Munsell Soil Reader

Photograph soil next to a ColorChecker card. Tap the card's four corners, then the soil, and read its Munsell soil color, corrected for the light and the camera.

    Loading the color library…

    Munsell soil color

    your soil
    soil-book chip

    –

    Waiting for taps

    ReadingChipExactOff by

    "Off by" is the CIEDE2000 color difference from the real chip, shown only on examples where the real color is known. Under 2 is hard to see. Over 3 is usually a different chip.

    Examples (simulated camera)

    How to shoot it

    1. Lay an X-Rite ColorChecker Classic (24 patches) flat beside the soil, in the same light.
    2. Shoot in open shade or even daylight. No flash, no direct sun on the card.
    3. Fill the frame with card and soil, square to the camera.
    4. Tap the brown patch first, then go clockwise: bluish green, black, white.

    What it does

    • Fits a correction to the 24 card patches and applies it to the soil.
    • Converts to Munsell with the renotation data (munsell.js), then snaps to the nearest soil-book chip.
    • Chips cover 10R to 5Y, values 2.5 to 8, chromas 1 to 8. This is an approximate grid, not the official chip list, and no gley pages.
    • Your photo stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.