7D difficulty with AWB??

So I just got a new 7D two days ago and have been shooting frantically. Love the camera. Works like a charm. The only thing I'm a bit concerned about is the AWB/WB settings in artificial lighting (ie/ indoors with tungsten lighting).

Question: Compared to my XSi, the WB seems to be less accurate and more erratic on the 7D. Have any other owners experienced this? Any suggestions on how i can test the WB of my camera?

Thanks!

can you show a few pictures of this phenomenon?

I find the 7D capturing the image more accurately as if my eyes were seeing it than my 40D ever did under tungsten lighting. I can't say that it fully corrects the WB like if I slide the color temp to ~2850 so that the whites are pure white.

Don't know... you might have a bum 7D? Or you just got used to and/or prefer the XSi's AWB?

I find the 7D to be more erratic in indoor light for AWB, but that said, it can actually reach more accuracy than my 40D.

For example, just tonight, I was shooting at a restaurant (I could've custom white balanced, but it gets all clinical when you completely remove the warm cast of indoor lights), and consecutive shots have different colours.

That said, a lot of place now use energy saving bulbs, which are fluorescent and this have a flicker rate associated that can change your colour cast if you don't control your shutterspeed.

I wonder if it uses the new colour-metering to help in auto white balance?

these aren't by any means scientific, but hopefully they demonstrate what i'm talking about:

All where taken with all the same settings except for the WB mode.
AWB 1

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Are you sure that the lamps are tungsten and not low energy lamps?

http://cpn.canon-europe.com …_balance/white_​balance.do

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 between 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.

Do also a controlled test with a calibrated target (grey card, mac beth) out doors in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Just like I did with my 50D.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=754041

EdBray wrote in post #8922603
Are you sure that the lamps are tungsten and not low energy lamps?

I assume they are. They're regular bulb shaped and emit a yellowish/orangish glow. They also emit a lot of heat, which i was told is a trait of tungsten style lamps...

And the 40D wb tests.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=638402

silvex wrote in post #8922609
http://cpn.canon-europe.com …_balance/white_​balance.do

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 between 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.

Do also a controlled test with a calibrated target (grey card, mac beth) out doors in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Just like I did with my 50D.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=754041

Thank you for the post. Things are a bit clearer now, especially in regards to the color cast. I will plan on doing a more controlled test this weekend as per the last link. I swear, my ignorance will be the death of me one day..

s1uma1 wrote in post #8922628
Thank you for the post. Things are a bit clearer now, especially in regards to the color cast. I will plan on doing a more controlled test this weekend as per the last link. I swear, my ignorance will be the death of me one day..

Well, that doesn't explain the colour changing in tungsten, right? That should be a fixed colour temperature? Or are those sort of 'auto' as well, just within a specific temperature range? I guess the only way to be sure is using RAW and setting the colour temp (or setting the temp via K).

I use expodisc, lastolite, and the grey cards from sekonic and macbeth for true color.

http://www.lastolite.c​om/ezybalance.php#

http://www.expoimaging​.net …at_id=1&keyword​s=ExpoDisc

s1uma1 wrote in post #8922620
I assume they are. They're regular bulb shaped and emit a yellowish/orangish glow. They also emit a lot of heat, which i was told is a trait of tungsten style lamps...

You can get fluorescent globes which match that description as well.

What's the source of the light coming from the upper left of the frame? Daylight?

If so, you've got a tough mixed lighting situation which would be hard for any camera to resolve.

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #8922689
What's the source of the light coming from the upper left of the frame? Daylight?

If so, you've got a tough mixed lighting situation which would be hard for any camera to resolve.

that's my floor lamp. pictures were taken about 1 hour ago (11:30pm).


on a side note, i've been playing around with a white piece of paper and custom WB. Seems like this is the most consistent way of getting close to accurate WB. I suppose that will belong in another thread