The 8 Best Photography reference cards (2023 reviews)

If you want nothing short of the optimal card for your regular usage, this xrite ideal tool is certainly a wise investment. If you are "truly" concerned about color balance in your RAW images, the X-Rite Colorchecker Passport enables you to profile YOUR specific camera's sensor. It provides a precision colour reference for the tightest or most close up shots. It features a hard shell cover, makes it simple to stick it in a bag or even in an assistant's pocket.

This is a great all in one tool for getting your white balance and color correct for digital cameras. The controlled warming filter is great for people shooters and landscape photographers as well. It is great for people shooters and landscape photographers as well. The X-Rite ColorChecker Passport is a great value for anyone who shoots raw images and processes them in Adobe Lightroom.

Why We Like This:

Great for portraits, landscapes and still photography
A very nice essential for serious photographers
A must have for anyone that wants accurate color in their photography
Fantastic piece of kit for photographing textures for game and film production

Best For Video: Xrite Photography reference card

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Next on the list, we've got yet another card that manages to win our hearts. It's the xrite photography reference card and it's widely considered as one of the best convenient card you can buy. This is how to take your color editing to the next level. The color checker passport video will help to reduce your video editing time, allowing you to get to your creative look faster. It is designed to deliver true-to-life colour reproduction so that photographers and filmmakers can predict and control how colour will look under any illumination. The color correction software can make the sizes pretty small or as large as the screen. There is a neutral grey card for white balance next to the focus chart.

The video color target includes four rows of color chips designed for video capture and editing, giving you a powerful chart to speed up color grading. It’ll speed up your colour correction process and save you hours in post.

Why We Like This:

Perfect for having on set for quick access
Highly reccommend for anyone looking to nail color accuracy and contrast
Speeds up the workflow and gets colors spot on accuracy
Small and convenient for nailing color and white balance

Best For Blackmagic workflow: Datacolor Photography reference card

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The datacolor photography reference card's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. The SpyderCHECKR is an additional tool for color management. It's a printed cardboard that serves as a reference guide to check your color in still or video photography. It is coated with a layer of plastic or vinyl. The card is fairly durable and doesn't leave behind fingerprints or smudges, so it's safe to take outdoors. It is ideal for blackmagic workflow.

The SpyderCHECKR is more compatible with poster boards, "Help Wanted" signs, and even camera lenses. It is easy to use, making all the difference in beautiful and vibrant photographs. It is ideal for setting color balance and seeing exposure range in the histogram.

Why We Like This:

Useful for all photographers, essential for studio and event photographers
Practically essential tool for photographers and videographers
A must-have tool for color-accurate product photography

Best With any Camera JPEG: DGK Color tools Photography reference card

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Dgk Color Tools offers a variety of card for personal choice and yet maintaining quality in all the variants. It is great for color balancing for video & for post-processing of digital photos. It includes three color calibrated reference cards, carry strap, and user guide. It comes with a lanyard that makes it easily accessible when worn.

The cards are hard plastic, the size of a business card. It works with any camera jpeg, raw, film or digital. It is great with multiple speedlite and studio light setups even outdoors. They're plastic coated, so they're durable.

Why We Like This:

Good to keep in camera bag
Fits in your pocket or around your neck
Perfect for on the job balancing
Good size for camera bag, durable, inexpensive

Best reference: Calibrite Photography reference card

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The calibrite photography reference card should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. The ColorChecker Gray Balance mini is the smaller version of the standard-sized grey balance card, measuring only 63.5 x 109.0mm. It provides a precision colour reference for the tightest or most close up shots. Together with its camera calibration software and lightroom plugin, you get the ultimate functionality, flexibility and portability for a more perfect colour journey.

The passport photo 2 combines four photographic targets into one pocket-size protective case that adjusts to any scene, allowing you to set exposure, create custom white balance, colour profiles and much more. It can be used to create camera profiles, correct white balance, colour correction, colour grading and more.

The colorchecker digital sg target includes the highest quality colour reference standards available where each of the 140 patches have been chosen for its location in colour space to expand the colour gamut, so you can create profiles that capture the full capabilities of your digital camera and scanner. It is an ideal tool for things such as wide landscape shots, large set and interview shots and aerial photography.

Why We Like This:

Good investment for long term
Good brand reputation

Best Quality card: Pixel Perfect Photography reference card

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The pixel perfect photography reference card's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. A good understanding of color calibration with any color target is essential to faithfully reproducing your color target for your needs. The standard layout used by many (not Datacolor through) is the Macbeth color chart. It provides easy-to-follow instructions and download link for adobe dng profile editor.

The color chart can allow you to produce an icc profile for your camera. It allows great camera balance and it is perfectly with davinci resolve. The colors are duller than professional cards and the back is not pure black. It does make for fast color grading and trueness in davinci resolve. It's accurate and a good size. There are two in the pack and they are printed on good quality card stock.

Why We Like This:

Laminated card stock, flexible just like a playing card in a poker card deck
Light can pass through and throw off readings
One of the new comers and featured product

Best For Good Quality: DGK Color tools Aperture reference

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The dgk color tools aperture reference should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. It is engineered for today's HD camcorders and digital video slr cameras. It features the 6 vector color test patterns to evaluate and adjust the color matrix with waveform or vectorscope displays. It can assist with calibration of broadcast or recording equipment, especially in a multi-camera installation where all camera signals must match.

The skin tone (first of the two) hits the skin tone line on the vectorscope nicely. It works for its intended purpose, good quality and color is good. It is used to check peak color levels, color saturation, and color alignment. It's nice to have a color chip chart but it's so small that if you're cameras at FOH, the card isn't very helpful.

Why We Like This:

Good for amateurs and students, but pros
Small, flimsy almost does the job
Includes two large 14 by 788 inch (365 by 200 mm)

Best Feature: colour Balance: Calibrite ideal tool

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Best part: calibrite ideal tool costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. Together with its camera calibration software and lightroom plugin, you get the ultimate functionality, flexibility and portability for a more perfect colour journey. It allows camera calibration using adobe lightroom and photoshop in addition to capture one. The Calibrite uses true MacBeth calibrated color swatches, the industry standard and their camera calibration software is worth the extra $. It provides a precision colour reference for the tightest or most close up shots.

The white balance patches are accurate and the case closes up tight to protect the patches from the light. It provides a standard for color corrections. The virtue of using lightroom classic is that you can apply the profile to a whole bunch of images at one time, so a bit of a time saver.

Why We Like This: