My AUTO WB stil sucks even with firmware upgrade

[Jamie Roberts]

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Yes, some cameras are better at providing pleasing wb than others. Since the M8 has no dedicated WB sensor, it's never going to be quite that good.

 

But even on those cameras, in a lot of light, AWB just sucks. I call it "average wrong balance"--even on the Canons. I either set it to the right WB, or I fix it in post. The difference, BTW, in what the camera thinks it sees, and where the colour really should be, is dramatic.

 

And that's not always about objective accuracy. You would never want to auto white balance a sunset, for example. It would look horrible. The same goes for a host of other types of light

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[barjohn]

Jamie, you are probably right but my $400 Canon G7 gets it right 9.9 times out of 10.

[Jamie Roberts]

Jamie, you are probably right but my $400 Canon G7 gets it right 9.9 times out of 10.

 

John, funny you mention this...'cos I have a G7 too!

 

I bet your G7 gets it "pleasant" enough. I wouldn't call that "right" though There's a big difference.

 

And I bet you push your M8 in marginal light a whole heck of a lot harder than your G7.

 

FWIW, my G7 is just ok in standard daylight; terrible (just terrible) in tungsten. In fact, the reason I own a G7 is that I can shoot RAW and ignore the AWB

 

What the G7 really *is* that the M8 *isn't* so much is consistent shot to shot.

 

IOW, the G7 AWB is consistently mediocre, all the time, and consistently poor in tungsten or mixed light. The M8, on the other hand, is consistently unpredictable in tungsten or mixed light, and mediocre (and more predictable) in daylight.

 

I guarantee you--G7 or M8--you can get more pleasing wb in post or by doing something like a manual WB.

 

Having said all that, IMO, Canon's AWB is the best I've seen to date. That's not saying very much, though )