DO I have to White Balance if I don't have a DSLR?

[mrpink89]

HI guys, so I have been reading up on white balancing and haven't really found anything online that has been too educational on it. I read things like Jpeg or Raw and can't find anything that explains it. I also don't understand how or why you would want to white Balance, Do I even have to white balance since I don't own a DSLR? every article on white balancing talks about "your DSLR camera"

The Camera I have in a Canon Vixa HF G10, and although there is a white balance feature on it I am still confused How I would white balance with this camera and why as in what settings?

 

[mus]

yes, you still have to white balance

 

[directorik]

Essentially your camera, unlike your eyes, does not know automatically
to adjust to get the proper colors. When you white balance you are telling
the camera what is white in your shot so all the colors are recorded properly.
You should set your lighting then put a white card (or piece of paper) in
front of the lens and set your while balance. This is important for all cameras.
You should do this outside too. Your eyes don't notice but as the sun moves
across the sky the light changes - the camera doesn't adjust by itself so you
need to make the adjustment. This should be a habit when you shoot.

http://digital-photography-school.com/introduction-to-white-balance

 

[mad_hatter]

To the eye, light looks white. It's not, your brain just adjusts what you see so that whites seem white. This isn't the case with your camera. The light that falls on your subject will actually range frome blue to orange (-ish), making your subject look that colour. You need to white balance so that your camera actually records whites as white. Your camera most likely has presets, so if your shotting under fluorescent lights, you choose the fluorescent WB setting, so that whites appear white, even though the light falling on them actuall makes them appear blue (-ish).

Hope that helps... I'm sure somebody will be able to give a better explanation than me!

 

[rayw]

No, you do not have to WB.
Only if you want your yellow tungsten light lit scenes to be not yellow-orange.
Only if you want your green florescent light lit scenes to not be bluish-green.

See?
If you want your whites yellow or green then you don't gotta WB - or - color correct, for that matter.

 

[mrpink89]

Thanks guys, all of you. but How do I white balance on myCanon Vixa HF G10? My friend with his DSLR just took a picture of a white pad when he did a shoot so I am guessing I would do the same? or would I film the white pad since I am going to be filming and not shooting.

 

[TheArtist]

Usually, on camcorder, you don't need to start recording.

You point your camera at the white thing and you press the White Balance button and that's it, the camera will set the WB by itself. Try to mess with it by White balancing in very different lighting conditions in a row to see the changes.

I don't know your camera but you may also have Manual white balancing. It's worth it to mess with that too so you get a feeling what the fuss is all about and how you can put this to good creative use.

Understanding is the first step to creating.

On a side note and a bit more technical, you read stuff about JPEG and RAW which are two different "recording format". RAW, as the name suggests, is a recording where the image is not treated or compressed : each pixel is exactly how the captor "saw" it when you took your picture/video. And JPEG is the opposite, you don't have access to that original information. To make it easier to understand, say life is an equation that your camera solves when you press the button. In the case of JPEG, the result would be a number (say 4) but the in the case of RAW, the result would be the original equation (2 +2 or 3+1 or 165-161). You can see that it's the same but you have more detail (technically "information") with the RAW part.

And with a RAW image, setting the WB when recording is not as critical because you can adjust it later with no loss. With the JPEG, you can also adjust it but it won't work as well.

 

[directorik]

Thanks guys, all of you. but How do I white balance on myCanon Vixa HF G10?

Go to page 61 of your users manual. It tells you exactly, step by step how to white balance.

 

[CraigL]

One thing to note, using a white card to do white balance may not always work as expected. If it is a little over exposed, some of the colours might be too hot for the sensor to measure properly, and it might either refuse to white balance, or do it but not do it accurately.
You should make sure your white card isn't too hot, or use a proper 18% grey card to do white balance. The grey card is also much more useful for setting exposure correctly.

CraigL

 

[rayw]

Go to page 61 of your users manual. It tells you exactly, step by step how to white balance.

LMAO! No sh!t.

+10

 

[mrpink89]

Thanks a lot guys, Is white balancing something of the digital world? Or did they use to always have to do it like back in the 20's and stuff

 

[TheArtist]

That's a good question..

 

[JWerner]

Thanks a lot guys, Is white balancing something of the digital world? Or did they use to always have to do it like back in the 20's and stuff

The color temperature of light has always been a consideration. However, it was less of a concern in the 20's, since the only option was B&W.

But even then there were concerns about how film captured different colors. The early film stocks were more sensitive to blue, which caused blue objects to look white. For instance the eyes of blue-eyed actors tended to look unnaturally light.
This issue was addressed with the introduction of panchromatic film, but even that wasn't perfect. For instance, Harpo Marx looks like he's wearing a blonde wig, but in fact it was bright red. (Which was why most of his character's names referenced red in some way, like Pinky or Tomaso.)

With the introduction of color film, the color temperature of the light became a much bigger issue. Most film stock is daylight balanced, or balanced toward the blue end of the spectrum. There is also tungsten balanced film, balanced toward the red end of the spectrum. I'm not sure how often that was used, though.

Since the color temperature response of film is essentially set in stone, the light itself has to be manipulated in some way to correct any issues. Most professional lighting equipment was and continues to be daylight balanced. So in controlled conditions, no correction is necessary.

However in uncontrolled conditions, or when a specific effect is needed, the color temperature must be adjusted. This can be done with filters on the lens, but it is most often done with gels on the lights. Which gave rise to various gel ranges, such as CTO, CTB and minus green.

 

[jax_rox]

Film is either daylight or tungsten balanced, depending on the stock you're using. Faster stocks have typically been tungsten balanced, though a range of speeds are available in both.

Film, however, is great at capturing colour and dynamic range. Therefore, a grey card and often a colour chart is shot at the start of each roll. This is to tell the colourist exactly where the exposure and colours should be sitting.

Filters on the lens can be used, but they cause a loss in light, as do gels on lights. Regardless, when I have shot film in mis-match environments (ie: tungsten film in a daylight balanced area) I use filters on the lens if I can afford the light loss. Roger Deakins has mentioned that he dislikes shooting with filters on the lens, and so doesn't generally use colour correction filters when shooting film.

Manual push button white balance is something that came along with digital. Most cameras have tungsten and daylight presets, simply as a hangover from film days. I guess you could say that shooting a grey card is essentially a manual white balance for film, though in the 20s they didn't have telecines and film scanners to be able to make instant changes so whether such a practice existed in those times I'm not sure (though I doubt it).

 

[rayw]

You've inspired me to get off my fat lazy @ss and do white balance test!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dCQvBberpK4#t=190s

The "One Push" option would be to manually change the WB on my camera.
In theory I could really jack up the WB by metering off an non-white colored board.

 

[CraigL]

In theory I could really jack up the WB by metering off an non-white colored board.

Yeah, a common trick for "day for night" is to white balance on one of those large orangey envelopes, giving you a nice blue tint as it tries to make the orange "white". Cameras are so gullible. =)

CraigL