White Balance

patrickh · Expire: 2011-11-18

One of the biggest advantages of digital SLR cameras is the ability to shoot in RAW and to set the White Balance to accomodate the light source both in camera and in PP. The great benefit of this should be accurate colour rendition, but we too often see pictures with distorted colours because of the WB being wrong.

This came up on another thread today, so I thought it might be interesting to check how we all deal with it.

Personally I use the Gossen Sixtomat Colour Meter when I have any doubt. Bright sunshine is easy, as are clouds, but any kind of mixed lighting needs care. As do the beautiful light of evening and dawn.

How do the rest of you deal with it?

patrickh

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

I also have the Gossen Sixticolor and often I set it's value directly into the 5D
(which is not possible with the 400D).

However for me the question is another: is really the white balanced light the "correct" light for a scene?
Or isn't it overcorrecting really?
Twlights are blue - that's a fact, so what is correct, to put a totally absurd value (say 10.000�K) in the Kelvin field of your camera, to make the grey look grey? Or isn't it to set the camera at the standard average value of 5500� and let it register the colour changes throughout the day without forcing them to be all even greys?

I more and more am of the second opinion. Keep the camera at 5500�K and register the colour changes without trying to neutralize them.

_

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

I usually trust the AWB and shoot in RAW, so that I can adjust the pic to a "look" I like.
For my photography is not about genuine colours, but pleasant ones. Wink

poilu · Expire: 2019-08-29

I use this

on the 400D I cannot enter a color temperature

Flor27 · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Posts: 1195 Location: Paris, France