'm with @lexvil, I'm a diver who takes photos to amuse family and friends and to preserve memories for me.
 
Thank you very much for your replies and useful tips! I appreciate that.

I like the idea with the retractor a lot. One question: Does the card ever get out of the chest strap and dangle in front of you?

Edit: By the way, I am thinking of getting a lanyard spiral with ring instead of a retractor. That will do the job as well, right?

lanyard-stainless-spiral-with-ring.jpg
 
Imagine if our computers or compass' (SK8) were made of white or grey color. Would be easy.
 

Back
Top Bottom