White balance comparison

[Vtec44]

I think the D7000 does a good job with auto white balance, but it's very inconsistent from picture to picture. I got my 18% gray card the other day and decided to do some custom white balance. The pictures were taken under Vivid setting, contrast +2, saturation +1, sharpening +8.

Auto2 (maintain warm colors)

Custom white balance (open shade). The colors are spot.

Auto2 (maintain warm colors)

Custom white balance (open shade).

 

[480sparky]

I only use AWB when I don't have time to take a preset. I much prefer to take a preset and update it as needed.

 

[Vtec44]

It took me a while to figure how to set white balance for d1-d4. I guess I should have read the manual but google is much faster....

 

[480sparky]

It took me a while to figure how to set white balance for d1-d4. I guess I should have read the manual but google is much faster....

It's pretty much the same for d0.

 

[Vtec44]

It took me a while to figure how to set white balance for d1-d4. I guess I should have read the manual but google is much faster....

It's pretty much the same for d0.

Really? For some reason, holding down the WB button for the PRE mode to blink doesn't add the white balance image to anything other than D0.

 

[480sparky]

Really? For some reason, holding down the WB button for the PRE mode to blink doesn't add the white balance image to anything other than D0.

Spin the front command dial while holding the WB button.

 

[Vtec44]

Yeah even with others D's selected, it will just add the image to D0.

 

[Vtec44]

Yep, did another test just now. D4 selected, PRE light blinking, took the image, image goes to D0. I usually just take the picture and select it from the white balance menu instead. I guess either there's a bug in my camera or Nikon designed that method for on location WB only. I'll just leave D0 bank empty for that purpose.

 

[480sparky]

Not a problem... mine does the same thing. You need to take a shot to d0, then copy it to d1-4.

 

[Light Guru]

I seldom have good luck with auto white balance. Yet another good reason to shoot RAW as white balance can easily be fixed later.

 

[Vtec44]

I seldom have good luck with auto white balance. Yet another good reason to shoot RAW as white balance can easily be fixed later.

I only shoot RAW when it's absolutely critical. Typically I try to get everything to come out close how I wanted. I do that to build a habit so I pay attention to every single details. I'm weird that way.

 

[Kerbouchard]

To offer a differing perspective, I pretty much always shoot RAW, and I rarely use a custom WB. When shooting RAW with a custom WB, there is only one data point that is not available to you...that is what the camera would have chosen in Auto WB. Instead of taking a custom WB, I will take a shot of my calibration target in the identical lighting conditions. This gives me a perfect reference as well as gives me the camera's interpretation of it. For shots where the lighting is very tricky and I know the auto wb will be off, I will go ahead and lock in the custom white balance...only because I know the auto wb calculation will be worthless to me.

 

[480sparky]

.............. I'm weird that way.

Aren't we all?