Manual White balance Kelvin Scale Backwards on Q3

[Jerryrock]

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It was pointed out to me in another forum that the manual white balance (Kelvin Scale) on the Q3 is backwards. The higher values should be cooler while the lower color temperatures should be warmer. I checked his claim on my Q3 that I have had for about 6 weeks now and it appears to be true, higher color temperature values are warmer on the Q3 while lower values are cooler. Has anyone else addressed this bug?

[pegelli]

If this is a "bug" both Lightroom and Capture One (and I guess many more raw converters) have exactly the same "bug". Don't think it's a Leica Q3 issue. 😉

 

In all seriousness, when the light is warm (low Kelvin) the camera/raw converter needs to add the inverse (cool blue) to balance the colour, so setting a lower colour colour temperature creates a more blue photo. It's the other way around for cold light, setting a higher temperature creates a more yellow image to balance the cold blue light.

 

Edited August 5, 2024 by pegelli

[Jerryrock]

Manual color balance is set for a specific purpose. With every other camera I have used, setting a higher color value results in a cooler (more blue) image. The Leica Q3 is backwards.  
 

Light color temperature is measured in degrees of Kelvin on a scale from 1,000 to 10,000, represented in numbers with a K after them, such as 3000K or 5500K. The scale is easy to follow. The lower the number on the Kelvin scale, the warmer and more yellow/orange the light will be.

Edited August 5, 2024 by Jerryrock

[Jerryrock]

After checking my Fuji XT5 and checking both Photoshop and Lightroom, they all behave the same way, with warmer temperatures higher on the scale and cooler images lower on the numeric scale. I understand this is intended for correction of light reflected from a black surface but it is just confusing since it is described as K for Kelvin scale which is an international standard with set values for color temperature that are opposite from displayed values on both the camera and photo processing software.

[pegelli]

My M240 as well as my Sony cameras are all the same, setting a low temperature (~2000 Kelvin) results in a very blue image, and setting a high temperature (~12.000 Kelvin) results in a very yellow image.

Which cameras did you use where this was the other way around?

[pegelli]

5 minutes ago, Jerryrock said:

it is just confusing since it is described as K for Kelvin scale which is an international standard with set values for color temperature that are opposite from displayed values on both the camera and photo processing software

The way I see it is that you have to set the value at the Kelvin temperature of the light source, not how you want the image to look. For instance a tungsten light of ~2700 kelvin will show a proper white balanced photo when you set the Kelvin at 2700.

[Jerryrock]

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2 minutes ago, pegelli said:

My M240 as well as my Sony cameras are all the same, setting a low temperature (~2000 Kelvin) results in a very blue image, and setting a high temperature (~12.000 Kelvin) results in a very yellow image.

Which cameras did you use where this was the other way around?

You are correct. It just goes against everything I was taught about color temperature, which is supposed to be an international standard. When I select a manual color balance of 6300 K, I would expect it to result in a near daylight balance or cooler temperature. Regardless it is just a stupid numerical value and I edit visually from DNG or RAW files. I was just trying to find an explanation for someone else in another Leica forum.

[pegelli]

But the idea is not that you set a value of 6300 to get a cooler photo, you set a value of 6300 when that's the temperature of the light source and you want a proper white balanced photo.

If you want it cooler you set a lower value, if you want it warmer you set a higher value. I think this is why they call 3000 Kelvin warm and 8000 Kelvin cool which seems the wrong way round since 3000 is (temperature wise) cooler vs. 8000 Kelvin.

[MattiasAndersson]

To me it is logical, as the camera record a picture from the light that is reflected from the scene. The camera must know the color temperature of this light to have a chance to get colors right. The camera just know the RGB filters used and the incoming light intensity. The camera can not measure absolute color.

[jankap]

Am 5.8.2024 um 15:28 schrieb Jerryrock:

It was pointed out to me in another forum that the manual white balance (Kelvin Scale) on the Q3 is backwards. The higher values should be cooler while the lower color temperatures should be warmer. I checked his claim on my Q3 that I have had for about 6 weeks now and it appears to be true, higher color temperature values are warmer on the Q3 while lower values are cooler. Has anyone else addressed this bug?

The camera was set at say incandescent mode, say 3000K. But the pictures were made in daylight, so they come out too blue. In LR, one can set the mode of the pictures (in post) to daylight by moving the ruler to the right at, 6500K.

The same in the camera, the colour setting is set, where the camera has to expect white. In daylight 6000K, if the light in reality is warm, the pictures come out too yellow. The ruler has to be set to the left (I have no Q3) the pictures will come out more blue then.

Edited August 6, 2024 by jankap