Trouble Matching White Balance Between Two FX1 Cameras

[Natan Pakman]

I am currently working with two FX1s and even in the same lighting conditions (albeit a different angle on the subject), when manually white balancing (with the same shutter speed and sometimes a slightly different f-stop), I can't seem to match the color. The two cameras always have a noticeably different color. Any ideas on how to match the two?

[Adam Gold]

Have you tried WB SHIFT?

[Chris Duczynski]

Set the color temperature the same eg. 5400K on a identical small white area of the subject. Make sure your cameras are angled the same.

[Chris Barcellos]

I would set them both at cameras indoor or outdoor presets and then bsalnce inpost.

[Adam Gold]

Originally Posted by Chris Duczynski

Set the color temperature the same eg. 5400K.

Unfortunately the FX1 does not have this ability.

[Natan Pakman]

I wish I could set the exact white balance on the Kelvin scale with the FX1. I could try using the presets, but it's not really an option to adjust this in post because we have a quick turnaround and it would add light-years to the export time.

Are these significantly better at white balancing than using a white piece of paper?
ExpoImaging - ExpoDisc White Balance

[Chris Duczynski]

No Kelvin !! - who designed this camera??
The expodiscs do just what any white would do, but just more handy - seems like a good idea.
The important thing is to expose and angle the cameras to the same spot, so the mixture of light is the same - there can't be much difference and if there is, one of your cameras is broke.

[Chris Barcellos]

"No Kelvin !! - who designed this camera??"

Uhh, this camera was clearly release as a consumer camera and has been around for a long time. It was the first Hi Def (if you considered HDV hi deF) released for consumer use. It didn't have 24p either, though there was a Sony version of it. If you wanted pro features you bought the Z1. But the FX1 It was a godsend to most of us in its day.

Sure is nice to sit as a decade later "quarter back" and comment on one of the most innovative products of its day.

[Chris Barcellos]

Originally Posted by Natan Pakman

I wish I could set the exact white balance on the Kelvin scale with the FX1. I could try using the presets, but it's not really an option to adjust this in post because we have a quick turnaround and it would add light-years to the export time.

Are these significantly better at white balancing than using a white piece of paper?
ExpoImaging - ExpoDisc White Balance

Maybe you should just consider leaving on auto color balance, then. As I recall, there is a setting to have the camera adjust its auto settings more gradually, and in that manner you shots would transition without a noticeable abrupt change. But a process with no post adjustment is a tall order for most run and gun shooting situations, because of the changing light situations.

In the end, however, I'll bet that if you put a white card on an easel, and then set your cameras on the same tripod and did the manual balance, and had all the other in camera settings matched, that the two would be real close.

[Chris Duczynski]

..."Sure is nice to sit as a decade later "quarter back" and comment on one of the most innovative products of its day."

My comment was tongue in cheek Chris,
I'm sure a decade from now we will have the same knowledge in hindsight.

* I'll asterisk any comments from now on if they stray from serious discussion.

[Chris Barcellos]

Chris....sorry, didn't mean to get so touchy. I reread your post and see I should have taken it different.

I saw a lot bad press about the FX1, but the dang thing keeps shooting video, and it still surprises me that with a little tinkering, how good an image you can get out of i, even right next to the stuff we shoot today.

[Natan Pakman]

Some people (including in this thread) make statements that refer to tweaking the FX1's "in-camera settings" as part of the color-balancing process (in the sense that when balancing two FX1s one should make sure the aforementioned settings are identical). Could someone please explain what settings are being referred to? I always have manual control over the iris, gain (off), shutter speed, and white balance, but are there other settings that I am not aware of?

Or are people referring to the picture profile controls? Is the picture profile considered a consumer-level tool or is the subtlety with which you can change the picture ideal for the color-balancing issues I mentioned above?

[Reed Gidez]

For what it is worth...

I had trouble matching my FX1 to my Z1u and thought it was just the difference between the two models. That is until I took the UV filters off the cameras for a thorough cleaning and noticed a very slight difference in the color of the filter glass. Both were simply UV filters but one had a very slight rose tint to it.

I don't know it it was a counterfeit filter (always have used Tiffen) but there was a difference between the two. Replaced the one filter and never had a problem after that.

[Chris Barcellos]

I consider picture profile as advanced. The first question you have to answer, is do you have one of the cameras set to a picture profile and the other to another PP, or pp is off. The presets that are there all have different setting in there base set up. Some of those settings can change the way your color and other image characteristics look. Cinematone could be on in one, and not in the other. Cinematone definitely will alter the looks. There are also setting to adjust color saturation, color phase, etc., for each of the cameras.

I assume you know this, but you select what profile you are going to use by pushing picture profile button on back of camera. You then scroll down to the particular profile you want to use, click on it by depressing the roller. You are then given a menu to adjust the specific profile settings. If you match those on each camera, they should be pretty close.

If you want to white balance manually, then each camera should be used to read off a white card from the same angle. Make sure you push the while balance button, and select which a or b switch you want the white balance stored in. Fill the whole frame with the white card, and push the white balance set button, and they should set pretty close. There is no Kelvin selection or white balance shift, to my recollection.

[Natan Pakman]

Reed, I'm not currently using any filters on either of the cameras.

Chris, I currently have picture profile off on both cameras. I was wondering if there were other settings on the camera I wasn't aware of. I'll definitely keep in mind adjusting the picture profile to match the color of both cameras.