I think it’d be fun to get a ruler for my photographs, for Life to Scale project, because I’m terrible at estimating measurements, and because a ruler is clearer and more precise than coins/fingers. While looking into it, I discovered huge rabbit concerning photographic distortion and color and different photomacrographic scale options.
I found a zillion options and am hoping someone can help me pick. They are all under $10 except for the photography color cards.
So do the scales which help correct for color make a significant difference beyond the white-balance fixing of neutral grey? Perhaps the neutral gray is all that’s needed when correcting in software, but for quick visual identification it’s easier to recognize a color swatch? Then again, for photography there are $100+ color cards/checkers, so it seems every camera might need color correction beyond just white balance.
Also in the Life to Scale project, I do not see many two-axis scales like the ABFO No. 2. Perhaps scale is not as big of a deal in the naturalist field as in forensics? Single straight edge would certainly be easier to carry, potentially even fitting in my phone case or wallet.
Just for scale (and grey?), print at home:
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single here or multi here, from @queercussp in https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/photographic-reference-scale/34365/
Just for scale (and white balance?), purchase:
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ABFO No. 2 (many sellers including Amazon, Tritech, Arrowhead, Forensics Source, etc). Two axes handle scaling when I don’t hold camera perfectly flat with the subject, multiple circles compensate for lens distortion in multiple axes, 18% grey fixes white balance (color correction?).
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Many forensics variants, rulers of lengths varying from 2" to 12", some with a hinge, some with single-use adhesive, tape measures, etc.
For scale and color:
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NNPS Rulers from NVNPS / Nevada Native Plant Society, shared in https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/phone-camera-colours-of-plants-not-accurate/37437/ and https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/gift-ideas-for-naturalists/16912/ and now this thread too
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ForensiGraph scales. Recommended earlier in this thread, but maybe out of business? Their website has many broken links, they do not have the three standard circles, and according to their color lookup chart they use (178,178,178) grey which is not the standard 18% grey, which strikes me as less than ideal. Also they reference an app you’re supposed to use for calibration, which no longer seems to be available.
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Colorimetric Scale from ShopEvident, based on NIH study
Just for color:
iNaturalist forum threads I read through, not finding any clear answers
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/whats-in-your-field-kit/1421/ (this thread)
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/photographic-reference-scale/34365/
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/fingers-in-photos/30145/
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/encouraging-a-sense-of-scale-in-photos/4147/
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/adding-scale-bars-to-images/576/
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/identification-etiquette-on-inaturalist-wiki/1503/ (Nothing about scale mentioned that I saw, which surprised me…)
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/helpful-tips-and-resources-for-beginner-plant-inatters-and-common-beginner-mistakes/28824/ (Nothing about scale mentioned that I saw, which surprised me…)
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-to-get-identifications-for-your-observations/26429/
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/gift-ideas-for-naturalists/16912/
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/phone-camera-colours-of-plants-not-accurate/37437/