colored gel swatch books

Qarik · January 15, 2009

I was looking into gels for my flash and came across the gel swatch books that you can get for super cheap or free. I am sure I am re-inventing the wheel here but at 1st glance they seem perfect for flash gels (1.5in x 3.25-4 in) Anyone ever try this?

And I assume these swatch books have cto, 1/2 cto, 1/4 cto, fluorescent green, etc

Travis · January 15, 2009

Qarik wrote:

I was looking into gels for my flash and came across the gel swatch books that you can get for super cheap or free. I am sure I am re-inventing the wheel here but at 1st glance they seem perfect for flash gels (1.5in x 3.25-4 in) Anyone ever try this?

And I assume these swatch books have cto, 1/2 cto, 1/4 cto, fluorescent green, etc

Yes and they work great. You need to come up with a way to store them. The swatches are connected by a long piece of plastic and each swatch is attached to a piece of paper listing the color (1/4 straw, etc.). To pull out a swatch, you have to cut the plastic stick that holds them all together so you end up with a 100 swatches and there identification sheets all over creation. I pulled out a few that I use most often and put them in a business card holder. Seems to work pretty decent.

Shane422 · January 15, 2009

I know these are more expensive, but I didn;t know if you knew about these that stick to your flash head. The third link also has some other really cool and inexpensive grids for speedlights that you might find interesting.
1. stickyfilters.com
2. http://phoxle.homestead.com/
3. Saxonpc

Art Scott · January 15, 2009

Qarik wrote:

I was looking into gels for my flash and came across the gel swatch books that you can get for super cheap or free. I am sure I am re-inventing the wheel here but at 1st glance they seem perfect for flash gels (1.5in x 3.25-4 in) Anyone ever try this?

And I assume these swatch books have cto, 1/2 cto, 1/4 cto, fluorescent green, etc

i have swatchbooks that are over 15yrs old and they had a screw post in them so you could unscrew them to getthem out to use....as for marking them so you know what they are......use a white, red or blue grease pencil.....won't change their color temp or anything and stays on very well......

I have a theatrical Supply store just about 1.5 miles from me and about every 2 yrs I go get 2 of each of the different ROSCO gel books....I also purchase a gel or 2 that I use or pick up one to just play with.

divamum · January 15, 2009

Art Scott wrote:

i have swatchbooks that are over 15yrs old and they had a screw post in them so you could unscrew them to getthem out to use....as for marking them so you know what they are......use a white, red or blue grease pencil.....won't change their color temp or anything and stays on very well......

I have a theatrical Supply store just about 1.5 miles from me and about every 2 yrs I go get 2 of each of the different ROSCO gel books....I also purchase a gel or 2 that I use or pick up one to just play with.

Question: is this a readily available item? I REALLY need some flash gels, but am skint right now so can't buy one of those cool stickon sets. However, there's a local stage lighting supplier in town which is listed on the Rosco website - do I just call and ask if they have these swatchbooks, or is it a standard item that I just go in and get like paint chips or what? (I know, I know - I'm in the performing arts so I should know this, but I'm usually ONstage UNDER the lights, not handling them and thus am 100% clueless on this particular side of things!!

)

For me right now cheap is good and free is better, so if I can get some of these as a freebie it would be great!

Tx in advance for further details .....

Art Scott · January 15, 2009

divamum wrote:

Question: is this a readily available item? I REALLY need some flash gels, but am skint right now so can't buy one of those cool stickon sets. However, there's a local stage lighting supplier in town which is listed on the Rosco website - do I just call and ask if they have these swatchbooks, or is it a standard item that I just go in and get like paint chips or what? (I know, I know - I'm in the performing arts so I should know this, but I'm usually ONstage UNDER the lights, not handling them and thus am 100% clueless on this particular side of things!! )
Where did you get your BFA or MFA in music.....did the school not make you work with the show load-ins and strikes......I always had the opera divas sorting the gels for the load in and especially at teh strike.....the dance classes always laid the Marley flooring also.........sounds like you need a refresher course in theater:Drofl

For me right now cheap is good and free is better, so if I can get some of these as a freebie it would be great!

Tx in advance for further details .....

Yes you should be able to walk in and pick up a swatch book...hopefully they are still free.......I know B&H charges for them on their website.

a110p0 · January 16, 2009

B&H has Rosco Gel Swatchbooks for $0.01.

I bought my from Adorama for ~$4.00, B&H was out of stock at the time.

I cut off the plastic post and used a hinged metal ring that you can
buy at any office store to hold the swatches.

I found some instructions somewhere to laminate the gels and make a tab to slide
into a slot on the strobe. I used self sealing business card laminates that I bought
at Office Depot. Increases durability and also increased the cost.

Works OK.

I read Troy Paiva's webpage on techniques trying to mimic his work.
I'm using the gel swatches for effects lighting more than for light color correction.
I don't really know what I'm doing, just trial and error.

Some results:

I still need to experiment more.
Alvin

divamum · January 16, 2009

Art Scott wrote:

Where did you get your BFA or MFA in music.....did the school not make you work with the show load-ins and strikes......I always had the opera divas sorting the gels for the load in and especially at teh strike.....the dance classes always laid the Marley flooring also.........sounds like you need a refresher course in theater:Drofl

Bwahahahahahahahahaha... Darling, as an opera singer, onstage I don't do anything with lights except find my own and let the spot man follow me....

:lol :encore

Kidding aside (and yes, I am kidding. Well, mostly

, I have done just about every job backstage EXCEPT lighting and running the flies - I somehow missed those two, which always bugged me because I really WANTED to learn more about lighting. But I invariably wound up being asked to ASM or do wigs/makeup/costume. And of course once you hit the pro world woe betide any performer who so much as TOUCHES anything wooden or wired onstage - union rules n' all that ...

Thanks again for the tip - our local shop DOES have them onhand, and I'll go down and get them today. Woohoo! Gels!!

Art Scott · January 16, 2009

divamum wrote:

Bwahahahahahahahahaha... Darling, as an opera singer, onstage I don't do anything with lights except find my own and let the spot man follow me.... :lol :encore

Kidding aside (and yes, I am kidding. Well, mostly , I have done just about every job backstage EXCEPT lighting and running the flies - I somehow missed those two, which always bugged me because I really WANTED to learn more about lighting. But I invariably wound up being asked to ASM or do wigs/makeup/costume. And of course once you hit the pro world woe betide any performer who so much as TOUCHES anything wooden or wired onstage - union rules n' all that ...

Thanks again for the tip - our local shop DOES have them onhand, and I'll go down and get them today. Woohoo! Gels!!

Spoken like a TRUE DIVA!!!

Glad your local shop has some in stock....may want to get 2 just in case.

divamum · January 16, 2009

Art Scott wrote:

Spoken like a TRUE DIVA!!!

Glad your local shop has some in stock....may want to get 2 just in case.

Ha!

Got the gels, no problem. I've taken and put them in some non-heat laminating plastic and have stuck small velcro dots onto that, so I can attach them to the flash head by wrapping them onto where there is already velcro for my BBC at each side of the head.

Questions:

- does it matter if there's a little light leak around the edges? I can't quite seat them flat once they're in the laminate (slightly too stiff, but deifnitely more robust than just the swatch sheets themselves!)

- which strength CTO is usually used when you want to match the flash to ordinary household light?

For basically a FREE accessory, I'm dead chuffed - thanks Qarik for posting the question and Art to suggesting a theatrical supplier!

jeffreaux2 · January 16, 2009

I have swatchbooks from Lee and Rosco around here somewhere. It will work.

My choice, though, is the Phoxle flashmatch gels. I have been using them nearly a year and they are great. I also tried sticky-filters, but am not a fan of having to trim them to fit the 580EX, and I like the results better from the Phoxles.

divamum · January 17, 2009

jeffreaux2 wrote:

I have swatchbooks from Lee and Rosco around here somewhere. It will work.

My choice, though, is the Phoxle flashmatch gels. I have been using them nearly a year and they are great. I also tried sticky-filters, but am not a fan of having to trim them to fit the 580EX, and I like the results better from the Phoxles.

Yeah, the Phoxle product looks awesome - it's on my wishlist for sure. But for now, the swatches are a great free solution

Question remains: which strength CTO is appropriate for ordinary household tungsten situations or is there a rule of thumb for judging which strength filter to use?

Thanks!

Manfr3d · January 17, 2009

Qarik wrote:

I was looking into gels for my flash and came across the gel swatch books that you can get for super cheap or free. I am sure I am re-inventing the wheel here but at 1st glance they seem perfect for flash gels (1.5in x 3.25-4 in) Anyone ever try this?

And I assume these swatch books have cto, 1/2 cto, 1/4 cto, fluorescent green, etc

Yes this is a very popular way (and good fit) to get gels for flashguns. I ordered mine at B&H for 1 cent per book. Maximum per order was 10 books. Sometimes they are out of stock.

jeffreaux2 · January 17, 2009

divamum wrote:

Yeah, the Phoxle product looks awesome - it's on my wishlist for sure. But for now, the swatches are a great free solution

Question remains: which strength CTO is appropriate for ordinary household tungsten situations or is there a rule of thumb for judging which strength filter to use?

Thanks!

No way of "knowing".....as temp varies from bulb to bulb....but...

Set your camera to AWB and shoot a white target under the light you want to match. I use plain white cardstock. Next, choose CWB in your cameras menu. You will have to choose which photo to reference and you will of course use the shot of the white target. It will appear yellow/orange to reddish. keep the photo up on the LCD.....and spread a few CTO gels out on your white cardstock. Choose the one that is the nearest match to the color of your CWB target shot......and then grab the next darkest one you have and put it on your flash. Set your camera to the CWB referencing the same photo.

It works for me....but I like warm photos. If you find it too warm, just use the next lighter CTO.

divamum · January 18, 2009

jeffreaux2 wrote:

No way of "knowing".....as temp varies from bulb to bulb....but...

Set your camera to AWB and shoot a white target under the light you want to match. I use plain white cardstock. Next, choose CWB in your cameras menu. You will have to choose which photo to reference and you will of course use the shot of the white target. It will appear yellow/orange to reddish. keep the photo up on the LCD.....and spread a few CTO gels out on your white cardstock. Choose the one that is the nearest match to the color of your CWB target shot......and then grab the next darkest one you have and put it on your flash. Set your camera to the CWB referencing the same photo.

It works for me....but I like warm photos. If you find it too warm, just use the next lighter CTO.

Makes perfect sense. Thanks!

divamum · January 18, 2009

In case anybody's interested, some snaps of how I laminated and attached these swatches to my flash.

I got some of those "non-heat laminating pouches" (iow, stiff, sticky-backed plastic) and cut them to size, then put some small velcro dots on them. I already had the velcro on my flash head for other attachments.

A touch makeshift, but it works!

tisun · January 19, 2009

divamum wrote:

In case anybody's interested, some snaps of how I laminated and attached these swatches to my flash.

I got some of those "non-heat laminating pouches" (iow, stiff, sticky-backed plastic) and cut them to size, then put some small velcro dots on them. I already had the velcro on my flash head for other attachments.

A touch makeshift, but it works!

divamum, you are amazing!

a110p0 · January 22, 2009

Laminate Gel Swatch
I found this link for laminating gel swatches.
http://mocknation.blogspot.com/2006/12/laminate-those-gels.html

I thought it was a clean and tidy way to use gel swatches.

I don't have a laminating machine so I used the self sealing laminate
pouches that you can get from an office store.

I use a Nikon sb800 that has a slot where you can slide the tab
into.

Alvin

jeffreaux2 · January 22, 2009

Be aware that the gels are designed to withstand a fair amount of heat.

The laminating materials may not be.

Too much heat reflected back to the flash lens could cause damage/ warping.

divamum · January 22, 2009

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Be aware that the gels are designed to withstand a fair amount of heat.

The laminating materials may not be.

Too much heat reflected back to the flash lens could cause damage/ warping.

Interesting.... I hadn't thought of that. So maybe it's a good thing my ghetto version isn't too "skin tight" - the heat can escape ... So far they've held up nicely and the flash seems perfectly normal. I figured the worst thing is that they'll wrinkle and/or die and I'll need to remake them, but that was before I thought about potential damage to the flash itself.....

I'll keep an eye on that now you've mentioned it!

Manfr3d · January 22, 2009

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Be aware that the gels are designed to withstand a fair amount of heat.

My 580EX II started to melt some of the color gels in the center (not the CTO / CTB ones) when I fired a full power beam trough them.

barbnjon · November 27, 2009

a110p0 wrote:

B&H has Rosco Gel Swatchbooks for $0.01.

I bought my from Adorama for ~$4.00, B&H was out of stock at the time.

I cut off the plastic post and used a hinged metal ring that you can
buy at any office store to hold the swatches.

I found some instructions somewhere to laminate the gels and make a tab to slide
into a slot on the strobe. I used self sealing business card laminates that I bought
at Office Depot. Increases durability and also increased the cost.

Works OK.

I read Troy Paiva's webpage on techniques trying to mimic his work.
I'm using the gel swatches for effects lighting more than for light color correction.
I don't really know what I'm doing, just trial and error.

Some results:

I still need to experiment more.
Alvin

For the photos did you use strobes or flashlights? Good job!

Art Scott · November 27, 2009

Manfr3d wrote:

My 580EX II started to melt some of the color gels in the center (not the CTO / CTB ones) when I fired a full power beam trough them.

I have never seen a rosco gel burn unless it was sitting ontop the lamp of a 1000watt par or on an ellipsodial ......we ran lights for upto 18 hour days when I was with Wichita State University......especially during final tech rehearsal and never had a rosco gel burn.......I have had some old Lee gels melt....but then again they were very thick and sitting dang near on the lamp it self........a flash only gets hot for a few seconds and then is cooling off asthe ca[icator recharges.......I have gelled several of sunpak 622's withthe gel taped directly to the flash head and again never had a gel to melt or even scorch.........

Manfr3d · November 27, 2009

Here is a pic of what a full power flash of a 580EX II can do to a gel:

The gel does not really burn, even if it smells like it does.
But you can clearly see the deformation caused by the burst of heat.

Art Scott · November 27, 2009

yes it will deform....all materials will expand and contract from heat and cooling off.......looks like you just need a little distance from gel to flash lens..............

Manfr3d · November 27, 2009

You are probably right. I dont see a quick way to increase this distance.
But until I do ... the deformed gels continue to work just fine.

time2smile · November 28, 2009

I'm still waiting for my free gels from Rosco, two years now, but was able to order 2 sets from B&H. I use an old box from personal checks to hold the gels, they fit perfectly. You can use some cardboard or thick white paper to make a holder that fit on your speedlight, put a slot in it to hold the gel, this will keep it from deforming with the heat of the strobe.

time2smile · November 28, 2009

Another idea for a holder would be to buy one of those cheap pop on diffusers from ebay, paint it black and carefully cut the front out just smaller than the gel, and tape or Velcro.

agphotography · November 30, 2009

I need to get another one or two of these. I had one that got ruined in an accident. I had an entire bottle of carpet cleaner spill inside my trunk which happened to soak into my camera bag.

Thankfully that's all that was ruined!

colored gel swatch books

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