What is a grey card?
It’s a simple accessory intended to
help you get an accurate exposure.
Available in all shapes and sizes, the
grey area is a very specific grey that
reflects 18% of the light falling on it.
This is exactly halfway between
black and white, so it’s an official
midtone. This is what a camera’s
light meter uses to measure the
brightness of a scene or subject.How would I use it?
To determine the correct exposure
for a shot, all you have to do is place
a grey card in the same light as yoursubject, and spot-meter from it. This
will give an accurate exposure.
If you set Aperture Priority mode,
dial in your preferred aperture and
point the spot meter at the grey
card, then the shutter speed you’re
given is what you should set for
that scene in that light.I can see an instant result on
my digital camera, so is having
a grey card as important now?
With both a rear screen and a
histogram display, and the fact
there is no extra cost for shooting
additional frames either side ofyour best exposure, the grey card
isn’t as essential as it was in the
days of film, although it can be
useful for getting accurate colours.
But because a grey card is perfectly
neutral, it can be used as a reference
point for accurate colours.How do I do that?
Either use the grey card as the
reference point for the setting or –
more commonly – do it later
in raw conversion software like
Camera Raw or Lightroom.Place your grey card in the scene
and take a reference shot using your
camera’s raw format, then withdraw
the card and shoot your pictures.
When you’re making your raw
conversions, you can use the grey
card shot as a white balance
reference by utilising the White
Balance Eyedropper Tool.Tech Check
Grey card
This accessory from the days of film
maintains its relevance todayCloser to wildlife
Q
I’ve just
bought a
mirrorless
Canon R6. Which
lens should
I consider for
my wildlife
photography?
Tabitha HenleyA
As you’ve chosen
to sell both your old
EOS 7D DSLR and
the 100-400mm
lens you used with it, Tabitha,
I assume you’ve made the
decision not to use your new
mirrorless camera with
anything other than the RF
mount it’s designed to go with.
If you want what seems to be
a like-for-like replacement, you
might be tempted by the RF
100-400mm f/5.6-8.
The trouble is it isn’t really
as similar as you might think,
because you are going from an
APS-C sensor with your oldEOS 7D to full-frame with the
EOS R6, so you are going to
lose reach at the long end. As
you know, this reach is very
important when it comes to
wildlife photography, and I think
you’d soon get frustrated that
you couldn’t zoom in as far as
you did previously with your
crop-sensor camera.
While the RF 100-400mm
is inexpensive for a telephoto
zoom, if you are able to spend
more, I would suggest you opt
for the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-
7.1L. It’s got a greater focal
range, and is faster than the RF
100-400mm. It is admittedly
about three times the price, but
you do get an optic that’s 200g
lighter than your old lens and
has an excellent build quality.
Looking at the lens’s AF ability,
it’s also quick and accurate,
which isn’t something you can
compromise on when you are
photographing wildlife, because
it doesn’t stand still for long.
A lens like this should last you
a while, as long as you take care
of it. So although you may have
to stretch the budget to buy it,
I don’t think you will be
disappointed in the long run.http://www.digitalcameraworld.com FEBRUARY 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA^95
If you want to take
superior wildlife shots, it’s
worth investing in some
serious optics.Packing a grey card in your kit
bag doesn’t cost much, and it
can help you make exposures
and colours more accurate.