AWB - white priority

So, question regarding the AWB-white priority setting. I have this setting on my R6 and T8i. Have now had a chance to use it a few times for indoor sports and it really seems to give better results that AWB or fluorescent settings.

My question is - how does it work? Meaning, how would I duplicate it on my 7DII? The WB in the photos from the T8i and R6 seem to be better and I would like my 7DII to have the same look or close to it. T8i AF system is just not as good as the 7DII. I would like to use the R6 and 7DII for indoor events but I want them to look closer to the same.

Thanks.

duckster wrote in post #19350672
So, question regarding the AWB-white priority setting. I have this setting on my R6 and T8i. Have now had a chance to use it a few times for indoor sports and it really seems to give better results that AWB or fluorescent settings.

My question is - how does it work? Meaning, how would I duplicate it on my 7DII? The WB in the photos from the T8i and R6 seem to be better and I would like my 7DII to have the same look or close to it. T8i AF system is just not as good as the 7DII. I would like to use the R6 and 7DII for indoor events but I want them to look closer to the same.

Thanks.

purely speculative on my part...the image is examined for nearly equal and relatively high values of R-G-B (perhaps midtone is neutral enough), and the color balance determined is based upon that. That way non-'neutral' areas do no taint the setting of WB as it used to.

• I did this test of AWB setting, using colored patches. https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=12260029
  
• ...in comparison to AWB setting in a fairly normal scene, in which 60% deviated from the ideal) https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=12259856
  

I simply shoot something light gray in the lighting of the event and then I set the WB to custom, and finally set the image as the registered white balance. Very simple and more effective than the AWB-w, but it is a better AWB than the old AWB.

A little bit of homework discloses this definition by Canon

"Auto White Balance
You can use this setting as a default in most straightforward lighting conditions. Auto White Balance works by evaluating the scene and deciding the most appropriate white point in it. The setting works reasonably well if the colour temperature of the ambient light is within the range of about 3,000–7,000K. However, if there is an abundance of one colour in the image, or if there is no actual white for the meter to use as a reference, the system can be fooled, resulting in an image with a colour cast.

"Ambience Priority is the default, and the AWB method used in earlier Canon cameras. It is useful when you want to retain a little of the warmth of artificial lighting. In White Priority mode, however, the camera will attempt to remove any warm cast from the image so that any whites are pure white."

And the 'less warm' appearance is 'under tungsten light'

So my speculation was wrong...Canon is merely making the setting a bit lower on the K scale, (about -300K different) so the iresulting mage is simply 'less warm'. And it is not using an apparent 'neutral' area to determine WB value. Seeing direct comparisons, I come to the same conclusion as many other users...AWB-W is less desireable than AWB appearance; yet in a number of cases one cannot detect a difference.

Just for example, the first photo is with AWB -white priority and the second is AWB (7DII)

IMAGE LINK: https://troybracker.sm​ugmug.com …inal/n-LdDbp8/i-R2TzfLQ/A

IMAGE LINK: https://troybracker.sm​ugmug.com …inal/n-LdDbp8/i-wjnh5fT/A

Well, older gyms particularly are hardly 'tungsten lighting', so it does not surprise me about the results under AWB-W...gym lighting is particularly difficult given the fact that so many old gyms use lighting with a mix of sodium and halide bulbs. New gyms or ones that have had the benefit of refit with LED are often using 5000K light sources and some are even tunable to the type of sport being illuminated..


https://www.eos-magazine.com …ority.html?targ​et=_parent

"The alternative auto white balance setting is called White priority (AWB W) which is a more accurate setting for tungsten light, aiming for a neutral colour rendition and thereby removing the warmer tones. AWB White priority is designed to work with tungsten lighting. The AWB-W setting is less effective in daylight and with other illumination."

Given that gyms use a mix (variable from one gym to another) or adjustable LED, it is always better to shoot a gray card and set a Custom WB to photograph a gym setting. The 'canned' settings are too simplistic in their assumptions. Even 'daylight' is a wide range of WB settings at different times of the day, and cannot give you good neutral WB without a custom setting based upon the specific time that you make a series of shots!

That is exactly what I do, and my gray card is a pringles can lid (old one that was opaque, not the clear ones now). A Koolaid Lemonade can lid works wonderfully too. Just make sure to fill the frame and defocus to get your baseline shot used to set the WB.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19351147
That is exactly what I do, and my gray card is a pringles can lid (old one that was opaque, not the clear ones now). A Koolaid Lemonade can lid works wonderfully too. Just make sure to fill the frame and defocus to get your baseline shot used to set the WB.

Randomly chosen 'neutral' samples fall within a RANGE of 'neutral' and are not necessarily truly neutral. I just picked up four different 'neutral'...two white and two gray, and only one of them is a known and verified truly neutral color...and verified in comparison against several other brand neutral gray products which I have, all of which resulting in identical WB readings under same lighting.

In comparing the 4 random samples just a moment ago, I shot them all under identical artificial lighting in Av mode so that all would result as mid-tone as shot, then I imported the four RAW files into Lightroom and used the LR sample dropper to render each one truly neutral. The results:

1. 3850K white bond Sample 1
   
2. 3900K white bond Sample 2
   
3. 3900K true verified neutral 18% gray card Sample 3
   
4. 3750K 50 year old Kodak 18% 'gray' card on cardboard (other side visibly yellowed 'white' side) Sample 4
   

That is very interesting. Thanks for posting

It has been an age old trick to use those lids and the results are much better than using AWB. Unless someone is anal about the perfect WB, which is silly considering people see colors differently, this is a very easy way to get better results without buying anything and the lids fit anywhere and if you lose one, there is usually another at home somewhere. Pringle lids used to be all the same and not transparent, so it was an easy thing for many to get their hands on, and they worked well.

Color and contrast are much like condiments in a meal, each person will use different amounts to satisfy their tastes.

Try some of your own lids at home and report back, I suspect you can find one that is very close to a more expensive wb card.

You mentioned that you defocus on the grey lid? You don't want focus on the object?

No, I want to defuse the scene with the card as much of the scene as possible.

duckster wrote in post #19350823
Just for example, the first photo is with AWB -white priority and the second is AWB (7DII)

IMAGE LINK: https://troybracker.sm​ugmug.com …inal/n-LdDbp8/i-R2TzfLQ/A

IMAGE LINK: https://troybracker.sm​ugmug.com …inal/n-LdDbp8/i-wjnh5fT/A

So then, the question becomes which image best represents the actual scene, and do you actually want the most accurate representation rather than what may look more pleasing to the eye? All I can say is, thank God for RAW.

After looking at both images, the AWB with white priority captures this particular gym better. This gym has a lot of golden oak colored wood, between the bleachers and the flooring and photos tend to have a yellow cast, at least to my eyes