ymc226 Posted February 20, 2012 Share #1 Posted February 20, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm new to digital, am reading Scot Kirby's LR3 book which states that the program applies its adjustments to DNG files it imports based on the camera profile. I use a M9-P, have the back screen turned off when I shoot as coming from film, I don't bother to check the screen. Do I need to even bother setting the WB on the camera or does setting the most appropriate value (I did buy a WB card) make the imported pictures closer to the optimal result? I don't acquire in JPEG at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 20, 2012 Posted February 20, 2012 Hi ymc226, Take a look here White balance and DNG . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
pico Posted February 20, 2012 Share #2 Posted February 20, 2012 Glad you brought this up. Someone correct me if I'm wrong (and a citation would help), but it is my understanding that setting white balance is not written to the DNG but is applied to JPEG if you use JPEG. In post processing the DNG you can set the white balance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindolfi Posted February 20, 2012 Share #3 Posted February 20, 2012 The experiment you can do is [1] Photograph a scene in DNG in daylight with WB set to Tungsten [2] Photograph the same scene in DNG in daylight with WB set to DayLight [3] Load the images in LightRoom [4] You will see that they look very different, because LightRoom uses the WB information stored in the DNG file [5] Now copy the settings from image [2] to image [1] in LightRoom [6] You will see that they become identical in colour What you learn: [ A ] WB setting is unimportant for the RAW file itself [ B ] You can always set WB yourself afterwards without loss [ C ] The information of the WB setting on camera is stored in the DNG file, which may be handy when you want to work fast So Pico is right about being able to set WB afterwards when using DNG. And Pico is also right about the JPEG: for that it is important to set the WB correctly, since the JPEG compression is done in camera and with the wrong WB you can correct afterwards, but not without loss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanyasi Posted February 20, 2012 Share #4 Posted February 20, 2012 I leave WB on neutral or whatever the setting is for letting the camera set it. In my experience the camera gets it right most of the time. That is what should happen with DNG. It affects the jpeg, but not the RAW file. You are free to adjust white balance in the editing program (e.g. Lightroom). However, and I suspect that this will be the rare case for most Lecia rangefinder digital shooters, if you are using flash and worried about balancing the flash against the natural light, you may want to set set the white balance. I have read that you are stuck with your balance when mixing light sources. I personally haven't had experience with this, but it is what I have heard, so you might experiment in those situations. Best Jack Siegel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalpowershot Posted February 20, 2012 Share #5 Posted February 20, 2012 LensAlign - WhiBal and enjoy perfect colors! No hit or miss in post processing anymore! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindolfi Posted February 20, 2012 Share #6 Posted February 20, 2012 When mixing flash and natural light, you can worry about filtering the flash head to give the right colour temperature, but the fact that you can adjust WB afterwards still remains true for DNG. No worry there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ymc226 Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share #7 Posted February 21, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks all. I guess to speed up the post processing work flow, I'll use the WB card to manually set the camera up as I've already gone to the expense of acquiring it. Interestingly, this is what I did on several shots of my daughter sitting at the kitchen counter near some tungsten pendant lights directly across from a large window during daylight hours. My vantage point in taking the pictures only varied by several feet while she remained seated but changed postures. About half of the pictures had a warm tone (yellowish) while the remaining appeared very blue. I can't explain this as she didn't appreciably shift position. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted February 21, 2012 Share #8 Posted February 21, 2012 Overgaard has a good write up on how he uses the WhiBal card. Might be worth a look. For inside shots primarily lit by artificial light he sets WB to Kelvin to 3200 degrees. Try it and let us know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ymc226 Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share #9 Posted February 21, 2012 Overgaard has a good write up on how he uses the WhiBal card. Might be worth a look. For inside shots primarily lit by artificial light he sets WB to Kelvin to 3200 degrees. Try it and let us know. Thanks Algrove, I looked at Overgaard's site about white balance using the WhiBal card. I have a similar card but couldn't find reference to his technique and explaination about setting his WB to 3200K. I do remember reading about this recently (maybe another forum or post and not on Overgaard's site specifically). Can anyone point me in the right direction? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted February 21, 2012 Share #10 Posted February 21, 2012 I do remember reading about this recently (maybe another forum or post and not on Overgaard's site specifically). Can anyone point me in the right direction? The forum has a very easy to use search function (box at top right of home page). In this case, try entering terms like "overgaard 3200k indoors" and you'll pull up various threads and posts, like this one. Enter other key words and you'll find more. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 21, 2012 Share #11 Posted February 21, 2012 LensAlign - WhiBal and enjoy perfect colors! No hit or miss in post processing anymore!Erm...What is perfect white balance? I find it is an artistic choice, not an absolute one, as it determines the mood. Except for product shots etc. of course.Please define perfect colors.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted February 21, 2012 Share #12 Posted February 21, 2012 Thanks Algrove, I looked at Overgaard's site about white balance using the WhiBal card. I have a similar card but couldn't find reference to his technique and explaination about setting his WB to 3200K. I do remember reading about this recently (maybe another forum or post and not on Overgaard's site specifically). Can anyone point me in the right direction? Perhaps you did not get to the last chapter because somewhere in their he goes into 3200 discussion and also has suggested it is useful for exterior night shots too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted February 21, 2012 Share #13 Posted February 21, 2012 and also has suggested it is useful for exterior night shots too. In link provided already. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted February 22, 2012 Share #14 Posted February 22, 2012 Erm...What is perfect white balance? I find it is an artistic choice, not an absolute one, as it determines the mood. Except for product shots etc. of course.Please define perfect colors.... Agree. The benefit of raw/dng is that you can change the wb to your heart's delight in pp. I don't use grey cards and do quite well with my digital shots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted March 7, 2012 Share #15 Posted March 7, 2012 You can fudge around and get close or you can get a Whi Bal card and photograph it under various conditions. Sun Tungsten shade Cloudy. Then take the photos into LR, WB on the card, and make a preset for each. I can also tell you Corner fix does well at setting color balance. All photos made under similar conditions in the future will be CLOSE, NOT PERFECT. To get perfect you need to use a WHIBAL card at the first of every shoot or WB using curves, threshold setting points for white and black, then the black and white droppers. Photoshop has these controls. I do not know about LR but I know it has presets and you can use the grey card. SUN VARIES WITH THE SEASON, weather ( sky color), AND TIME OF DAY. Do not depend on it. A studio will be very consistent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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