As many of you who follow my articles on the Photography Channel know, I love gadgets. I’ll confess that many of the gadgets that I buy, I buy them simply because I like new toys and I already had something else that did the same job in a different way. Besides liking to have new toys to play with, I especially like gadgets that make the technical aspects of photography easier so I can spend more time on the part I enjoy most, taking pictures of animals and taking pictures of beautiful girls. Occasionally I come across something that satisfies both desires at the same time. The desire to have a new toy to play with and the desire to make the technical aspect of my craft easier. The BallanceSmarter is one of those gadgets because they make setting Custom White Balance a breeze. Every photographer needs a set of these tools and they are reasonably priced so they also make great gifts if you aren’t a photographer but someone looking for the ideal gift to buy a photographer on your list. I received my set as a birthday gift from my wife for my birthday.
The BallanceSmarter is a tool that allows you to make perfect Custom White Balance settings in the studio or in the field in a flash. For those of you who read my article on White Balance Gadgets (The Outdoor Photographer’s Gadget Bag: White Balance Gadgets), you will recall that the LALLY Cap was my favorite, although I also had an assortment of ExpoDisc Neutral Professional White Balance Filters. The LALLY Cap was my favorite because they are a one size fit all gadget unlike the ExpoDisc filters which were dependent on the lens filter ring size. The LALLY Cap was my favorite until my wife gave me a set of the BallanceSmarter tools.
The BallanceSmarters come in three sizes 12", 20", and 30" and cost $53, $71, and $94 respectively and there’s a discount if you buy all three at once. Which one will work best depends on the type of photography that you do. If you shoot wedding and other events, then the 12" BallanceSmarter is the ideal size for you. If you shoot large groups, landscapes, and/or interior shots where you normally shoot with a 35 mm or wider angle lens, then the 30" BallanceSmarter is the right one for you. If you shoot both studio and event work, then the 20" BallanceSmarter is the perfect compromise for you. Both the 12" and the 20" BallanceSmarters fold up into a tiny size that fits easily into a pocket of camera gadget bag.
Why should you invest in one of these BallanceSmarter tools if you already have one of the other White Balance setting tools that I talked about in "The Outdoor Photographer’s Gadget Bag: White Balance Gadgets? The BallanceSmarter tool has one big advantage over all the other White Balance tools in that you don’t have to shut off your camera’s auto focus feature in order to use them. Each BallanceSmarter has a target in the center for the camera’s auto focus system to lock on and focus perfectly on the screen.
Each BalanceSmarter tool is two tools in one. One side of the screen is a neutral gray target and the other side is a white target. Some cameras require the use of a "Neutral Gray Card" to set Custom White Balance; while other cameras require a white card target to set Custom White Balance. With the BalanceSmarter tool, you have both in one tool; all you have to do is flip it over.
Most Custom White Balance tools that I talked about do a relatively good job of setting the white balance to produce colors close to real life color, none of them does the job as well as the BalanceSmarter and if you can only have one tool to use when setting Custom White Balance it should be the BalanceSmarter. If you take your craft seriously, you will never make a better investment in it then when you add a BalanceSmarter to your equipment bag.
