Rebel XT/350D Auto White Balance problems

[JakeC]

Mods please delete.

[JakeC]

It's times like this when I regret buying an entry level DSLR, most XT/350D users probably don't know what white balance is nor give two sh!ts about whether it's semi accurate or not :p

[jimsolt]

It's times like this when I regret buying an entry level DSLR, most XT/350D users probably don't know what white balance is nor give two sh!ts about whether it's semi accurate or not :p

Speak for yourself, please.

Jim

[JakeC]

Is that most constructive comment you can muster Jim? I think the fact that most new DSLR users don't know and don't care would be correct. Apologies if in my frustration I worded it in a way that offended you, it's good old fashioned Australian sarcasm ;)

15 hours later....:o

[jimsolt]

Is that most constructive comment you can muster Jim? I think the fact that most new DSLR users don't know and don't care would be correct. Apologies if in my frustration I worded it in a way that offended you, it's good old fashioned Australian sarcasm ;)

15 hours later....:o

Yes, when speaking to one who knows so much and speaking as one of those who doesn't know and doesn't care, that's about as constructive as I can get. RE: sarcasm -- old fashioned or new wave, it often isn't terribly constructive either.

It occurs to me that auto white balance has USUALLY worked well for me, but in some circumstances it clearly won't work. As one of the uninformed and uncaring I assume that's why Canon offered other options on this camera. Using these optional methods to achieve proper white balance does involve understanding what white balance is -- or so I've heard from people such as yourself who do know and care. I just go along happy as can be that someone with my limited knowledge can be so lucky to get some good pictures every now and then.

I am a little perplexed why you would turn to such an uninformed forum with questions on this subject.

Jim

[bolantej]

shoot RAW and stop fussing about it. still new to it? it's fun to learn, give it a chance. don't want to learn? i can't help you there. makes me feel the way i do when i see a guy driving a porshe 40MPH on the freeway. why spend all that money if you want simple? not bad mouthing anyone, so please don't take this that way. not everything is going to work properly 100% of the time.

[Tixeon]

bolantej;

Well said.......

[JakeC]

I think I'll leave now before I'm burned at a stake ;)

[lostdoggy]

We weren't born to be able to walk. We weren't born able to talk, but we were able to learn. With that gift we became what we are. If you took the time to search for the answer then you would've found it. The answer is at hand just be patient.

[lostdoggy]

BTW white balance is available in almost all decent digital cmeras not just DSLR. The perception of accurate is in your eyes. If you think its correct then it is correct, but if you don't then make it correct. In RAW, it is possible to correct what is not correct during the conversion process. But you weren't looking for an answer you were looking for someone to hold your hand.

[JakeC]

I understand all this lostdoggy, the thread 'was' about an issue with the 'auto' white balance in camera, thankyou for genuinely trying to be helpful though. Colour management I can handle, auto is up the firmware.

[chemicalbro]

the way i see it if the camera did EVERYTHING automatically where does that leave creativity?....
so what you're saying basically is you want a point and click camera that does IT ALL...........
as so many people say.......... you don't take a picture.... you MAKE a picture...

have you tried custom white balance?................... take a few pics of a sheet of white paper in daylight with different settings................ select the one you think is correct white balance. and use that as the source for your custom WB......

[JakeC]

The point of the original thread was to try and isolate a problem with the cameras auto white balance (whether I want to use it or not). I'm quite familiar with colour management.

So far every answer has been off topic, in fact nobody commented at all until I baited things with my second post. Anyway this thread is of no help to me and mods can delete it if they wish.

Good day

[robertwgross]

The point of the original thread was to try and isolate a problem with the cameras auto white balance (whether I want to use it or not).

We have no evidence of any white balance problem in the XT.

However, we do have some evidence that the XT got a slightly different white balance point as compared to a D60 for two non-identical shots, but that does not point to a problem in the XT.

---Bob Gross---

[mrcoons]

I've experimented with WB on my Canon S1 and now with my XT. I'll take one shot on auto and then several on various WB settings. I decide which one I like best and then hopefully when that same situation comes around again I'll try to remember which setting I used. But in my advancing years I find my memory is not the best. All that said I find that I use Auto as much as anything.

[tzalman]

Auto White Balance, like "AUTO" anything, is a compromise and an approximation. So too, for that matter, are the presets. Does the Daylight preset refer to sunlight at noon in Havana or 4:00 PM in Toronto? Does the Shade preset take into account the color and reflectivity of the object which casts the shade? Similarly, the AWB strives to bring the colors to an arbitrary balance point that a s/w designer in Tokyo believes will be an acceptable compromise in most situations.
If you need a visual record as accurate as possible for scientific or forensic purposes, include a high quality grey card in a corner of the scene or shoot the card under identical light. For every other photograph consider color cast a variable parameter that requires creative input from the photographer.