Trying to set "White Balance" on T3i

[paigew]

I found this info here, but I still don't understand why a natural (sunshine) light would make it off colored...

Light coming through clouds is also natural light but may have a different temperature then direct sunlight. A white piece of paper looks white to me under sunlight, incandescent, fluorescent, etc. the camera just doesn't register it as white like the human eye.

so you think a greycard would be more accurate?

 

[KmH]

Clue. Few 'white' sheets of paper are actually white. Most 'white' paper has a blue tint to it.

Use a good gray cards like the GENUINE WhiBal G7 Certified Neutral White Balance Card - Pocket Card (2.1"x3.35") and then set the WB in Camera Raw.

Pure white is red = 255, green = 255, blue = 255 (RGB) . Pure black is R = 0, G = 0, B = 0.
Neutral gray is any colro wher the R, G, and B are the same.

RGB all = 100 is a neutral gray. RGB all = 125 is a neutral gray, RGB all = 147 is a neutral gray.

RGB all = 210 is 18% neutral gray.

 

[480sparky]

I like the Robin Myers gray card..... hard plastic.... consistent color all the way through. Scratch it, or stain it...... a little 200 grit sandpaper makes it good as new.

 

[ann]

this is what I did. which is what the tute said to do

take photo of all white
go in to 'set custom white balance'
select photo (of white paper aka white screen)
then switch wb mode to 'custom'.

did you try setting custom white balance mode, then put the white paper in front of the lens and firing the shutter?

I have several other cameras that use this method. Just thought it might be worth a try.

Just to double check you didn't do this in auto mode? As it disregards your settings and does what it wants to do on it's own.

 

[paigew]

Well I attempted it again this morning inside my house and it worked fine. Maybe I was doing something wrong last time...maybe the sun was too bright....no idea. OP, has any of this info helped you??

 

[paigew]

Clue. Few 'white' sheets of paper are actually white. Most 'white' paper has a blue tint to it.

Use a good gray cards like the GENUINE WhiBal G7 Certified Neutral White Balance Card - Pocket Card (2.1"x3.35") and then set the WB in Camera Raw.

Pure white is red = 255, green = 255, blue = 255 (RGB) . Pure black is R = 0, G = 0, B = 0.
Neutral gray is any colro wher the R, G, and B are the same.

RGB all = 100 is a neutral gray. RGB all = 125 is a neutral gray, RGB all = 147 is a neutral gray.

RGB all = 210 is 18% neutral gray.

thanks! ordering this!

 

[Austin Greene]

this is what I did. which is what the tute said to do

take photo of all white
go in to 'set custom white balance'
select photo (of white paper aka white screen)
then switch wb mode to 'custom'.

That is not the way I do it on my T3i. I would suggest setting the W/B to custom, then taking the photo, then going into the menu and selecting "Custom W/B" and then picking the image you just took to set it off of. I do custom w/b whenever I can, especially indoors, and I have never had issues like this with my T3i...

Keep me posted on if that works!

Oh and also, I have never heard mention of using a grey card with the custom w/b on the t3i. I use a sheet of printer paper and it works perfectly Though I will research it a bit more...

Toga

 

[ConradM]

You guys can't just set your WB to color temp and pick a number that looks good? Usually indoors I can set it to 3000k (I'm sure this number varies body to body) and the colors look natural on my screen.

 

[480sparky]

You guys can't just set your WB to color temp and pick a number that looks good? Usually indoors I can set it to 3000k (I'm sure this number varies body to body) and the colors look natural on my screen.

I would never trust the screen on my camera to 'set' the WB.

 

[ConradM]

You guys can't just set your WB to color temp and pick a number that looks good? Usually indoors I can set it to 3000k (I'm sure this number varies body to body) and the colors look natural on my screen.

I would never trust the screen on my camera to 'set' the WB.

Doesn't your live view display what your picture will look like? I'm honestly curious because this thread is making it sound difficult.

 

[480sparky]

Doesn't your live view display what your picture will look like? I'm honestly curious because this thread is making it sound difficult.

No. It shows me an imbedded jpeg thumbnail. As all of 'em do.

 

[MTVision]

You guys can't just set your WB to color temp and pick a number that looks good? Usually indoors I can set it to 3000k (I'm sure this number varies body to body) and the colors look natural on my screen.

Some people set WB by kelvin but your LCD is not a good representation of anything - colors, exposure, focus, etc.