*Off-topic(sorry!): ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CUSTOM WHITE BALANCE
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Tagged: photometry, white balance
- This topic has 4 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 9 months ago by
beatman.
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July 12, 2019 at 2:43 PM #72019461
beatman
ParticipantHey guys.
Sorry for the off-topic here, but I have a doubt about custom white balance when recording.
I am aware of :
. setting the camera custom white balance,
. take a shot of a gray or white card (or paper).My question are:
1) Should I photometry (is this a word in English, sorry!) my camera when shooting the gray/white card? Which settings on my camera must I use while doing this?
Every single tutorial I’ve been to about this topic simply does not talk about this, they just say: “shoot a white piece of paper etc”. Damn! lol.
How my camera should be set for this specific part?2) Should I use the ‘target’ on the back of my gray card to FOCUS before I shoot the other site of the card (gray part)?
I’ve heard from a photographer that you must NOT focus nor photometry when shooting the white/gray reference.Well…hopefully someone will shed a light on this…
Thanks in advance!
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This topic was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by
beatman.
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This topic was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by
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July 15, 2019 at 11:21 AM #72019598
JackWolcott
Participant“Photometry” deals with measurement of light; it’s not clear what you mean when you use this term.
White balance is simply a means of defining white for the camera’s circuitry. It’s also possible to white balance in many NLE editing programs, defining white for the program’s color correction utility.
Manual white balance in camera is pretty straight-forward: Using the lighting that you will be shooting with, set up a white card (paper, cardboard, etc.,) and zoom in until the card entirely fills the viewfinder. Press the white balance button on the camera, wait until the white balance icon stops flashing, and you’re finished.
Be sure to white balance each time you change lighting setups.
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July 16, 2019 at 12:42 PM #72019688
beatman
ParticipantThanks for your insights.
By photometry I meant : do I need to set up the “ISO/shutter/aperture” when I take the white paper photo for the custom white balance settings? Or can I use, per example, the automatic settings of my camera? Obs: I have a DSLR, so there is no white balance button (I need to take a photo then go to menu and set up).Another thing: Let’s say I’m on a distance from my subject that even if I zoom my lens to the maximum I can’t frame only the white paper/card.
That actually happened once (I was shotting a lecture, the guy was around 10 meters away from me – and I couldn’t stay closer). What should I do on these cases? -
July 17, 2019 at 9:54 AM #72019777
JackWolcott
ParticipantI’m not familiar with your camera but presumably there is some method of creating manual white balance, in which case do as I suggested above.
As for not being able to fill the screen with a white card — use auto white balance, or don’t white balance at all. Any decent editing software will allow you to white balance in post, and although this isn’t ideal, it works. In this case you select something your picture that should be white and the software will adjust the entire image. You are identifying “white” and the software calculates “If this is white, than adjustments should be made to all the colors in this clip accordingly.”
Don’t make too much out of white balance. If you do “run and gun” video you may never have an opportunity to white balance throughout a day of shooting. In that instance I just leave white balance in auto and trust my cameras.
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July 17, 2019 at 10:48 AM #72019779
beatman
ParticipantAlright. Thanks so much for your insights.
Cheers!
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