White Balance

[Edd]

Okay, trying out more features (slowly) on my 40D and after starting to get to grips with metering I have decided that White Balance will be my next subject to understand.

To date I have only shot in AWB (Auto White Balance) but what are your general views. Is it better to leave this set to "Auto" or to manually adjust for the shooting conditions.

As I understand it this setting determines the correct level/intensity of white with the image.

Any comments welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Ed

[gldiana]

Hi Ed,
AWB works pretty well in the majority of cases (with normal light). If you shoot RAW then you gain extra WB control during post-processing. Of course it is always better to get it right on camera because you don't have to spend too much time on the computer later and because post-processing is limited and when you touch the White Balance in any software, even Aperture or Lightroom, you are also doing modifications to the colors. There's a great way to get that perfect white balance on your camera every time, it's the custom white balance feature that your camera has. To use it buy or print (but with your current printer problem I'd rather buy it) a Neutral Grey card, its cost shouldn't set you back more than a couple of quids. Carry that every where and use it to set the Custom WB and then use it until the light has changed considerably. You'll see the difference with sunsets and sunrises. There are more refined WB devices that achieve the same result like the ExpoDisc with more precise results, but also much more expensive: $69.95 to $169.95. I'd say start with a neutral grey card and take it from there.

[bob_r]

Luca gave a good explanationl, but I thought I'd add that you can get cards that foldup and can easily be stored in your bag. I use this one from Lastolite:

http://www.adorama.com/LSEZYBAL12.html

It's a little more than a regular card, but it won't get beat up and need to be replaced as often. One side is white and the other is 18% grey.

Bob R

[gldiana]

That's a good one, Bob. I'll get one myself.
And talking about getting things... my new Canon 100-400L IS will be here Thursday. Amazon is doing 24 months no interest until the end of the month on certain lenses and cameras, so I took advantage of it. Can't wait to use it on my upcoming trip to New England and Europe.

[bob_r]

That's a good one, Bob. I'll get one myself.
And talking about getting things... my new Canon 100-400L IS will be here Thursday. Amazon is doing 24 months no interest until the end of the month on certain lenses and cameras, so I took advantage of it. Can't wait to use it on my upcoming trip to New England and Europe.

It works great and folds up small enough to fit in the top compartment of my bag. I'm looking forward to seeing your images with the 100-400. You're going to love it. I was using it as my closeup lens yesterday, as well as a telephoto. Here are some of the closeups:

[gldiana]

Oh, nice! Can't wait to get my hands on it.

[bob_r]

Oh, nice! Can't wait to get my hands on it.

One more to help drive you nuts while you're waiting for yours.

1/30s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso400 (This was shot handheld, so you can see how well the IS works)

[gldiana]

That's a very nice portrait. Less than 48 hours for mine to get here...

[Edd]

Thanks guys for the replies and so swift.

Nice images Bob.

So let me get this right, with a correctly set White Balance it will also get better colours in the shot ????

I just thought it only affected white coloured stuff. I apprecate that a white piece of paper will look different if shot on a sunny day compared to it being shot under a florescent light for example, and this is what the camera is taking into account.

I'll dig out the manual and see if I can find out about the custom setting. I know I can change the White Balance to one of a number of preset modes.

Ed

[bob_r]

Ed,

Thanks and sorry about diverting your topic to Luca's new 100-400.
Here's a link to a brief tutorial that explains white balance. Hope it helps.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutori ... alance.htm

Bob R

[gldiana]

So let me get this right, with a correctly set White Balance it will also get better colours in the shot ????

Hi Ed,
if you think about it, all colors have a white component (excluding black, which is not even a color but let's not get into semantics), therefore they all get affected at some level (some more than others, white more than anything else).

[Edd]

Thanks guys again for your patients and help.

Bob had to laugh, I read that article during my lunch break today following a google search on the subject.

But just to ensure I'm barking up the right tree here, the AWB should be okay at 5000K +/- 1500K which basically covers bright / sunny days. White in the photo is good as this help the AWB get the correct levels for the current lighting.

Outside this Target Area then the use of the 18% grey card would give the best results. Using the card you just take a photo of it in the current lighting conditions and import that across in the camera to custom set the WB.

If shots go to reddy/orangey the K level needs to be set lower, but if they go to blue then the K level needs increasing.

If I'm wrong poke me with a big stick back in the right direction.

Many Thanks

Ed

[gldiana]

You're doing just fine, Ed.

[Edd]

YYYYAAAAAAA HHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO

Just need to transfer it into the field now.

Ed

[fotocrafter]

Quick tip -
3M makes (made?) a neutral gray micro-fiber cloth. Dandy for white balance as well as the obvious. As an after-thought try using the WB bracket setting, if your camera supports it. Provides a nice learning experience.
Rich