White balance PROBLEM with Z1

[Augusto Manuel]

The white balance of the Z1 does not seem to be as responsive as in other cameras. I don't know if this is a specific problem to my camera or a problem with the Z1. It takes a few seconds more to white balance and in some instances, it will refuse to white balance at all. And I am going bythe book, putting the camera in auto iris to white balance, filling the frame with a white object, etc. It happens quite often.

[John Rofrano]

I haven’t seen this. Are you sure you are placing the preset selector on either A or B when it doesn’t appear to work? The procedure is 5 steps from full auto mode so it’s easy to forget one:

1. Place the camera in manual mode
2. Press the manual white balance button to enable it
3. Place the WB preset switch in either the A or B setting
4. Fill the frame with white
5. Press and hold the WB Set button until the indicator on the LCD stops blinking

In step 5, make sure you hold the button until is starts blinking and then continue to hold it until it stops blinking. Not sure if it's slower than any other camera but it always works for me.

~jr

[Augusto Manuel]

I primarily shoot on Digibeta and Beta SP so I am familiar with correct white balancing. It is elementary, my friend. And I would tend to believe it is a malfuction of the camera. Maybe the Z1 is not as fast to white balance. Maybe it is my particular camera. Sometimes, it takes several seconds before it finally white balances, sometimes it will not white balance at all.

Originally Posted by John Rofrano

I haven’t seen this. Are you sure you are placing the preset selector on either A or B when it doesn’t appear to work? The procedure is 5 steps from full auto mode so it’s easy to forget one:

1. Place the camera in manual mode
2. Press the manual white balance button to enable it
3. Place the WB preset switch in either the A or B setting
4. Fill the frame with white
5. Press and hold the WB Set button until the indicator on the LCD stops blinking

In step 5, make sure you hold the button until is starts blinking and then continue to hold it until it stops blinking. Not sure if it's slower than any other camera but it always works for me.

~jr

[Mark Utley]

This is common. I have used old cameras that take as long as 10 seconds to black balance.

Has anyone else found that white balancing on non-white colours doesn't throw the colours off that much? I definitely have all the settings right. When I white balance on my brownish carpet, for example, the colour looks almost identical to when I white balance on true white. Strange.

[Stephanie Wilson]

Augusto,

I think you may have missed the most important suggestion of John's post. You must be in the MANUAL setting before trying to white balance.

My Panny 100A does take longer to balance than the professional Sony I used to operate, but only by a second or two.

Also try black balancing after the white. Don't know if that will speed up future white balances, but.........can't hurt.

Obviously, you may indeed have a camera problem if none of these suggestions on this board are successful.

Good luck to you,

Steph

[Augusto Manuel]

Of course the camera has to be in manual setting before white balancing, otherwise there is no way it can white balance. Still it does not white balance or takes way too long. I have used myriad of cameras, more expensive, 2/3 inch chips and less expensive and the Z1, at least the one I have, still has the white balancing problem.

Also, the Z1 does not have black balancing capabilities. So this is not even an issue in this case.

There are some situations when cameras will refuse to perform a white balance such as having the iris excessively out of range, overexposed or underexposed, or, the color temperature of the target to white balance completely out of range or focus on the target not in order but this is not even the case.

Black balancing after or before white balance will not really improve thespeed of your white balance and I am not referring to the Z1. Black balance is used to improve or calibrate the colors in the dark areas of your picture. There is a sequence to do a proper black balance but as I said before the Z1 does not even offer a way to manually do a black balance.

If white balance problem is not an issue with the Z1, looks like I may have a defective unit.

Originally Posted by Stephanie Wilson

Augusto,

I think you may have missed the most important suggestion of John's post. You must be in the MANUAL setting before trying to white balance.

My Panny 100A does take longer to balance than the professional Sony I used to operate, but only by a second or two.

Also try black balancing after the white. Don't know if that will speed up future white balances, but.........can't hurt.

Obviously, you may indeed have a camera problem if none of these suggestions on this board are successful.

Good luck to you,

Steph

[Steven White]

Has anyone else found that white balancing on non-white colours doesn't throw the colours off that much?

Not a problem for me. I turned on some lights in a windowed room, balanced on the orange-cast walls, and wound up with a blue-lit image as I expected.

-Steve