White Balance Blinking Icon Straw Poll at DVinfo.net

Graham Bernard · April 5th, 2004, 01:23 AM

Due to a thread here, and the feedback garnered so far, I felt it was necessary to obtain some real world experiences to ascertain where we are heading on this one . .. AND prior to me sending my XM2 in for ANOTHER going over . . . still love my cammie . . this aint no XM2 bashing .. just a reality check - yeah?

Please take time to answer these 4 questions . . If you would like me to "edit" these questions and "add" or simplify or explain them I'll do so. . . .. .

1 - Do you get CONTINUED blinking on setting manual WB? - Y/N

2 - In these circumstances would you say that there was enough light to hold the WB setting and the blinking to go off? - Y/N

3 - Do to continue to film with/using the blinking WB? - Y/B

4 - Having the blinking Icon and apart from NOT taking the shot what do you do to continue?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grazie

Kris Verstappen · April 5th, 2004, 02:29 AM

1 - No (not even in lowlight locations)
I haven't had my XM-2 for a long time yet, so I might still run
into the problem sooner or later.

2 - NA
3 - NA
4 - NA

Alan McCormick · April 5th, 2004, 05:04 AM

1.Sometimes
2. Yes, we had studio lights set up.
3. Yes
4. In the past I have persevered till it stops but on the odd occassion I have just set to indoors (in my case).

Interesting thread, can't wait to see the outcome.

Kris Holodak · April 5th, 2004, 09:48 AM

1 - sometimes
2 - probably. (My problems is usually that I'm too far from what's under the lights to get enough white to fill the frame)
3 - no, I've always assumed that would give me bad results so I never even tried it.
4 - I'll usually use the indoor preset. However, I don't like the color of that as much as when I can get a WB lock.

I always assumed that the WB would drift the way the focus drifts if you zoom while it's in auto. But I never actually looked it up. I'd be happy if I were wrong on that.

Rob Wilson · April 5th, 2004, 09:55 AM

1. Yes, maybe 5% of the time

2. I've always assumed that the lack of light or a not good white source was causing the blinking in the first place so I guess, no.

3 - Rarely, usually try a few more times and get it solid.

4 - I've just gone with the blinking in some cases. Since I've not seen any bad results, I'm guessing it was "OK" at least. May have to try a test and compare results now that you've got me thinking about it.

Graham Bernard · April 5th, 2004, 10:30 AM

Kris - Yes, interesting "lore" going on here . . . I've found that a red rich room can truly "skew" the balance, better lighting just makes it worse. Time for a "dialable" - TRULY manual WB in order? After all we are not actual MANUALLY setting WB we're at the "whim" and vagaries of the internal circuitry. Manually to me would be to manually dial in the 255:255:255 . . . . or whatever it is . . . this is out of my knowledge base . . .

Rob - "now that you've got me thinking about it" is exactly the reason I pout up this multiple choice for a Real World experience to be "logged" here. - Yeah, it's getting very very interesting indeed . ..

. . .okay . . who's next?

Grazie

Federico Dib · April 5th, 2004, 11:04 AM

1 - Sometimes

2 - Yes

3 - Usually I get it to work, but when in a hurry, as soon as blinking slows down I shoot.

4 - The few times I had the blinking Icon it looked better than the presets, and in post I´ve found out it matches the other whites...

Rob Wilson · April 5th, 2004, 11:55 AM

Graham,

My DSR 500 displays the color temp in the viewfinder once it gets a white balance. Helps because you can compare what it thinks vs what you see. Only had a problem getting it to balance one time (last Friday). It was in a gym with mercury vapor lights (very orange) and two large windows with a fair amount of outdoor light. Plenty of light but color temp readings would vary significantly based on the white I was balancing on. Eventually used a white card (PortaBrace) to get a good balance. Verified it with a Pany LCD. Ended up being about 2100 degrees.

I agree that a manual white would be GREAT, but absent that, at least a display of what it thinks would be good.

Mark Newhouse · April 5th, 2004, 12:21 PM

1. Sometimes.

2. I've had it happen in both low light and what I thought would be enough light (my single chip zr60 was able to white balance in the same room).

3. I was frustrated with this and looked in the manual, which implied that blinking was better than a preset. I don't have the manual with me here at work, so I am going off my memory here.

4. Now I go ahead and take the shot. Before reading up on the issue in the manual I think I went to Auto WB.

Graham Bernard · April 5th, 2004, 03:10 PM

Rob - Very good points

MArk, "I think I went to Auto WB" - I THINK that when it is blinking it is not only telling us that it CAN'T get a good fix on the WB BUT also it is in AUTO WB too! What do you think?

Grazie

Mark Newhouse · April 5th, 2004, 03:22 PM

Grazie:

In another thread, someone quoted the manual as saying:

"Depending on the light source, the flashing may at times change to a slower speed, rather than remaining lit. The result will remain better than with the auto setting, and you can continue filming."

I haven't done any tests on this - just taken Canon at their word. I think in the future I will probably make more of an effort to get a good lock on the WB (no flashing icon) before I give in to low light :)

Graham Bernard · April 5th, 2004, 03:34 PM

Excellent reminder there MArk. I too read that some time back .. it is only NOW tht it is starting to make sense too . . .

Marty Allen · April 14th, 2004, 10:48 AM

I have this occur only when there is "nothing" to calculate the WB off of. I just shot a wedding last week. All I had to do was fill the frame with a white wall. The blinking stopped and the WB was bang on. Out doors I try to find a neutral gray color to accomplish the same thing.

Marco Leavitt · April 14th, 2004, 05:02 PM

I'm really glad you posted this, because I thought I was the only one with this problem. I have a GL-1, by the way.

1 - Frequently.

2 - Sometimes.

3 - Never, although from reading the other posts here I may be changing my mind about that.

4 - I usually just use the auto white balance, which looks pretty good most of the time in my opinion.

Graham Bernard · April 15th, 2004, 12:00 AM

This poll is proving quite valuable. It is showing where we use a function for "ease"; "how" we understand the value of the function itself; for me it is dispelling some of the "mythology" that can at times mask understanding [ you should read a post I set up "elsewhere" concerning Kelvin colour temperatures . .very interesting that one . . . ] ; oh yeah . .a shared experience AND the actual FACTS!

Keep it up Guys and Gals - Grazie

April 5th, 2004, 01:23 AM	#1
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	White Balance Blinking Icon Straw Poll Due to a thread here, and the feedback garnered so far, I felt it was necessary to obtain some real world experiences to ascertain where we are heading on this one . .. AND prior to me sending my XM2 in for ANOTHER going over . . . still love my cammie . . this aint no XM2 bashing .. just a reality check - yeah? Please take time to answer these 4 questions . . If you would like me to "edit" these questions and "add" or simplify or explain them I'll do so. . . .. . 1 - Do you get CONTINUED blinking on setting manual WB? - Y/N 2 - In these circumstances would you say that there was enough light to hold the WB setting and the blinking to go off? - Y/N 3 - Do to continue to film with/using the blinking WB? - Y/B 4 - Having the blinking Icon and apart from NOT taking the shot what do you do to continue? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Grazie

April 5th, 2004, 05:04 AM	#3
Alan McCormick Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Chatham, UK Posts: 282	1.Sometimes 2. Yes, we had studio lights set up. 3. Yes 4. In the past I have persevered till it stops but on the odd occassion I have just set to indoors (in my case). Interesting thread, can't wait to see the outcome. __________________ Alan McC

April 5th, 2004, 11:04 AM	#7
Federico Dib Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Barcelona Posts: 312	1 - Sometimes 2 - Yes 3 - Usually I get it to work, but when in a hurry, as soon as blinking slows down I shoot. 4 - The few times I had the blinking Icon it looked better than the presets, and in post I´ve found out it matches the other whites... __________________ Messenger Boy : The Thessalonian you're fighting, he's the biggest man I've ever seen. I wouldn't want to fight him. Achilles : That is why no one will remember your name.

April 5th, 2004, 12:21 PM	#9
Mark Newhouse Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 63	1. Sometimes. 2. I've had it happen in both low light and what I thought would be enough light (my single chip zr60 was able to white balance in the same room). 3. I was frustrated with this and looked in the manual, which implied that blinking was better than a preset. I don't have the manual with me here at work, so I am going off my memory here. 4. Now I go ahead and take the shot. Before reading up on the issue in the manual I think I went to Auto WB. __________________ --Mark

April 5th, 2004, 03:22 PM	#11
Mark Newhouse Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 63	Grazie: In another thread, someone quoted the manual as saying: "Depending on the light source, the flashing may at times change to a slower speed, rather than remaining lit. The result will remain better than with the auto setting, and you can continue filming." I haven't done any tests on this - just taken Canon at their word. I think in the future I will probably make more of an effort to get a good lock on the WB (no flashing icon) before I give in to low light :) __________________ --Mark

April 5th, 2004, 02:29 AM	#2
Kris Verstappen New Boot Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Belgium Posts: 22	1 - No (not even in lowlight locations) I haven't had my XM-2 for a long time yet, so I might still run into the problem sooner or later. 2 - NA 3 - NA 4 - NA

April 5th, 2004, 09:48 AM	#4
Kris Holodak Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 302	1 - sometimes 2 - probably. (My problems is usually that I'm too far from what's under the lights to get enough white to fill the frame) 3 - no, I've always assumed that would give me bad results so I never even tried it. 4 - I'll usually use the indoor preset. However, I don't like the color of that as much as when I can get a WB lock. I always assumed that the WB would drift the way the focus drifts if you zoom while it's in auto. But I never actually looked it up. I'd be happy if I were wrong on that.

April 5th, 2004, 09:55 AM	#5
Rob Wilson Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 473	1. Yes, maybe 5% of the time 2. I've always assumed that the lack of light or a not good white source was causing the blinking in the first place so I guess, no. 3 - Rarely, usually try a few more times and get it solid. 4 - I've just gone with the blinking in some cases. Since I've not seen any bad results, I'm guessing it was "OK" at least. May have to try a test and compare results now that you've got me thinking about it.

April 5th, 2004, 10:30 AM	#6
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Kris - Yes, interesting "lore" going on here . . . I've found that a red rich room can truly "skew" the balance, better lighting just makes it worse. Time for a "dialable" - TRULY manual WB in order? After all we are not actual MANUALLY setting WB we're at the "whim" and vagaries of the internal circuitry. Manually to me would be to manually dial in the 255:255:255 . . . . or whatever it is . . . this is out of my knowledge base . . . Rob - "now that you've got me thinking about it" is exactly the reason I pout up this multiple choice for a Real World experience to be "logged" here. - Yeah, it's getting very very interesting indeed . .. . . .okay . . who's next? Grazie

April 5th, 2004, 11:55 AM	#8
Rob Wilson Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 473	Graham, My DSR 500 displays the color temp in the viewfinder once it gets a white balance. Helps because you can compare what it thinks vs what you see. Only had a problem getting it to balance one time (last Friday). It was in a gym with mercury vapor lights (very orange) and two large windows with a fair amount of outdoor light. Plenty of light but color temp readings would vary significantly based on the white I was balancing on. Eventually used a white card (PortaBrace) to get a good balance. Verified it with a Pany LCD. Ended up being about 2100 degrees. I agree that a manual white would be GREAT, but absent that, at least a display of what it thinks would be good.

April 5th, 2004, 03:10 PM	#10
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Rob - Very good points MArk, "I think I went to Auto WB" - I THINK that when it is blinking it is not only telling us that it CAN'T get a good fix on the WB BUT also it is in AUTO WB too! What do you think? Grazie

April 5th, 2004, 03:34 PM	#12
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Excellent reminder there MArk. I too read that some time back .. it is only NOW tht it is starting to make sense too . . .

April 14th, 2004, 10:48 AM	#13
Marty Allen New Boot Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Kenosha, Wisconsin Posts: 11	WB Blinking I have this occur only when there is "nothing" to calculate the WB off of. I just shot a wedding last week. All I had to do was fill the frame with a white wall. The blinking stopped and the WB was bang on. Out doors I try to find a neutral gray color to accomplish the same thing.

April 14th, 2004, 05:02 PM	#14
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	I'm really glad you posted this, because I thought I was the only one with this problem. I have a GL-1, by the way. 1 - Frequently. 2 - Sometimes. 3 - Never, although from reading the other posts here I may be changing my mind about that. 4 - I usually just use the auto white balance, which looks pretty good most of the time in my opinion.

April 15th, 2004, 12:00 AM	#15
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Keep it up Guys and Gals ! This poll is proving quite valuable. It is showing where we use a function for "ease"; "how" we understand the value of the function itself; for me it is dispelling some of the "mythology" that can at times mask understanding [ you should read a post I set up "elsewhere" concerning Kelvin colour temperatures . .very interesting that one . . . ] ; oh yeah . .a shared experience AND the actual FACTS! Keep it up Guys and Gals - Grazie