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Three cards, and it admits what the white one cannot do

ChromLives Three cards, 12.7 by 10.2 cm, 18 per cent grey

Eleven euros for three cards at 12.7 by 10.2 cm — grey at 18 per cent, plus white and black — from a page that says outright the white one barely works as a reflector.

ChromLives set of black, white and grey reference cards on their lanyard

ChromLives Three cards, 12.7 by 10.2 cm, 18 per cent grey

Eleven euros for three cards at 12.7 by 10.2 cm — grey at 18 per cent, plus white and black — from a page that says outright the white one barely works as a reflector.

Reference type
THREE CARDS, each with its job named in the first three bullets: an 18 per cent neutral GREY for metering exposure, a WHITE for setting white balance, and a BLACK for covering stray light. Three cards is the standard set, and this page is the only one on this shelf to explain each separately rather than as a bundle
Stated reflectance
18 PER CENT for the grey card, in the first bullet, which says it balances complex light to a neutral 18 per cent grey scene. No figure is given for the white or the black — where the 11 € JJC on this shelf publishes 90 per cent for its white card
Patch count and published values
Not applicable in the colorimetric sense: three cards, no patches, no published values. The 59 € Calibrite on this shelf is the only page here with numbered patches — which makes it a different instrument rather than a better card
Surface finish
NOT DESCRIBED. Neither matt nor gloss is claimed, and on a reference card the finish is what decides whether a light source appears as a highlight in the middle of the reading. The 11 € JJC publishes non-reflective and waterproof; the 11 € Lightdow publishes a density figure
Size
12.7 by 10.2 cm — 5 by 4 inches — in the fourth bullet, described as a medium card size and called compact, robust and light. It is the middle size on this shelf, between the 13 by 10 cm JJC and the 30 by 30 cm Lightdow
Supplied case
NO CASE, but a PREMIUM CLIP RELEASE LANYARD in the fifth bullet — a cord and a clip so the cards hang from a bag or a belt loop. For a card used once at the start of a session, being attached to something is more useful than being in a pouch
Amazon reference
B07318GYGP (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
EAN
0730060528342
  • Three cards with the purpose of each explained separately
  • Eighteen per cent published for the grey, and a clip lanyard supplied
  • No surface finish described, matt or otherwise

Best for: A first reference set, where the three cards need explaining as much as supplying.

≈ $10 / £9 / 11 €
Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Reference type
THREE CARDS, each with its job named in the first three bullets: an 18 per cent neutral GREY for metering exposure, a WHITE for setting white balance, and a BLACK for covering stray light. Three cards is the standard set, and this page is the only one on this shelf to explain each separately rather than as a bundle
Stated reflectance
18 PER CENT for the grey card, in the first bullet, which says it balances complex light to a neutral 18 per cent grey scene. No figure is given for the white or the black — where the 11 € JJC on this shelf publishes 90 per cent for its white card
Patch count and published values
Not applicable in the colorimetric sense: three cards, no patches, no published values. The 59 € Calibrite on this shelf is the only page here with numbered patches — which makes it a different instrument rather than a better card
Surface finish
NOT DESCRIBED. Neither matt nor gloss is claimed, and on a reference card the finish is what decides whether a light source appears as a highlight in the middle of the reading. The 11 € JJC publishes non-reflective and waterproof; the 11 € Lightdow publishes a density figure
Size
12.7 by 10.2 cm — 5 by 4 inches — in the fourth bullet, described as a medium card size and called compact, robust and light. It is the middle size on this shelf, between the 13 by 10 cm JJC and the 30 by 30 cm Lightdow
Supplied case
NO CASE, but a PREMIUM CLIP RELEASE LANYARD in the fifth bullet — a cord and a clip so the cards hang from a bag or a belt loop. For a card used once at the start of a session, being attached to something is more useful than being in a pouch
Amazon reference
B07318GYGP (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
EAN
0730060528342

On the listing

Five bullets. A grey card used for accurate exposure, able to balance complex light to an 18 per cent neutral grey scene; a white balance card that defines white balance and can be used as a reflector, though only with a limited effect; a black card that covers stray light, reducing exposure outdoors and balancing the light; a compact, robust and light white balance card with a medium card size of 5 by 4 inches; and a package of three photo cards — black, white and 18 per cent grey — with a premium clip release lanyard, called perfect for DSLR, video, film and photography and working with any digital camera.

Three cards, three jobs, three bullets

Every other page on this shelf sells a set. This one explains what each card is for, which is the difference between a product and a tool somebody can use.

Eighteen per cent, which is what a meter expects

A camera assumes the world averages to mid grey. A card of 18 per cent reflectance in the same light gives it the tone it was built for.

The admission in the second bullet

The white card is a reflector with a limited effect. At 5 by 4 inches that is simply true, and printing it is rarer than it should be.

A lanyard instead of a pouch

A card used once at the start of a session should be attached to the bag, not buried in it.

What eleven euros does not describe

The surface. Matt or glossy decides whether a lamp appears as a highlight in the middle of the reading, and the page is silent.

Availability

Between 11 € and 14 € on the German, French, Italian and Spanish Amazon stores when this page was last checked.

The American and British Amazon stores carry it too, priced in local currency. Those amounts are deliberately absent from the range above, which reads euro stores only.

Everything in this section is the figure Keepa carried on the day of the last update to this page. Availability and prices shift without notice.

Prices quoted in this text were read on 13 September 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.

More grey cards and colour targets

  • JJC set of three PVC grey, white and black cards with their clip strap

    JJC Three PVC cards, 130 by 100 mm, 18 % and 90 %

    Eleven euros for three waterproof PVC cards publishing both 18 per cent grey and 90 per cent white — the only page here to give two reflectance figures.

    Reference type
    THREE CARDS in PVC — an 18 per cent neutral grey, a white and a black — in the second and fifth bullets, described as colour-calibrated reference cards and called a must for light balance and photographic exposure
    Stated reflectance
    TWO FIGURES, and this is what separates the page: 18 PER CENT for the neutral grey AND 90 PER CENT for the white card, both in the second bullet. Ninety per cent is what a white reference should reflect — a true 100 per cent surface does not exist — and publishing it means the white card can be used for exposure as well as for white balance. No other page on this shelf gives a second figure
    Patch count and published values
    Three cards, no patches. The 59 € Calibrite here is the only patch chart on this shelf
    Surface finish
    PUBLISHED IN FULL, in the third bullet: NON-REFLECTIVE, highly scratch-resistant and WATERPROOF, in durable PVC. Non-reflective is the property that matters — a glossy card throws a highlight into the middle of the reading — and waterproof is what lets a card be used in rain and wiped afterwards
    Size
    130 by 100 mm, in the first bullet, described as medium. Marginally larger than the 12.7 by 10.2 cm ChromLives here and a fraction of the 30 by 30 cm Lightdow
    Supplied case
    No case: a strap with a DETACHABLE CLIP, in the fourth bullet, described as compact, robust and light in pocket format, easy to carry on a wallet or a key ring. The same solution as the ChromLives — attachment rather than storage
    Amazon reference
    B07Z4N8Y19 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    6972502073032
    • Both 18 per cent and 90 per cent published — two reflectance figures
    • Non-reflective, scratch-resistant and waterproof PVC, all stated
    • No case, and no colorimetric values

    Best for: Outdoor work where the card gets wet, and any shoot that needs a white reference as well as a grey one.

    ≈ £9 / 11 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • Lightdow folding grey card opened to 30 by 30 cm beside its carry case

    Lightdow 30 by 30 cm folding, 17.8 % reflectance, density 0.74

    Eleven euros for a 30 by 30 cm pop-up card that publishes 17.8 per cent, a density of 0.74, a 2 per cent tolerance and an eighth of a stop of error — the only measured card here.

    Reference type
    A DOUBLE-SIDED POP-UP card — grey on one face, white on the other, in the fourth bullet, which says it simplifies the technical questions of exposure and colour correction under varying light and names weddings and fashion shows as where that matters. It springs open like a reflector rather than being a rigid card
    Stated reflectance
    17.8 PER CENT, in the first bullet — and the honesty of that figure is the point. "Eighteen per cent" is the nominal standard; 17.8 is what this surface actually measures, published alongside a DENSITY OF 0.74. Density is the logarithmic form of the same property, and giving both is how a manufacturer shows the figure came from an instrument rather than a catalogue
    Patch count and published values
    Two faces, no patches. What it publishes instead is unique on this shelf: a MAXIMUM DEVIATION OF 2 PER CENT in the second bullet, and a MAXIMUM METERING ERROR OF ONE EIGHTH OF A STOP in the third. A tolerance is what turns a claim into a specification
    Surface finish
    Not described — the one gap on an otherwise measured page. The 11 € JJC here publishes non-reflective, and on a 30 cm surface a sheen matters more rather than less
    Size
    30 by 30 cm, in the title — NEARLY SEVEN TIMES the area of the 130 by 100 mm cards on this shelf, and FOLDING, with a carry case supplied. A large target can be metered from further away and photographed in the frame for later correction; a folding one still fits in a bag
    Supplied case
    YES — a carry case, in the title and the fourth bullet, which is what a sprung folding card needs. The fifth bullet adds a 90-day return and replacement guarantee for quality-related problems
    Amazon reference
    B00HT9MA1W (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0616983848487
    • Seventeen point eight per cent and a density of 0.74, both published
    • A 2 per cent deviation and an eighth of a stop of metering error — the only tolerances here
    • The surface finish is never described, on the largest card here

    Best for: Metering from a distance at a wedding or a show, where the card has to be large, fold away and be trusted to a fraction of a stop.

    ≈ $15 / £13 / 11 €
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  • Calibrite ColorChecker Classic Mini chart showing its twenty-four colour patches

    Calibrite ColorChecker Classic Mini, 24 patches, 6.35 by 10.9 cm

    Fifty-nine euros for a 24-patch chart that builds DNG and ICC camera profiles — six grey patches among them, on the smallest card here.

    Reference type
    A COLOUR CHART, and the distinction from the rest of this shelf is total. Three products here are grey cards — one tone, held in the light, read by a meter. This is 24 known colours photographed once so that software can compute how this camera sees colour and correct every frame afterwards. The first bullet calls it colour calibration and colour management, which is a different job from metering
    Stated reflectance
    NO SINGLE FIGURE, and correctly so: a chart has no one reflectance. What it has instead are six GREY PATCHES, in the third bullet, which do the grey card’s job as part of the set — so the neutral reference is there, spread across a range from white to black rather than fixed at 18 per cent
    Patch count and published values
    24 PATCHES, published in the first and third bullets: six greys, RGB and CMYK primaries, and a mixture of everyday colours. The colorimetric values themselves are not printed on the page — they live in the software, which is where a profile-building workflow needs them
    Surface finish
    Not described. On a chart the finish is critical — a gloss would put a reflection across a patch — and the page leaves it unstated, as three of the four pages on this shelf do
    Size
    6.35 by 10.9 cm, in the title — THE SMALLEST ON THIS SHELF, a third the area of the pocket grey cards and a twelfth of the 30 by 30 cm Lightdow. A chart is photographed in the frame rather than metered off, so small is sufficient; it does have to be large enough to fill a usable part of the frame
    Supplied case
    Not mentioned — on a 59 € chart whose patches are worthless once scratched or faded. The 11 € Lightdow on this shelf supplies a case
    Amazon reference
    B0973JNJCB (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0850028833056
    • Twenty-four patches building real DNG and ICC camera profiles
    • Six grey patches, so the neutral reference is included across a range
    • No case mentioned, and a faded or scratched chart is a wrong chart

    Best for: Matching two cameras on the same shoot, or any work where colour has to be repeatable rather than merely correct.

    ≈ $74 / £44 / 59 €
    Check price on Amazon

Elsewhere in the camera bag

  • Canon EF-EOS R mount adapter between an EF lens and an RF body

    Canon EF and EF-S lenses onto RF bodies

    Ninety-five euros to put EF and EF-S lenses on an RF body, with ten cameras named, a sealed metal mount, and two caps and a pouch in the box.

    Mounts joined
    EF and EF-S to RF — a real mount adapter, unlike the three ring sets on this shelf, which join filter threads. The intro above explains why this direction works at all: an adapter can only add to the distance between mount face and sensor, and EF is the longer-flanged system, so the gap is filled by an empty tube rather than corrected by glass
    Contacts present
    Not itemised, and that is the gap on this page. The first bullet claims existing EF and EF-S lenses work with performance unchanged and in parts better, and the fourth says the body generates a crop for EF-S lenses — both of which require the body to know what is attached. The contacts are implied throughout and never listed
    Functions claimed
    Performance "unchanged and in parts better", in the first bullet. The intro above asks for functions one at a time — autofocus, aperture control, stabilisation communication, metadata — and this page names none of them individually, which is the pattern that tip warns about
    Optical elements
    None named, and none is needed here. EF sits further from the sensor than RF, so the adapter is a spacer; the corrective element the intro above describes belongs to adapters working the other way, against the flange distance
    Tripod foot
    Not mentioned. The intro above says a foot matters as soon as the lens outweighs the body, which on a mirrorless body with a long EF telephoto is most of the time
    Aperture ring
    Not on this version. The page describes one adapter and names no control ring and no filter slot
    Build
    A metal mount, dust- and splash-protected, in the third bullet. The fifth lists what comes with it: the adapter, an R-F-3 body cap, an RF rear lens cap, a pouch and a manual — two caps, because an adapter left on the body means the lens cap and the body cap no longer fit what they were bought for
    Amazon reference
    B07H5SL6W3 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4549292115703
    • Ten RF bodies named on the page, rather than a mount specification alone
    • A dust- and splash-protected metal mount, at 95 €
    • No function list: "performance unchanged and in parts better" stands in for autofocus and aperture claims

    Best for: A bag of EF glass moving onto an RF body, where the lenses are to keep working exactly as they did.

    ≈ $121 / £98 / 95 €
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  • K&F Concept eighteen-piece filter ring set in its two rows of nine

    K&F CONCEPT Eighteen rings, nine up and nine down

    Eighteen rings for 23 €, nine up and nine down — the only set on this shelf that can fit a smaller filter to a larger lens, with the vignetting that implies.

    Mounts joined
    NONE, again: filter threads. The first bullet says the set matches a lens thread to the thread of any other accessory, which is the clearest statement of the job on this shelf. The 95 € Canon and the 185 € Nikon here are the mount adapters
    Contacts present
    None
    Functions claimed
    Fitting, in both directions — and the second direction is what distinguishes this set. The second bullet lists nine step-up rings, the third nine step-down, and the fourth says the ring screws easily onto the front of any lens
    Optical elements
    None
    Tripod foot
    Not applicable
    Aperture ring
    Not applicable
    Build
    Described in the first bullet as extremely robust and light, with NO MATERIAL NAMED — where the 11 € Belmalia and the 11 € CAMKIX both say anodised aluminium. The fifth bullet promises a perfect, secure fit with no wobble and no thread wear
    Amazon reference
    B00JL4HGAI (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0700424378524
    • Eighteen rings, and the only step-down set on this shelf
    • The step-up half matches the nine sizes of the 11 € CAMKIX set exactly
    • No material named, where both 11 € sets specify anodised aluminium

    Best for: A bag where a filter is sometimes larger than the lens and sometimes smaller — a compact lens borrowing a big filter one day, a big lens borrowing a small one the next.

    ≈ $28 / £22 / 23 €
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  • Nikon FTZ II adapter mounted between an F-mount lens and a Z-mount body

    Nikon FTZ II — F lenses onto Z bodies

    One hundred and eighty-five euros to put F-mount lenses on a Z body, with full autofocus and auto exposure claimed for "numerous" of them — and four bullets that name none.

    Mounts joined
    F to Z — the second true mount adapter on this shelf, beside the 95 € Canon. The intro above explains the direction: F sits far from the sensor because it was built around a mirror, Z sits close, so the adapter restores a distance rather than correcting an optical error
    Contacts present
    Not itemised, but necessarily there: the second bullet claims full autofocus and automatic exposure, and neither is possible through a passive tube. The page never says how many contacts or what else passes — stabilisation communication and metadata are not mentioned
    Functions claimed
    Two, and separately, which is more than any other adapter page here manages: FULL AUTOFOCUS and AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE, for "numerous" F lenses. The intro above warns that claims of this kind are graded rather than binary and that makers usually publish a compatibility list; the word "numerous" is doing the work of that list
    Optical elements
    None named, and none is required in this direction
    Tripod foot
    Not mentioned anywhere in four bullets. The intro above calls a foot important as soon as the lens outweighs the body, which describes most F-mount telephotos on a Z body
    Aperture ring
    Not mentioned. Older F lenses with no electronic aperture depend on how the adapter drives the mechanical lever, and the page says nothing about that at all
    Build
    Robust and protected against dust and splashes, in the fourth bullet, with good ergonomics claimed in the first. The third bullet — "a new level of sharpness" — is a claim about image quality on a device this page never says contains an optical element
    Amazon reference
    B09KKTQSQ9 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4960759909121
    • Autofocus and automatic exposure claimed as two separate functions, not as one word
    • Dust and splash protection on a 185 € adapter, matching the 95 € Canon here
    • Four bullets, and not one names a lens or a body

    Best for: F-mount glass moving onto a Z body, for a buyer who will check their own lenses against the maker’s published list elsewhere.

    ≈ $226 / £148 / 185 €
    Check price on Amazon

All grey cards and colour targets