Auto WB or specific setting?

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18854827
We see things in warm light, cool light, & everything in between. AWB tries to make everything look the same. Take a image of a sunset on Daylight & also on AWB. Try Overcast, too. Which do you like better?
Also, shooting RAW, I'd prefer all the images to have the same balance point to make it possible to batch process many of them at one time, instead of having to "correct" them separatly.

I have tried the cloud setting but it just seems to warm to me when overcast. I know it is correct but I prefer a tad cooler look.

Like several other people, I prefer to shoot in RAW and set my white balance to the predominant color temperature. That will give me a much simpler time adjusting color balance in mass during edit.

I took Tom's advice and set to 5300K. Will try to post a photo later, when I am back at home.

digital paradise wrote in post #18854913
I have tried the cloud setting but it just seems to warm to me when overcast. I know it is correct but I prefer a tad cooler look.

mike_d wrote in post #18854875
Do you ever find that the "right" white balance gives unnatural skin tones? For example right after sunset, I could use a grey-card to get a temp of 7500k, but the subject looks way too warm. It's almost as my own eyes have an AWB range within which I can correct things to neutral. But if the light is less than ~2500k things will look warm and above ~7000k things will look cool. Forcing the colors to neutral in such light just looks wrong.

Although our brains 'correct' our interpretation of what we see so that we think of the coloration as 'neutral', our brains also are accustomized to seeing things in different contexts a certain way...in overcast it is accustomed to seeing things a bit cool, while in sunset lighting or incandescent conditions it is accustomed to seeing things a bit warm. That is why -- unless I am shooting to portray colors with dead accuracy for a color-critical client -- indoors with incandescent lighting I deliberately leave white items in the the shot with some remaining 'warmth' and NOT as absolutely neutral! Similarly, a shot on a ski slope in the mountains is left deliberately cool and not absolutely neutral, not unless the setting sun is visible in the shot and setting the viewer's eyes to expect warmth even in the high altitude. Context appropriate White Balance is typically better than absolute neutrality.

Jeff_56 wrote in post #18854355
It hasn't been a problem with my still cameras but when I was shooting a lot of video it became really obvious that the auto mode just wasn't good enough for certain situations. They were pretty much all under strange lights in school gyms plus sometimes schools had really bright colors on the floor and they would change the light big time. I would carry a white sheet of paper and do a manual set of the WB. If I didn't get the change I wanted I would do it again until it was right. No more video with everyone a funny shade of orange.

Cameras do well with most light but flourescents and sodium lights are another story. It depends on the particular camera of course. I would just pay attention to the results you are getting. If they aren't what you want make a change.

Canon’s 5div AWB-W is awesome for video and stills.

artsf wrote in post #18855011
Canon’s 5div AWB-W is awesome for video and stills.

I would love to see how it fares when shooting segments of the Macbeth Colorchecker, as was done in this test

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=12260029

When strong colors were present in the scene in the same sunlight conditions, the AWB error rate increased to 80% error when I ran this test originally. with all shots taken within a minute and the grey card color temp indicated 5000K!

Wilt wrote in post #18854975
Although our brains 'correct' our interpretation of what we see so that we think of the coloration as 'neutral', our brains also are accustomized to seeing things in different contexts a certain way...in overcast it is accustomed to seeing things a bit cool, while in sunset lighting or incandescent conditions it is accustomed to seeing things a bit warm. That is why -- unless I am shooting to portray colors with dead accuracy for a color-critical client -- indoors with incandescent lighting I deliberately leave white items in the the shot with some remaining 'warmth' and NOT as absolutely neutral! Similarly, a shot on a ski slope in the mountains is left deliberately cool and not absolutely neutral, not unless the setting sun is visible in the shot and setting the viewer's eyes to expect warmth even in the high altitude. Context appropriate White Balance is typically better than absolute neutrality.

This is very true. Same goes for colour. ColorChecker Passport is accurate but I still prefer Canon's colours. I find Passport blues over-saturated but that is what it is supposed to look like based on the colour models we created.

I sometimes second guess my liking a cooler look when I see other peoples warmer shots. Using cloud on a cloudy day just looks too warm. I'll have to try daylight balanced on a sunny day.

digital paradise wrote in post #18855122
Using cloud on a cloudy day just looks too warm. I'll have to try daylight balanced on a sunny day.

Agreed. I like warmer images in general, but the cloudy setting just makes everyone look yellow.

Here are a couple taken at 5300k

IMAGE LINK: https://troybracker.sm​ugmug.com/HAC-2019/n-S4dZG5/i-vBpSfQQ/A

IMAGE LINK: https://troybracker.sm​ugmug.com/HAC-2019/n-S4dZG5/i-t3SCpbP/A

duckster wrote in post #18855463
Here are a couple taken at 5300k

This scene is the kind of thing that gave my video cameras fits. The colored asphalt would cause the entire video to look wrong. I don't see nearly as much of a problem with a good still camera but it can still be there. Just a lot more subtle. This is the kind of shot where I would want to do manual WB.

Have not done manual WB before. How would you do it to account for the color of the track?

duckster wrote in post #18855750
Have not done manual WB before. How would you do it to account for the color of the track?

The scene is irrelevent. Take a picture of a neutral target under the same light, then tell the camera to use that shot for the custom WB.

I see. Will have to try it that way

The meet was running behind and ended up finishing under the lights. Unfortunately I did not have my 70-200 f2.8 with me so it was tough on the last couple of races.

IMAGE LINK: https://troybracker.sm​ugmug.com/HAC-2019/n-S4dZG5/i-cz5WmkR/A

duckster wrote in post #18855756
The meet was running behind and ended up finishing under the lights. Unfortunately I did not have my 70-200 f2.8 with me so it was tough on the last couple of races.

IMAGE LINK: https://troybracker.sm​ugmug.com/HAC-2019/n-S4dZG5/i-cz5WmkR/A

That looks fine to me in terms of exposure and white balance. I'd maybe bring the shadows up a little. One issue you'll have with setting a custom white balance is that the lights are probably cycling so the brightness, temp, and tint vary depending on what part of the wave you catch. I know the 5D4 has a feature to combat that but I'm not sure about the 7D2.