JJCHand-held Professiona White Balance Filter, Universal White Balance Handheld Disc for Digital Photography DSLR, Easy to Use, Consistent Accurate Color, for Lens Filter Diameter up to 95mm

I was sceptical at first, but I tried it last night at a large special event in a space with mixed daylight and artificial light, as the sun set, and now I'm a believer. I shoot JPEGs on a new Canon R8 full-frame mirrorless and I've found the automatic white balance to be very good overall, but a good number of the photos I shot indoors needed a little color balance tweaking. Last night as the sun went down the color of the light in the space where I was shooting changed every ten minutes. I had the item in my pocket, so I was easily able to pull it out of my pocket, shoot a new reference image, and reset the white balance. I just edited the photos and I didn't have to rebalance one of them. The images are just a tiny bit cooler than I usually like, but as they all have the same balance, I didn't touch them. I'll never shoot an indoor event again with out this little piece of photographic magic in my pocket.

This device "competes" with the better known and more widely-reviewed Expodisc. Because I've not used the Expodisc, I can't compare the two products, but I CAN say that this JJC White Balance Filter works, works well, works simply, and, at least so far in my experience with it, works every time. Though I can't compare it to its $50 competition, I can say that I can't imagine any product product could work so much better than this one as to merit its costing an additional $35.In advance of receiving the JJC Filter, I viewed several YouTube videos and read a half dozen "how to" articles, all under the impression that using such an accessory would be complicated.... It isn't.Here's how I use the device to set white balance in my Nikon D7200:1) I identify the main source of light that will fall on the subject(s) of the image(s) I'm about to take. That source might be the sun, or a cloudy sky, or a combination of light bulbs, or the light flowing in a window, or anything else.2) I turn on my camera, and navigate to the white balance setting screen, on which I choose "Pre," then press and hold the WB button til the letters "Pre" blink. The camera is now ready to receive a custom WB via the JJC Filter.3) I set my camera to "A," or Aperture Priority, hold the the JJC filter against the front of the lens, direct the lens toward the light source identified in step #1, then click the shutter. If on the LCD screen on top of the camera, the word "Good" appears, I have successfully set a custom WB. If "No Good" appears, then it's likely I need to change a camera setting (ISO or aperture) to allow more or less light in when I press the shutter. This happened once when I aimed the filtered lens at the sun - I had to reduce the aperture setting because too much light was coming in.4) I am now ready to shoot IN THAT LIGHTING, for as long as that lighting is dominant on my subject. As the lighting changes - for example, the sun begins to set, changing the hue of available sun light - I have to repeat steps 1-3.Some Q&A:- Do you have to stand where you subject is?Not necessarily. I shoot nature pics a lot - trees, the Mississippi River, for example - so I just need to capture the light that's in play on the subjects I intend to shoot. For portraits, of course, standing next to your subject would give a more accurate picture of the light on your subject.- Do you point the filtered lens at the light source or back to where your camera will be when you take the shot?I've read various points of view on this, but aiming at the light source works well for me.- Is it hard to juggle the camera in one hand and the filter (against the lens) in the other?Once I got used to it, not at all. Remember that focus is not an issue in this process, so you don't have to hold the camera still as you take the WB shot.- What about setting the camera to manual focus?Nikon cameras turn auto focusing off during the setting of a custom white balance, then turn it back on when the setting is completed, so I don't have to bother with focus settings. However, not all cameras do what Nikon does, so you might have to disable auto focus for the process, then turn it back on before your next image.- How long does the WB setting process take?Once I have the JJC Filter in hand, it takes me 25-30 seconds. I'm sure I'll get more efficient, the more I use it.- What about the filter's build quality?To me, it looks and feels like it will last for years and years.- Do I recommend the JJC White Balance Filter?Unconditionally.

I've used this on two Nikon DSLR's with WB preset function (D90s & D750). I ran several trials of my own comparing the auto white balance with presets using the filter.Here's the key to setting white balance using this method over your camera's auto white balance:Auto white balance looks for the brightest spot in the frame when you take the shot and assumes that to be pure white. It adjusts the color balance to make that spot white. In many photos that will work great, or at least be close enough that the colors look good.For my tests, I made sure that there was nothing white in the shot, which happens more often than you may realize. My trials were both indoors and outside. For each trial, I took two consecutive shots from the exact same position with only natural light using the exact same focal length, shutter speed, aperture, and iso - simply changing from auto white balance to a WB preset using the JJC WB-F1 white balance filter. The results were dramatic, with the preset reproducing the colors accurately while the colors in the auto white balance trials were conspicuously incorrect. In one example the brightest part of the shot was part of a beige wall in the background, and the auto white balance made it a white wall, shifting all the other colors accordingly.I love how quick and easy it is to use - and I put a lanyard on it using the hole in the handle for convenience when I'm shooting outside. I'm a Nikon guy and setting the preset is a simple as 1) change the WB from auto to preset 2) press and hold the WB button until "Pre" flashes on the LCD screen 3) face the light source* and hold the filter over the lens 3) squeeze off a shot - auto focus is inhibited, and it doesn't actually take a photo 4) look for "Good" on the LCD screen and you're ready to go! If the light changes (e.g. clouds or shade), simply redo steps 2-4.* when the predominant light falling on the subject is reflected - say, off a wall, that is the light sourceI understand many Canon DSLR's also have this capability, but it may take a extra step or two. Check with your camera's user guide.My tests were hardly scientific, but no reason for me to think the ExpoDisc would perform noticeably better, if any better at all. I've never held an ExpoDisc in my hand, so they may very well pass light frequencies slightly more accurately and may even be constructed more durably... I don't honestly know, Even so, I can buy three of these for the price of one ExpoDisc, and I'm very happy with the performance of the JJC filter. If you buy an ExpoDisc specifically for the size of your lens, it sits on the lens so you may not need to hold it when you take the calibration shot, but most ExpoDisc reviews advise you to buy the larger size so that you can use it with all your lenses regardless of filter ring size. That means you're holding it by hand anyway - and they don't have a handle.Even if you shoot RAW like I do, whether with the JJC or a competitor, this method is an easy way to get accurate baseline color balance in the metadata, streamlining your retouching process.I'm very happy with the JJC white balance filter, and would buy it again in a minute!