White Balance ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter paul cull-pearce
  • Start date Start date
P

paul cull-pearce

Guest
Hi Guys,

I was just curious as to how all of you have the white balance setting on your cameras.

Are you custom White Balance each time you use your camera ?

Or are you using the pre-set white balance set on your camera ?

Just wanted to get some input from some different sources.

Thanks for your time...:thumbs:

Paul
 
I custom white balance every time using a grey card. I find this vitally important. Your eyes can have trouble discerning the subtle differences in colour temperature and I find it quite difficult to get the right colour temp on the computer if I haven't set the correct white balance at the time. I see digital image after image posted with an incorrect colour balance and I think it can spoil an image. You'd be amazed at the difference a correctly set white balance can make.

For the record I've got a 30D and I think's the auto white balance is pretty dire.
 
It depends what / where and when I'm shooting.

If it's a tripod set up where I'm taking my time (like the ones I've recently shot on my daily photoblog), then I'll get out my white balance reflector thing (that was free with Amateur Photographer) and shot of that, and use that as a custom white balance.

Failing that, if I don't have the time, or it's not practical to do so (constantly changing light), I'll use the Auto WB setting (on my Canon 30D).

One final thing though, I always shoot RAW so I can adjust the WB later :)
 
I leave mine on auto most of the time, but as I shoot raw I have more flexability to adjust it on the computer later. Of course I need to know what to adjust it to, although auto does a reasonable job on my camera. I think white balance is a bit of a personal thing anyway; sometimes you want to tweak it to get a pleasing image rather than exactly what the colours where on the day (unless you are doing some sort of commercial product photos or something). You would not want to get perfect white balance when shooting a sunset for example. If you want to get it spot on then you have to use something like a white balance card or equivalent bit of kit.
 
Auto on my D50 shooting RAW, can't say i've had any major probs with that setup. Can tweak so much with RAW its less of an issue.
 
JonathanKnight said:
You would not want to get perfect white balance when shooting a sunset for example.
Click to expand...

Quite right :) I will leave it on auto for sunrise/sunset time. I will sometimes tweak the WB on the PC but I like to know that's it set correctly in camera and work from there.
 
I've never fiddled with it on my 300D , I can only assume it's set to auto .

If it looks off when I'm post-processing then it gets a good tweaking :naughty:
 
I invariably shoot on auto, but then since I shoot RAW it is totally irrelevant. Since I can then compensate as I see fit in PS later.
Most of the shots I take have had the levels monkey'd around with before they get printed so 18% grey is not an issue.
My main concern is making sure that I have a good histogram with as little as possible blown highlights, but with a good concentration at the top (hot) end of the spectrum
 
oldgit said:
I invariably shoot on auto, but then since I shoot RAW it is totally irrelevant. Since I can then compensate as I see fit in PS later.
Most of the shots I take have had the levels monkey'd around with before they get printed so 18% grey is not an issue.
My main concern is making sure that I have a good histogram with as little as possible blown highlights, but with a good concentration at the top (hot) end of the spectrum
Click to expand...

Me too but I think it's cos I'm and idle git. PS or Bibble pp'ing gets me what i want and, as Jonathan says, tweaks can produce very appealing temps.
 
I don't know how to set a custom WB :shake: However, I've read in loads of mags, what everyone above has said....shoot RAW and then its one thing less to worry about! Playing in CS2 has allowed me to make some interesting changes on occassions.
 
I only shoot raw so set it in ACR with the eyedropper.

Michael.
 
photostar_1 said:
I don't know how to set a custom WB :shake:
Click to expand...

same here, i tried it on my D50 once but could'ent get it to set i was obviously doing something wrong, so just use auto now or flash for indoor's, seem's to be ok though, but recently started shooting some RAW pic's so no prob's at the moment.
 
Table 1: Auto White Balance Strengths and Weaknesses...

Strengths:
Fast and easy to use. Provides reasonable color accuracy under many conditions.

Weaknesses:
Does not provide maximum color accuracy. Can be fooled when a scene has a preponderance of one color. Poor choice when the color of the light is an integral part of the image.

Works Best:
Best for scenes that do not require maximum color accuracy, do not have a preponderance of one color, and where the color of the light is not an integral part of the scene. Is a good option for situations where the light changes over time and speed is an issue (e.g., animal photography).

Table 2: Preset White Balance Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:
Fast and easy to use. Provides reasonable color accuracy when the light source matches one of the preset white balance options. Is not fooled if there is a lot of one color in the scene. Can be used when the photographer doesn't want automatic adjustments made for the temperature of the light.

Weaknesses:
Does not provide maximum color accuracy. Can not be used when the light source doesn't match one of the preset white balance options.

Works Best:
Best for scenes that do not require maximum color accuracy and the light source is a reasonable match for one of the preset white balance options. Is often a good solution when there is a lot of one color in the scene or the photographer does not want the camera to automatically make adjustments for the color of the light.

Table 3: Custom White Balance Strengths and Weaknesses:

Strengths:
Very accurately determines the color temperature of the light and very accurately sets the white balance.

Weaknesses:
Poor choice when the color of the light is an integral part of the image. Requires more time and effort than auto white balance or preset white balance.

Works Best:
Best for scenes that require an accurate rendering of colors as they would appear if the objects were photographed in neutral light.

Table 4: Manual White Balance Strengths and Weaknesses:

Strengths:
Can be used when the other white balance options fail.

Weaknesses:
Time consuming and can lead to inaccuracies unless the photographer can remember exactly how the scene looked at the time it was taken.

Works Best:
Best for scenes with mixed or complicated light sources.

:help: :nuts: :gag: :cuckoo: :bonk: :bang:
 
I used to do Custom white balances for most things while we were still shooting JPEG-High in the military. Since I now shoot RAW almost exclusively, I leave it on auto and fettle with the colour balance afterwards. It gives me so much more control over the colour-balance that way. If I get it wrong I can always return to the original file and try again - try doing that with a JPEG.
 
Whibal cards:-

http://www.whibal.com

Not expensive and when you've got consistent conditions can be useful if you need to alter white balance.

I mainly shoot jpg trackside and aim to take the best photo in camera so that I don't have to do loads of PP at home.

Auto - Changable conditions
Sunny - if it is
Cloudy - if it is

Carl.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top