Quote Originally Posted by Tony Printezis


Hi guys,


I'm considering getting two Vivitar 285HVs and these gels look as if they will be very helpful. However, I have a stupid question: is each gel marked with which type it is? Basically, I'm color blind (yes, you can laugh now!) and I'm not sure whether I'd be able to tell the difference between some of them.


Thanks,


Tony
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The Rosco pack won't fit over the flash head of the Vivitar 285HV--the gels simply aren't big enough. As for the 285HV, the 2x5 gel packs from Photogels fit perfectly in the filter slot of the flash. I am color blind as well, so I had my girlfriend help me distinguish which gels were which once they arrived. We labeled each gel with a Sharpie so that I could distinguish them from one another. I also keep the gels in something like a card catalog holder (something you might keep coupons organized in) with sections labeled for the most common gels (Full, 1/2, and 1/4 tabs in CTO, CTB, and Plus Green).


The best advice I can tell you is to learn which gels are best used in different situations--not necessarily by looking, but by simply memorizing. Then use a gray card to obtain the exact white balance in post. Personally, though, I just set my camera to a Kelvin balance of 5500K (as that's what the flash's color temperature is) and try to gel the flash to match the ambient when I think it's necessary.