White balance and Kelvin setting

[dr.bear]

I'm confused about the custom Kelvin (K) setting in the white balance options. If i'm not mistaken, the higher the temperature in (K) the whiter and bluer the picture becomes. The lower the temp the more orange and red a picture gets. Then why do my photos change towards red-orange when I set a high temp (K) such as 9000K and when I set a low temp the photos come out whitish-blue??? Isn't it supposed to be the oppsite effect.

[dsze]

No, you have it turned around. As the K# gets higher, you get more of the warmer tones and as the K# gets lower you get more of the bluish-white tones.

-daniel

[dsze]

...6500K is considered by many of us 'reef-keepers' to be a pretty good 'daylight' equivelent in the spectrum... gives you a place to work from. I'm still learning to white balance techniques myself, but I do know that it will change dramatically depending on the lighting, the flash, the cloud cover, etc...

-daniel

[Miika]

The custom white balance and Kelvin camera setting are there to adjust the camera according to color temperature of available light for a shot. The result of these settings will vary according to available light.

On computer monitor, lower Kelvin means that white is more red and yellow (warmer) and higher Kelvin means that white is more blue (colder). Setting monitor white balance to 6500K is common recommendation for digital imaging. This is setting is to be done before calibrating the monitor.

Miika

[gcogger]

Yes, a high Kelvin setting is normally associated with a 'bluer' and harsher light. When you pick these temperatures for RAW conversion, it is to compensate for the lighting when the picture was taken. So if you pick, say, 7500K the processing thinks that the picture was taken with a very blue light and therefore _reduces_ the blue to get an accurate colour.

[Jon]

No, you have it turned around. As the K# gets higher, you get more of the warmer tones and as the K# gets lower you get more of the bluish-white tones.

-daniel

Sorry, he did have it right. 3200K is tungsten, 5500-6500K is daylight. Flashes may go up to 7000K or more, for a very blue look even with daylight film.

I'm confused about the custom Kelvin (K) setting in the white balance options. If i'm not mistaken, the higher the temperature in (K) the whiter and bluer the picture becomes. The lower the temp the more orange and red a picture gets. Then why do my photos change towards red-orange when I set a high temp (K) such as 9000K and when I set a low temp the photos come out whitish-blue??? Isn't it supposed to be the oppsite effect.

You're seeing this colour shift because in setting the light temperature you're saying that the light was (9000K) very blue or (3200) very warm/red. Accordingly, when the data recorded by the camera is processed, it applies colour correction to obtain a neutral colour balance. If the actual temperature was, say, 5500K and you said it was 9000K, it's applying too much correction for blue light, thus the colour shifts too far into the warm end. Similarly, if it was 6500 and you said it was 3200, you applied too much correction for warmth, and ended up with a cold, blue image. It's like applying the wrong glass colour correction - you just put an 85A (tungsten film in daylight) filter on while using daylight film. So you got too much of the correction you wanted.

[dsze]

Jon, you are right... I should have been more clear.... when converting from RAW in PS the higher you set the K temp the warmer the colors get, etc..... I realize that it is compensating for what the camera recorded.. right? Yes, 6500K is a nice crisp daylight color.... and for the bluer spectrum for our reef tanks we use the .03 10000K actinics. .... so, you are right...

thanks for correcting me,
daniel

[45R]

Does anyone have a white balance graph? I recall seeing one at some time.

[Jon]

Google color temperature. You're sure to find what you want, whether it's temperatures of various light sources or the right filter to use for a given temperature shift.

[dr.bear]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I understand what you guys/gals are saying now... The reason why I was stumbled was because I thought higher K values would give you whiter-bluer photos, but instead the higher K setting helps to compensate for a photo that might turn out too white-blue so it warms it up with red-orange values.

[Ebbz]

So...what should the tempurature be set on for a 10D? I believe the default is 5200K. Is there a better setting; or is this something that you change according to the light you're shooting in?

Rick

[dsze]

depends on the situation entirely....

[dsze]

... and the look you're going for.

[Jon]

So...what should the tempurature be set on for a 10D? I believe the default is 5200K. Is there a better setting; or is this something that you change according to the light you're shooting in?

Rick

The light you're shooting in. If it doesn't match one of the canned settings, do a custom white balance (and good luck if, like a friend and me, you're in a gym where they have several different types of lights in the fixtures!).