Photography News Issue 65

Photography News | Issue 65 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Imaging kit First tests We get our hands on the latest kit and share our first impressions – so you know whether or not to add it to your wish list

Reviews by Will Cheung

X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Photo 2 £111.60

Specs

Price £111.60 What’s in the box

ColorChecker Classic Target, Creative Enhancement Target, White Balance Target, 18%Grey Target, carrying lanyard SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows • Windows 7/8/8.1/10 with latest service pack installed • 512GB RAM • Up to 500MB disk space • Powered USB port • Monitor resolution of 1024x768 Mac • OS X 10.7 and later • 512GB RAM • Intel Core Duo CPU or better • Up to 500MB disk space • Powered USB port • Monitor resolution of 1024x768 Supportedprofile format DNG Compatible software supporting DNGprofiles Adobe Lightroom 2 or newer, Adobe Bridge CS3 or newer, Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 4.5 or newer, Photoshop CS3 or newer, Photoshop Elements 7 or newer Dimensions (hxwxd) 125x90x9mm Weight 80g Contact colorconfidence.com

X-Rite offers a range of colour management devices to help photographers achieve accurate colours in their workflow. Its ColorChecker Passport Photo has recently been upgraded to v2, with the addition of a 18% grey target. The 18% grey card can be used to take a meter reading from or to give a neutral area

to sample with the white-balance dropper for accurate results. Opposite the grey card is awhite-balance target. Two colour options are provided, too, a 24 colour patch and a creative enhancement target, and are all in a robust, pocket-sized protective case. The case has multi-positional hinges to suit different situations. The idea is to simply include the Passport in your shots, ensuring that it occupies at least 10% of the frame. For a portrait, just ask your model to hold it – so that’s easy enough. For more distant scenes, just hold or place it in the same lighting as the subject. The X-Rite ColorChecker Camera Calibration ICC software lets you make a DNG profile, an ICC profile and a Dual Illuminant DNG profile. Profiles are specific to each camera, so even if you use two cameras of the same model, you need to create separate profiles. The DNG/ICC profiles are specific to a single lighting condition, but use the Dual Illuminant option and

the profile can be used with images taken in different situations – but the passport shots must be done with the one camera. The ICC profile is produced from a converted TIFF file (but no bigger than 150MB), while the DNG profiles means you’ll (probably) have to convert your Raws to DNGs first. With the ColorChecker software open, all you do is drop the file onto the interface and, a few seconds later, you’ll see that the software has detected the passport and you are ready to create the profile. You can do this manually if the software doesn’t pick it up. Click ‘Create Profile’ and it will be saved to the relevant profile folder. I used Lightroom and, there, the created profile can be found in the Develop module and it can be quickly applied to your images. The process isn’t difficult, only takes a fewminutes, saves editing time and ensures your colours are correct, so the effort is worthwhile. WC

Above The new X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Photo 2 contains four targets in a tough, pocket-sized case. This includes the new 18% grey target, a white balance target and two colour charts

Verdict

The X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Photo 2 is an essential and simple workflow device if you want a colour correct workflow, and well worth the investment.

Pros Passport is rugged and small enough to be left in the camera bag Cons Nothing