The nice thing about the mennon is that it comes with a short strap which attaches quite nicely to the neckstrap or just around the lens if you prefer, so I never need to hold it or worry about losing it.

I know there are lots of different solutions out there, some better, some worse, but this one suits me as it’s ALWAYS there, i don’t have to remember to bring a white card, or a piece of paper, or a filter..etc. I’m just an amateur photographer, so quite often I just chuck my camera in my backpack, with nothing else, so it’s good to have the ability to set WB whenever I want. If I was a pro photographer who carried gear with me wherever I went, then I would probably use something different.

I don’t know why people get so aggressive about topics like this. No one’s forcing anyone to use it or saying it’s the best way to achieve correct WB. It’s just another option amongst dozens of options

I also think it should be possible to get the same results by using a piece of light diffuser plastic from for example a recessed lighting fixture. I haven’t looked yet, but it must be possible to find these at Home Depot or Lowe’s. Just cut it down to a size that you can hold over your lens.

I never thought of using a piece of tissue or coffee filter.

The other point is that if the filter has a color tint, it will cause the white balance setting to move to the complement. Expodiscs are available in pure white and also with a blue tint which causes the white balance to shift to a warmer tone.

a> I think a pocket sized WhiBal is a much better solution at a much lower price.
b> I question whether this will work for Nikon SLRs. It is my understanding that they need a white balance device that covers the entire sensor. A pocket sized WhiBal has the same problem.
c> VERY high price, and unlike an ExpoDisc (buy a big one and use it for all lenses), you sorta need one for each lens.
d> For those tempted to buy a Kodak card, 18% grey is not neutral and not really intended for white balance.
http://www.bythom.com/graycards.htm

No I have not studied the zone system. Please tell me where I can find out more about the zone system.

I asked someone that I know who makes and sells jewelry to try this experiment. Take a photograph of a piece of jewelry the way she normally does. Then take a second photograph by placing the palm of her hand right above the jewelry item, depress the shutter button half way, then pull back her hand and photograph the jewlery without letting up on the shutter button. She reported back to me that the white background that she used was white instead of gray. Her white background color was coming out grayish instead of white when taking photos of her jewelry before I asked her to do this experiment for me.

I just asked her to try doing the experiment again with a different color background such as red or green instead of white, black, gray or ivory. I hope to hear back from her in a few days with her results.

I won’t say that using the palm of your hand will work perfectly, but it may give a person better results than they would get without using anything.

If anyone has insight, please share.

Thanks!

These lens caps are way too expensive for what they are. Jut too gimmicky for real photographers, maybe amateurs will buy into it, but I’d be surprised at even that. The bottom line is that there is no magic/silver bullet to better exposure! The more you learn about light and how it works and how the photographic medium reacts to the light, the better photographer you’ll become.