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The only card here with a tolerance

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.

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 €
Check price on Amazon

Specifications

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

On the listing

Five bullets, each opening with a camera. A grey side with a reflectance of 17.8 per cent and a density of 0.74; a maximum deviation of reflectance of 2 per cent; a maximum error in exposure measurements of one eighth of a stop; a practical double-sided pop-up card with 18 per cent grey and white sides, simplifying the complex technical questions of exposure and colour correction under differing light and offering a real advantage when working under pressure at events such as weddings or fashion shows; and a 90-day return and replacement guarantee for quality-related problems.

Seventeen point eight per cent, and a density of 0.74

Not the nominal eighteen. Two figures for the same property, published because they were measured rather than copied from a standard.

A tolerance, alone on this shelf

Two per cent of deviation, and an eighth of a stop of error. A claim without a tolerance is an adjective; with one it is a specification.

Thirty by thirty centimetres, folded into a case

Nearly seven times the area of the pocket cards here. A large target is metered from further away and read without the wall behind it.

An eighth of a stop, which is smaller than the lens

Nine per cent of light — less than the difference between two lenses at the same marked aperture. The card is not the weak link.

What it never describes

Its finish. On 900 square centimetres of surface, a sheen matters more than on a postcard, and the page does not raise it.

Availability

Between 11 € and 16 € 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

  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

Elsewhere in the camera bag

  • 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
  • Canon E-58II black lens cap lying face up

    Canon E-58II, 58 mm — three bullets, two irrelevant

    Four euros for Canon’s own 58 mm cap, from a listing whose three bullets are a colour and two camera specifications that have nothing to do with a cap.

    Cap type
    A front cap — the Canon E-58II, identified by part number in the title. The "II" marks Canon’s revised centre-pinch design, replacing an older rim-grip cap, which is the single most useful fact about it and appears nowhere in the bullets
    Thread or mount fit
    58 mm, carried only by the part number: E-58II. No bullet states a diameter, and no lens is named — where the 4 € JJC on this shelf names nine
    Pinch mechanism
    NOT STATED. The E-58II is a centre-pinch cap, which is why it can be removed inside a hood, and the page does not say so
    Tether provision
    NONE. No cord, no hole and no keeper
    Material
    Not named
    Pack contents
    Not stated. What the three bullets do contain is: "colour: black"; "Intervall-Aufnahme Y" — interval shooting, yes; and "USB Konnektivitätstechnologie" — USB connectivity technology. The last two are fields from a camera-body template, published on the listing for a piece of plastic with no electronics in it
    Amazon reference
    B00A2BWAKK (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4960999795904
    • Canon’s own part, so the fit and the pinch action are the originals
    • The E-58II part number identifies it unambiguously
    • Two of its three bullets are camera specifications — interval shooting and USB

    Best for: Replacing a lost original cap on a 58 mm Canon lens, bought by part number.

    ≈ £5 / 4 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • JJC 52 mm centre-pinch lens cap with its elastic keeper cord attached

    JJC 52 mm centre-pinch, with a tether and a 3M pad

    Four euros for a 52 mm centre-pinch cap with an elastic keeper, two ways to attach it, and nine lenses named.

    Cap type
    A front cap for the filter thread, in the title and the fifth bullet. Not a rear cap and not a body cap — the distinction matters on this shelf, and the hub above compares front caps on how they pinch and whether they tether
    Thread or mount fit
    52 mm, with NINE LENSES NAMED in the fifth bullet across three systems: Canon EF-S 24 mm f/2.8, EF-M 18-55 mm, RF 35 mm F1.8 Macro; Nikon AF-S 18-55 mm, 35 mm f/1.8G, Z 24-50 mm, Z 40 mm f2; Fuji XC 15-45 mm and XF 18 mm f/2 R. The same bullet adds where to check: the thread size is on the barrel or under the cap
    Pinch mechanism
    CENTRE-PINCH, in the third bullet — squeeze the middle to fit or release. The centre pinch is what allows a hood to stay on: a cap gripped at its rim cannot be reached inside a hood, and the fourth bullet says outright that this one works with filters and a hood at the same time
    Tether provision
    SUPPLIED, with TWO fixings: one universal elastic lanyard, attached either by a 3M adhesive pad to the lens barrel or looped through the cap’s own mounting hole, in the first and third bullets. A cap on a cord is a cap that is not lost, and this is the only tether on this shelf
    Material
    ABS, in the fourth bullet, described as light and durable — the only material named on this shelf
    Pack contents
    Two items: one cap with a centre clamp, and one universal elastic keeper, in the first bullet
    Amazon reference
    B0DCJMYGFH (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    6974413519401
    • An elastic keeper with two fixings — a 3M pad or the cap’s own hole
    • Nine lenses named across Canon, Nikon and Fuji, plus where to read the thread
    • The adhesive pad leaves a mark on the barrel where it is stuck

    Best for: A 52 mm lens whose cap keeps getting lost, used with a hood or a filter permanently fitted.

    ≈ £4 / 4 €
    Check price on Amazon

All grey cards and colour targets