I noticed it when it came out ... looks interesting. I like the idea of two sides for readings when in mixed lighting. It also has some other interesting features (black trap, spectral highlight ball). I own a lot of WB systems and if I see it on sale, I will probably pick it up. But, it won't replace my existing system, which is extemely convenient.
I actually prefer the warmer rendition of the first flowerpot photo. The second photo of the cat looks nicer to me, though it does appear to have a warm cast to it, even in the black part of the cube. Perhaps you should have used the gray portion closest to the couch since the cat is also getting reflected light off of the couch. I suspect the most accurate (not necessarily the best looking) might be a compromise between the two gray areas. Sometimes I use a WB tool, but in the end I always balance to what looks best to my eye. Most people prefer a somewhat warmer balance. I took the photo into Photoshop to make sure I was getting a color balanced view of the image. I like it best when white balanced with the whitest part of the cat's leg-the one closest to the camera. Perhaps you should trim off a bit of that white fur and put it on a piece of card stock! It's less reflective and naturally repels dirt and liquids. You could call it the Elvis edition. No way am I suggesting the first combination key ring, cat's foot, Wb tool
I think perhaps the problem is that you are putting the cube too close to nearby objects. Try holding it in your hand (by the top of the loop and without shading it or from underneath with just the tips of your fingers) above the flower pot and above the couch, but in the same light that is lighting your subjects.
Trust me guys, copy & past the above pictures into PS, & use the eyedropper over the Grey markers on the cube.... the lighter patch on the flower pot is R148, G148, B148.
The cat picture is R169, G169, B169.
Note the purpose of the cat shot was to see how far out the auto balance of the camera was, compared to the balance tuned with the spyder cube. Likewise with the large strong coloured flower pot.
p.s. remember if you are viewing this in internet explorer, you ain't seeing this via your monitor calibration, I believe this can only be done / enabled in firefox
Alan I understand how the cube should be used and what its doing with your examples. Your examples are showing the tool off nicely. I'm surprise how much shadow detai the max black that was recovered. Cool little tool
What lighter patch on the flower pot? You mean on the cube, right?
If you choose a non-neutral color on which to base your white balance, it will force that color to be neutral, but the rest of your photo will have a color cast. You must choose a neutral color on which to set your WB. The white door to the right of the flower pot reads R191, G200, B197. It has a green/cyan color cast as we suspected. The cube is picking up orange reflections from the flower pot. When you click on the cube, you are removing this orange from the photo, so everything else has less orange and appears the opposite of orange, i.e. blue/cyan.
Your camera is doing a good job of estimating the WB.
Ok, I'll bite... the first kitty in ps is somewhat color balanced (cool) straight out of the camera. The second, you added the color cast (warm) back in by using the cube.
Anyways, I hit curves on the first kitty, used the white dropper on the right side of the cube, and got a much more color corrected kitty with less yellow cast than your second pic.
Bearmann wrote:
I think perhaps the problem is that you are putting the cube too close to nearby objects. Try holding it in your hand (by the top of the loop and without shading it or from underneath with just the tips of your fingers) above the flower pot and above the couch, but in the same light that is lighting your subjects.
Whoops! This is misleading when applied to the cat photo. If you remove the cube from the chair, it will make it worse. This is the opposite problem from that of the flower pot. In this case, a good percentage of the light on the cat is yellow reflected light from the couch. You must account for the type of light that is on the subject, which I consider to be the cat in this case. The type of light which is illuminating the cat, must also illuminate the cube to get an accurate balance. If instead the couch were the subject, then holding the cube above the couch where it is illuminated by the room lights (incandescent, window, or combination, for example) will give you a more neutral white balance.
I think that cube will be quite useful. The black trap is a cool feature. You just have to make sure that the cube is receiving the same light as your subject. Even when the WB is perfectly accurate, you might find that you prefer a cooler or warmer balance. Your eyes have to be the final judge, but the cube can provide a great starting point. If the cat was lying between a lamp at it's head and a window at it's tail, you would not be able to obtain a single correct WB, since different parts of the cat would be receiving different spectrums of light. You would have to decide on one or the other or a combination of the two. White balancing is a bit of both art and science, as is much of photography. The other nice thing about the cube is that it fits in your camera bag much better than the white foot with the attached cat.
