Ok. Lesson one (or maybe two) in digital photography with RAW. Get the white balance right.
Easier said than done. Here's what I found so far. Bear in my I use ACR.
"Use a white balance card and use the WB eye dropper on the 18% grey"
"... eye dropper on white"
"... eye dropper on black"
"... eye dropper on 12% grey. 18% grey is for film"
"... eye dropper on 18% grey than push exposure by 1/2 stop"
"eye dropper on the second brightest grey next to pure white in a color checker chart"
"18% grey is for custom WB ON THE CAMERA"
"eye dropper on any of the neutral tone"
Now I'm absolutely fed up with all these discrepancies, and that list of nonsense just goes on and on. I'm fairly certain 18% grey is for exposure metering.
When I actually am going that far to use an eye dropper to determine white balance. I want it PERFECT. I have spent 200 dollars for Spyder3. I don't want some
half assed solution like "eye dropper on a color that you THINK is neutral tone" or "18% and 12% grey are close enough that either will be fine. That to me is just pure rubbish.
Can someone please explain what I need to determine the perfect white balance in ACR with the eye dropper? 18% grey? (already got this one) or 12% grey? (point me to an actual product that is a 12% grey card. thanks. I'm having problem finding one.) or the grey next to the white on the Color checker chart?
Thanks in advance for any useful reply. However, if you can't post an answer that you know is correct both theoretically and in actual practice don't worry about posting. Or put it this way. Only post if you know: "ACR white balance eye dropper meters on xx% grey. So you will need a <certain product>. Shoot that <certain product>, and click your ACR WB eye dropper on <which part of the product>. IF ANYONE SAYS OTHERWISE, THEY ARE WRONG, AND I'M 100% RIGHT."
This topic is driving me nuts.
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