lunes, 11 de octubre de 2010

2x1: Novedades sobre las Ati… Ejem… AMD 6xxx

En TechPoweUp me encontré con estas 2 noticias, casi en forma consecutiva, sobre la inminente salida de la línea 6000 de las placas de video AMD (ahora sí y finalmente, ex-Ati). Parece que AMD no va a dejar ganar a Nvidia ni un metro de terreno y quiere coronarse definitivamente como rey de cada segmento… Tengo mis dudas con el rebranding.. personalmente detesto esa práctica, pero bueno, es cierto que bien aplicada, ayuda mucho al consumidor a encontrar de que forma está posicionado tal o cual producto con respecto a la línea actual de producto en plaza, cosa harto complicada en otras epocas, el darse cuenta de la diferencia de performance entre una placa de línea anterior y una actual, cuando no siempre un número de modelo más grande, significaba mayores prestaciones…
Falta poco para los primeros lanzamientos, por lo que ni bien salgan las primeras reviews serias, selecciono y como siempre, traigo :)

Here it is, the AMD Radeon HD 6870, all dressed up to go to work. There has been quite some speculation surrounding the naming scheme AMD is going to adopt with the HD 6000 series, but fresh information suggestively lays some of that to rest. Firstly, Radeon HD 6800 series is built around the "Barts" GPU, not "Cayman". Barts is a new performance GPU, though isn't the highest-end single GPU from AMD (which is reserved for Cayman). Barts "XT" is Radeon HD 6870, and Barts "Pro" is HD 6850. Pictured below is the HD 6870. At a purely subjective glance, the HD 6870 reference design card seems to be as long as the HD 5850 reference.
The new Radeon logo has been Photoshopped on to the fan, so the products in market will definitely do away with the older ATI logo. The rear panel resembles that of the Radeon HD 5800 series, except that the exhaust grille seems slightly wider, there are two DVI-I connectors, one standard HDMI, and two mini DisplayPort connectors for a change. The connector output sharing scheme isn't known right now, it could be 3 or 4 head Eyefinity, or all-out 5 head Eyefinity, a yet to be detailed "Eyespeed" feature is mentioned. We will definitely know more about this card in the weeks to come.

 
Earlier today, we were treated to the first picture of the Radeon HD 6870, a new and upcoming performance graphics card from AMD. It was also learned that the HD 6870 is based on a new GPU codenamed "Barts", which is intended to be a successor to the previous-generation "Juniper" GPU, which was at the center of the Radeon HD 5700 desktop and Mobility HD 5800 series. That left some uncertainty as to what GPU was going to drive the sub-$199 HD 6700 series. AMD may have found an answer, rebranding.
AMD seems to have been on the crossroads of which naming scheme to adopt. The first scheme based on conventional logic tells users that Barts-based SKUs should sit in the HD 6700 series, and Cayman-based single-GPU SKUs in the HD 6800; while the second scheme promotes Barts to the HD 6800 series, and Cayman to the HD 6900 series, pushing the low-volume, high-end Antilles (dual-Cayman) graphics card to the HD 6990 SKU. Evidently, AMD chose the newer, second scheme. The only rationale that makes sense is that the x800 series seems to be very popular, and if Barts, with its radically redesigned SIMD components can perform on par or better than the HD 5800 series SKUs, that's enough to justify its upwards push.
Since the new performance SKU will be labeled HD 6800 series, that leaves some vacuum with the HD 6700 series. The solution to this came in the form of a perceptually bad practice of rebranding Juniper-based SKUs to HD 6700 series. There is a possibility of AMD stepping up clock speeds, or adding software features to the HD 6700 series, but that's as far as we can see the Juniper going. "Turks" and "Caicos" are new GPUs, that trail behind in the HD 6600, HD 6500, and HD 6400 Series, respectively.
 
Fuentes: http://www.techpowerup.com/132432/AMD-Radeon-HD-6870-Reference-Design-Looks-Refined-Ready-to-Market.html - http://www.techpowerup.com/132459/AMD-Rebranding-HD-5770-and-HD-5750-to-HD-6700-Series.html

Cuando vivir en la ciudad apesta…

Estar en una urbe, tiene sus ventajas, si… Está todo más cerca, hay eventualmente más cosas para hacer o disfrutar, pero si hay algo de lo que reniego, viviendo en el conurbano bonaerense, es de la cantidad de luz que hay de noche. Yo entiendo que es un tema de practicidad, seguridad, ok, eso está claro, je, pero a lo que me refiero, es que todo lo que tiene que ver por ejemplo con fotografía y observación astronómica, es cuanto menos un desafío, cuando no, una imposibilidad (Al menos, para un amateur o aficionado).
De esto mismo trata este breve artículo :)
Why Living In Cities Sucks
When you live in a city, it's easy to forget that we are surrounded by the greatest show in the Universe: The Universe itself. This sky comparison chart is the sad proof of that.
Sadly, missing the awe-inspiring show of all those planets, stars, and galaxies dancing around us is the price humans had to pay for having observed it in the first place:
When our prehistoric ancestors studied the sky after sunset, they observed that some of the stars were not fixed with respect to the constant pattern of the constellations. Instead, five of them moved, slowly forward across the sky, then backward for a few months, then forward again, as if they couldn't quite make up their minds. We call them planets, the Greek word for "wanderers." These planets presented a profound mystery. The earliest explanation was that they were living beings. How else to explain their strange looping behavior. Later they were thought to be gods, and then disembodied astrological influences. But the real solution to this mystery is that the planets are worlds, that the Earth is one of them, and that they all go around the sun according to precise mathematical laws. This discovery has led directly to our modern global civilization.
A Personal Voyage — Harmony of the World, by Carl Sagan

Excellent dark sky

Why Living In Cities Sucks

Inner city sky

Why Living In Cities Sucks
Next time you have a few free days, remember the images above and go to a remote place, far from any town, in a night with no moon. If you have never done this, I can assure you that the experience will deeply affect your perception of the world. [Thanks B!]
Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.
Fuente: http://gizmodo.com/5659120/why-living-in-cities-sucks

El baterista "más rápido del mundo" fué a Chile para dar una clase magistral

Una noticia que pasó hace unos días para los amigos chilenos, más precisamente en realidad, para los músicos y bateristas que están del otro lado de la cordillera, y que pudieron asistir al evento en el marco del Zildjian Day.

Mike Mangini es el baterista de Steve Vai que este 5 de octubre compartió sus conocimientos en la Ex Oz. La World's Fastest Drummer lo acreditó como el más veloz de su gremio.

Emol – 30-09-10
SANTIAGO.- Mike Mangini, el baterista más rápido del mundosegún W.F.D. (World's Fastest Drummer), que además ostenta tres records mundiales por su velocidad con las baquetas, visitará Chile en el marco del Zildjian Day Tour 2010.
Mangini, quien ha logrado efectuar 1.247 golpes de baqueta en sólo 60 segundos, compartirá sus conocimientos con los fanáticos chilenos en una clínica asombrosa, que también puede tener un carácter de "espectáculo aparte", este miércoles 5 de octubre a las 19:00 horas, en la Ex Oz.
El baterista compartirá el escenario junto a los bateristas nacionales Gonzalo Muga y Marco Cerda, quienes mostrarán a Mangini sus habilidades con los tambores y platillos, mientras que los guitarristas Alejandro Silva y Gonzalo Sanhueza serán los acompañantes en la clase magistral.
Mike Mangini cuenta con un notable método de aprendizaje, que ha sido aplicado en distintos estilos musicales, desde la música docta al speed metal. Es miembro del cuerpo docente de la Universidad de Berklee de la Música, y ha sido nominado en múltiples ocasiones al Grammy.
La clínica organizada por la fábrica Zildjian Day, se realizará en la Ex Oz, ubicada en Chucre Manzur 6. El valor de la entrada es de $5.000 + cargo por servicio (Ticketmaster).
Foto: Audiomúsica
Fuente: http://www.emol.com/noticias/magazine/detalle/detallenoticias.asp?idnoticia=438807
El Record:
Videos del evento:
 
Un solo con mejor calidad:

Sensación de inseguridad…

El ministro del Interior, Aníbal Fernández, declaró en 2006 en el diario La Nación, haberse equivocado cuando, al referirse a la ola delictiva que está viviendo el país, había dicho que era “un punch mediático”, y pidió disculpas a los vecinos al admitir que es consciente de la sensación de inseguridad: “No vivo dentro de un tupperware”.

Más recientemente seguía declarando como podemos leer en El Sol Online, también en torno a la seguridad, que el gobierno trabaja "con la concreción de soluciones de fondo, sociales" y consideró que a esa problemática "hay que resolverla desde la causa y no desde los efectos".

Evidentemente, debe haber visto éste video…

“Call of Duty 7” sobrepasa en pre-ordenes al 6

La nueva edición pronta a salir, Black Ops, parece que va a ser más exitosa que su predecesora. Para tener una idea de lo que ésto significa, les recomiendo se den una vueltita por el último párrafo de la nota…
Ya falta poco…:P

Black Ops preorders surpassing Modern Warfare 2

By Emil Protalinski, TechSpot.com
Published: October 8, 2010, 4:26 PM EST
Video game retailer GameStop is reporting that its preorders for Activision and Treyarch's upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops video game are already outpacing the preorders for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. "GameStop is tracking to all-time, record reservations on Call of Duty: Black Ops," GameStop's Merchandising SVP Bob McKenzie said in a statement. "We are ahead of where we were with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last year, which previously set the industry standard." Unfortunately, GameStop did not disclose the actual number of preorders.
The game is scheduled to hit stores on November 9, but GameStop has announced a "Surprize Attack" sweepstakes and promotional campaign for preorder customers. Gamers who reserve the Xbox 360, PS3, or PC title can enter their receipt code on the special site to try to win over one million Black Ops-inspired prizes in 34 daily drawings until the launch date of the game.

Modern Warfare 2 broke sales records across entertainment industry; it generated $550 million in sales during the first five days available, beating all other video game launches and raking in more cash than any movie in the same timeframe. On the other hand, it was also the most pirated game of 2009.
Fuente: http://www.techspot.com/news/40595-black-ops-preorders-surpassing-modern-warfare-2.html

Rompiendo las barreras entre Tu Android y Tu PC

Más que excelente artículo que detalla a la perfección todas las herramientas y posibilidades disponibles, para compartir recursos y contenidos entre un dispositivo Android (comúnmente un teléfono, aunque también asoman las tablets por estos días), y, nuestra querida PC.
La nota se divide en tercios: Comunicación en ambos sentidos, de la PC al dispositivo, y de Android a la Computadora.
Para agendar! :)

How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and Computer

How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and ComputerYour Android is supposed to keep you instantly connected to your digital life. It can do that, but it needs some help. These best-of-class applications make sending files, syncing music, swapping web sites, and other phone-computer hook-ups so much easier.

Two-Way Tools: Android to Desktop to Android

How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and Computer

Files

Even though Android allows for removable SD card storage, and is a lot more open than the iPhone when it comes to file storage, very few people carry a USB cable or micro-SD converter card everywhere they go. Nor should they, since these apps make it easier to send files and ideas between two different screen sizes.
Dropbox
How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and ComputerAfter you install Dropbox on your various laptop and desktop systems, then add the Android app to your phone, you'll occasionally wonder why USB cables still exist. Simply place a file in your Dropbox folder (or elsewhere on your system), and it shows up on your phone. Dropbox on Android also comes with built-in handlers for PDFs, audio and video files, text and Word documents, and a few other files. You can also send your Dropbox files to other apps on your phone, or press and hold on a file to download it for safekeeping on your SD card.
Dropbox on Android offers you all kinds of creation powers, and the means to send files from your phone to your desktop computers. You can make a text file, instantly snap a picture or video, record an audio note, or upload any file on your SD card, and it all ends up syncing right back to your desktop. So when someone says, "Hey, I bet you can't print at home from your Android," you go ahead and prove them wrong. Or simply grab a picture of that watch your spouse liked for Christmas, either way. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
Alternative: SugarSync SugarSync offers the same kind of "2 GB free, sync anywhere" functionality as Dropbox, but it differentiates itself in its options. There's no one folder you have to drop everything into; you choose which desktop/laptop files are synced across your systems. If you only care about getting Word documents and PDFs backed up, you can set that up. It's a strong alternative with a good Android client. [Homepage] [AppBrain]

Notes, URLs, Phone Numbers, and Other Small Bits of Data

When an idea strikes you, or somebody wants you to remember something, you should be able to save it using any computer you've got handy, then see it, in real time, on any other computer. These tools make it so.
Simplenote / mNote
How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and Computer
We've praised Simplenote as a the holy grail of ubiquitous plain-text capture; mNote syncs your Simplenote entries between your account and your Android phone. mNote updates on a user-specified schedule (or you can force immediate update), you can add and delete notes, and you can tweak how much of the note you see (just the headline or up to 9 lines of preview from the note). The interface is extremely simple and the features are limited, but in this case that's hardly a criticism given that no-frills text editing is the draw of Simplenote. [AppBrain]
Evernote
evernote-android-sm.pngWe've sung the praises of Evernote time and time again as a great mobile note taking tool, and one of the reasons is its availability on all platforms. From the mobile app, you can quickly add text, photo, and voice notes, and have them immediately synced to the desktop application for further transcription and organization. Similarly, you can create any note in the desktop client and access it on-the-go from Evernote's easily searchable database. No matter where you are, Evernote keeps all the things you need to remember close at hand. [Homepage] [AppBrain]How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and Computer

Reading Material

A friend tweets a great blog post you want to dig into, or you're digging on an ebook you want to. Stash your reading for your bigger screen with these tools.
Read Later (Instapaper) and PaperDroid (Read It Later)
Both Instapaper and Read It Later capture articles, strip them down to their barest picture/text essence, and make them available wherever you have web access. We've put the two services head to head, but whichever reading app you like better, you've got an Android app that can send your browser pages to it. PaperDroid actually stores an offline reading list on your phone, while Read Later embeds itself in the Share menu for sending articles over; you'll need to browse to Instapaper's web site to read your stuff on your phone. [Read Later (AppBrain)] [PaperDroid (AppBrain)]
Kindle
How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and ComputerLike it does on every platform, Kindle for Android quietly grabs your Amazon ebook purchases, brings them onto your machine, and saves the bookmarks, highlights and notes, and the page you left off on as you read. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
 
 
   

One-Way Tools: Desktop to Android

How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and Computer

Remote Control and Screen Viewing

How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and ComputerIt may seem like a niche case, but some Android apps are pretty in-depth, and using them—or at least setting them up—can be more comfortable from your full keyboard and mouse.
AndroidScreencast

Unlike some dead-simple apps, using AndroidScreencast isn't a two click affair. It is, however, a great tool for viewing, controlling, and recording your Android phone from the comfort of your desktop. You'll need to install the Android SDK Manager to use AndroidScreencast and then download the AndroidScreencast Java app here—Java Runtime Environment 5+ required. Plug in your phone, run the Java app, and you'll see something similar to the screenshot above. Most keystrokes and mouse commands transfer well from the computer to the Android interface—the scroll wheel even works on long documents and web pages. AndroidScreencast requires a rooted phone for full functionality, non-rooted phones can view and record but not interact with the Android interface. [Homepage]

App Syncing and Instant Installation

Until Android's Market updates (due in November, supposedly), installing and removing applications in bulk, or even one at a time, is a search, hope, and then click-four-times affair. Not so with this great utility. How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and Computer
AppBrain and Fast Web Installer
From a pure convenience standpoint, it's hard to be AppBrain and its counterpart app, the Fast Web Installer. Head toAppBrain's web market, sign in through your Google account, then search for an app you've heard about or came across. Click Install, and seconds later, the app is beaming directly to your phone and installing as soon as it's downloaded. You can also pick out multiple apps in AppBrain to sync to your phone the next time you open its app on your phone, and maintain lists of apps to recommend to friends. It's also the handiest tool for bulk uninstalls. [Homepage] [AppBrain] [Fast Web Installer]

Web Pages, Map Locations, and Text

When you're heading out the door, or need to look at something you can't pull up on your phone, hit up these tools.
Chrome to Phone and Fox to Phone
How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and ComputerIt's easier to look up web sites and map locations in your full-size computer browser, and much easier to copy a block of text, even if you actually need the data on your phone. Install Chrome to Phone, or its Firefox counterpart Fox to Phone, in your browser, and beaming those pages and snippets to your phone is a one or two-click process. Both worth through the Chrome to Phone Android app on your phone, which you'll only need to link once to your Google account. After that, it's a fairly fast route from your desktop to your pocket. [Chrome to Phone (Chrome extension)] [Fox to Phone (Firefox extension)] [AppBrain (Android app)]

Files

As with pulling files from Android, tools like this are often easier than the manual methods. In this case, actually, it's dead simple.
Awesome Drop
DropBox is king for keeping a large number of your files synced and accessible across platforms. For absolutely dead-simple file transfer from a computer to your Android phone, however—no special desktop software or registration required—Awesome Drop is, well, awesome. Install Awesome Drop on your Android phone then visit Awesome Drop's web interface to get a random PIN. Plug that random pin into the Awesome Drop App on your phone and a temporary link is formed between the Awesome Drop web interface and your phone. Any files you drag and drop onto the web interface are transferred to your phone. Despite the brevity of this description it still doesn't do justice to how dead-simple the process is. Watch the video above to see it in action. [Homepage][AppBrain]

iTunes Library

For some people, iTunes is the only music manager there is—or, at least, the only media manager they're seriously tied into. Get some iTunes-to-Android flow going with this helper.
iSyncr
How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and ComputerAny Android phone will let you drag and drop music files to its SD card for use in the Android music player, but most people prefer to sync their device with their desktop media player. While apps like DoubleTwist, MediaMonkey, and Songbird already provide pretty good syncing capabilities, the ever-popular iTunes does not. For that, there's previously mentioned iSyncr.
iSyncr comes as an Android app bundled with a PC or Mac app installed on your phone's SD card. All you need to do is plug your phone in, fire up the desktop app, and choose which playlists to sync. It will not only sync your music, but also iTunes' album art, ratings, and play counts. And as if that weren't enough, PC users can even sync their music over Wi-Fi with a simple add-on. It's the easiest way to get your iTunes tracks synced to your phone, hands down. [Homepage] [AppBrain]
 

One-Way Tools: Android to Desktop

How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and Computer

SMS, Phone Calls, and More

When you're working at your desk, you should be able to be at your desk, on your computer, working. Having a phone blipping you constantly with emails, SMS, and other notifications is doubling up on electronic distractions. Send your phone matters to your desktop to reclaim your attention, and give your Android a break.
TalkMyPhone
How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and ComputerWhile smartphones give you access to things you normally need a computer for (like email), SMS messages and phone calls are still phone-centric. No one likes typing on that small keyboard if they don't have too, though, so you can move those interactions to your computer with TalkMyPhone. TalkMyPhone sends you notifications of incoming SMS messages, phone calls, and battery states via Jabber. Furthermore, you can reply to those messages (as well as send SMS messages to any of your other contacts) right from the IM window. Check out our instructions on how to set it up here. [Homepage] [AppBrain]

Web Pages

People tell you about great sites all the time, and you sometimes find just what you're looking for on your phone. You could email yourself a link, or save yourself the trouble and half the time with this handy tool.
Android2Cloud
How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and ComputerBrowsing on your phone is useful, but it isn't exactly fun. If you're browsing on-the-go and want to transfer a web page to your PC for further reading, Android2Cloud is the perfect solution. Just install the app from the Market and its associated Chrome Extension. When it prompts you to set up an account, just type in your Gmail address and follow the steps to give Android2Cloud access to yoru account. Now, when you want to send a page from your phone to your computer, just hit Menu > More > Share Page, and choose Android2Cloud. Hit the extension's button in Chrome, and Android2Cloud will bring up the page you were reading.
Note that I've found setting up your account using the mirror server worked better than the overloaded official server. Just type that server's address into the Server box at the beginning of the account setup process, and use the modified Chrome extension on that page instead of the one on the download page. [Homepage] [AppBrain]

Files

If you don't have your USB cable or SD card reader handy, here's how to fling files from your Android to any computer.
WiFi File Explorer
How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your Android and Computer
WiFi File Explorer turns your SD card into the root of a basic web-based file server. Run the app and point your web browser at the local-network URL it provides. There you can browse and download files as though the phone was directly tethered to the computer in front of you—handy for those times your phone is happily charging upstairs and you really want to access a file from the laptop in your office. Upgrading to the premium version adds in the ability to upload files to the SD card, delete them, copy them, and zip them. (Free, Premium $1.10) [Homepage][AppBrain]
 

Those are the apps that strike us as the path of least resistance between a full computer and an Android. What tools do you use every day to sync your dual digital lives?
The author of this post can be contacted at tips@lifehacker.com
Fuente: http://lifehacker.com/5656214/how-to-break-down-the-barrier-between-your-android-and-computer

Usar una tarjeta gris al 18%, para mejorar el balance de color en las fotos

A ver si entendí bien… Bueno, es que el artículo desmitifica una costumbre que venía teniendo desde que empecé a hacer video analógico, (y luego, fotos y video digitales), que es, antes de comenzar las tomas, in situ, tomar el tono de blancos con una pared blanca lisa, o simplemente, con una hoja de papel en blanco. Esto, permite capturar la correcta temperatura de color, según la fuente lumínica, que puede de otra forma hacer que los resultados tiendan al rojo o al azul (con una luz mas cálida o fría respectivamente, si la temperatura tomada es diferente a la de referencia de la cámara (o si el modo auto no tiene la fortuna de acertar). Obviamente, cuando me refiero a temperatura, es temperatura de color.

Es decir, me dispongo a sacar por ejemplo, una foto digital color, ok, prendo la cámara y seteo los blancos ayudado por una superficie blanca lisa iluminada de forma pareja, comparando el resultado, o bien por las preconfiguraciones que traiga la cámara (diferentes temperaturas de tubos fluorescentes, luz de sol directa, nublado, lámpara de tungsteno, etc… O bien, lo seteo a mano (a ojo). Esto lo aplico salvo cuando voy a usar flash, en cuyo caso, el Balance de blancos lo dejo en Auto, ya que no tengo forma de medir la incidencia que producirá el flash + la luz ambiente de antemano, y si bien podría hacerlo por ensayo y error, por la cámara que tengo y el uso que le doy, personalmente no justifico dichas pruebas.

Bueno, este artículo barre esta costumbre que traigo encima desde hace 20 años…

Lo que propone el autor, es en vez de usar el blanco como referencia, para un resultado más preciso, es usar una hoja impresa con un gris al 18%, ya que el blanco, dependiendo del tipo de exposición usado, no es una referencia tan exacta para tener una correcta lectura de los colores en la foto tomada. Ésto lo justifica básicamente diciendo que la “tarjeta gris”, es una herramienta de balance neutral, ya que en vez de medir sobre absolutos, como blanco o negro, el balance neutral determina el mejor ajuste sobre el promedio de la luz, incidente sobre el promedio de la toma y ésto, permitirá que cualquier soft de retoque, posteriormente, sepa exactamente que niveles de color hay en la imágen, ya que por ejemplo, las sobreexposiciones de otra forma, quedan completamente blancas, quitando toda información de color de esas zonas.

Como interactúa este resultado con Photoshop? Abrimos la imágen tomada de la hoja gris (tomada preferentemente con un sujeto sosteniendo la hoja a la altura de su cabeza), previamente balanceando la cámara con este método, y simplemente, en Imágen –> Ajustes –> Niveles, hacemos click en el cuentagotas central, tomando una muestra del gris de la foto. Grabamos el ajuste, y listo, cargamos el ajuste que predeterminamos sobre cualquier otra foto tomada en las mismas condiciones de luz para hacer el balance efectivo.

Probar para creer! :)

Use an 18% Gray Card for Better Color Balance in Your Photos

If you've ever relied on your camera's white balancing algorithms you know how imperfect they can be, but you're not out of luck. Getting accurate color balance with just about any camera is pretty easy with an 18% gray card.

A Gray Card for Staged Photos

Use an 18% Gray Card for Better Color Balance in Your PhotosYou might think it makes more sense to balance the white in your images, given that the term we use most often is "white balance," but since we're looking for all-around color accuracy the best balancer is gray. Why? It's the average tone and it's neutral. If you're sampling the white for color balance you're just sampling the high end of the spectrum (or pure white, if your photo is overexposed). In fact, when your camera is white balancing it's (generally) looking for a neutral gray area. The use of the 18% gray card is basically to tell your camera, "look, the neutral gray is over here!" Technology blog Tested explains how to use a gray card for a portrait photo:

Place the gray card Use an 18% Gray Card for Better Color Balance in Your Photoswhere the subject will be, so the light hitting the gray card is the same as the light hitting the subject. If shooting a portrait, have the subject hold the gray card in front of their face for a test shot. When you process your photos later in Photoshop, look at the test shot. Enter the Image > Adjustments > Levels menu, and click on the middle eyedrop icon. Save the level adjustment, and then load it in every other photo under those lighting conditions. You've just color corrected your shots with a gray card.

 

A Gray Card for Everyday Photos

Use an 18% Gray Card for Better Color Balance in Your PhotosWhile it's always best to have a reference shot with the gray card in your photos if you want to edit them later, a gray card can help you out for your everyday shots as well. If you're staying in one general location, say for a family barbecue or someone's birthday party, you can use a gray card to manually set the white balance of your camera. How this will work will vary from camera to camera, but generally you'll find this option wherever you'll find white balance settings. From there, all you really have to do is make sure the card fills up most of the frame as you tell your camera to white balance based on what it's currently looking at.

If lighting conditions stay generally the same during the day, manually setting your camera's white balance with a gray card should get you better, more accurate color for all your shots. Just remember you'll need to rebalance every time you move locations, or turn automatic white balancing back on if you're feeling lazy.

 

Making a Gray Card

Use an 18% Gray Card for Better Color Balance in Your PhotosWhile you can pick up an 18% gray card at most photography supply stores, you're basically buying a piece of gray board. The benefit of buying a card is that you know you're getting exactly 18% gray. If your photos aren't going on the cover of a magazine and you just want better accuracy in general, you can print out a gray card from your computer. If you just pick a middle-of-the-road gray and print it out, it'll be a good start. Here's an easy way to do this:

  1. An easy way to do this is open up Photoshop (or any image editor that can handle layers) and make a new document that's sized at 8.5" x 11" and has a white background.
  2. Make a new layer and fill it with black.
  3. Reduce the opacity of that layer to 50%.
  4. Print.

If your printer has a color profile, you may want to switch to that before printing for more accurate results. I did this with a cheap laser printer, however, and it worked really well. My gray card was uneven and pretty horrible in general, but I still ended up with better and more accurate color than the camera's automatic white balance. A proper gray card is definitely better, but when you need something quick you can get by with even this fairly inaccurate method.

Of course, if you want to make a really accurate gray card you should go for it. There's a great explanation of finding 18% gray on the photo.net forums that'll help you get there.

Send an email to Adam Dachis, the author of this post, at adachis@lifehacker.com.

Fuentes: http://lifehacker.com/5659324/use-an-18-gray-card-for-better-color-balance-in-your-photos - http://www.tested.com/news/how-to-shoot-photos-using-a-gray-card-for-proper-color-balance/1109/

Curioso reloj para fotógrafos...

Pero que lindo y que útil... :P
Éste reloj, mi fotógrafo amigo, te ayudará a romper tu rutina! Basta de ese vetusto reloj que solo tiene la hora! Añádele vértigo a tu vida con este accesorio, el cual te mostrará convenientemente, las posiciones de apertura de diafragma (F-Stop) en vez del aburrido y clásico cuadrante! 
Que hora es? Ah... no, eso es lo de menos! (Bueno, por U$S 36, muho no se puede pedir...) xD