white balance advice

[windoze]

- have used a 20D since it came out and never changed from AWB. if i needed to I shot raw and fooled around in post.

- i will be using a 20D and a good f/2.8 or better lens, in a high ceiling school cafeteria with poor lighting. Need to shoot jpeg ( RAW is not an option ). very little time to pp before printing. available lighting should'nt change.

if i want to custom white balance, what do I do?
how will that setting affect what i see if i check the histogram?
any other advice?


troy

[ssim]

It is covered on page 51 of your 20D manual.

If I have to shoot jpg and am in lighting such as indoor then I will go the custom white balance route. I take a shot of a gray card (though anything white will work). You have to make sure that your viewfinder is filled with whatever you elected to use. Go to your camera menu and find the custom white balance choice and select it, navigate to your shot and select it to use it as your white balance setting.

It works really well but you have to remember to change it from this when your lighting condition changes or your job is done.

Here is a copy of the page from the manual in case yours isn't handy.

[Curtis N]

if i want to custom white balance, what do I do?Your camera's instruction manual explains how.
how will that setting affect what i see if i check the histogram?In the luminance histogram of the 20D you won't see any noticeable differences. In an RGB histogram, you probably will, if you change the WB setting to a great degree.any other advice?Practice first, using a piece of white paper or 18% gray card.

Also note that if the lighting is fluorescent or sodium vapor, you will have other issus to deal with. You may want to take a look at Limitations of Fluorescent Lighting. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=100091)