Green tint to Custom white balance

[Eddie Coates]

I shoot a lot of indoor video with white and Navaho White walls with my EX1.

However, when i use the Custom (Auto) White balance with a white card or paper,
video tends to have a green tint to it. This NOT good, is there a fix for this problem??

I have a Sony FX1 and I use the custom white balance and the FX1 does not have this problem. Why does the EX1 have a green tint to the white walls when I set the Custom white balance????

Any help would be so appreciated.

[Tony LeHoven]

Hi Eddie,

I have noticed that also. Moreover, if you balance on a white card in exactly the same place it will give you different readings. I will usually take multiple white balances until I get the one I want. This inconsistency is bothersome so I tend to dial in a WB from the PP menu.

-Tony

[Eric Pascarelli]

I think it's always a good idea to dial in the white balance manually.

This way the magenta-green correction stays neutral and only the color temperature is adjusted.

[Tom Roper]

Originally Posted by Eric Pascarelli

I think it's always a good idea to dial in the white balance manually.

This way the magenta-green correction stays neutral and only the color temperature is adjusted.

Will you explain this? I think you have commented about this before. Are you saying that you would perform a white balance on a white card, and then manually enter the number that you got from it into the PP white balance setting? How else would you arrive at a number to put into the PP setting?

[Eric Pascarelli]

Originally Posted by Tom Roper

Will you explain this? I think you have commented about this before. Are you saying that you would perform a white balance on a white card, and then manually enter the number that you got from it into the PP white balance setting? How else would you arrive at a number to put into the PP setting?

That's a decent method.

You could also use a color temp meter. Or just come up with a setting that's pleasing to the eye (as viewed on a decent calibrated monitor) and stick with it until you change lighting.

Using 5600K at a general rule for daylight stuff also works, and maybe 2500K for indoor incandescents. Whatever method pleases you.

But I think you'll get more consistent results with a preset number, unless you are into fluorescent lighting which would benefit from a green/magenta correction.

[Perrone Ford]

I've noticed that on the ATW setting, the camera seems to do a fairly good job of telling you what the color temp is. I've tried this with my lighting and it seems to be quite close to what it should be. Once you find that color temp, you can just dial it into a white preset setting.

[Eddie Coates]

Again, it still makes the walls look greenish.... But the walls are white, not green, Video Playback the walls look green.

[Paul Kellett]

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

I've noticed that on the ATW setting, the camera seems to do a fairly good job of telling you what the color temp is. I've tried this with my lighting and it seems to be quite close to what it should be. Once you find that color temp, you can just dial it into a white preset setting.

Thats exactly what i've been doing if i can't get a good setting.
It works pretty good for me.

Paul

[Matt Davis]

Originally Posted by Paul Kellett

Thats exactly what i've been doing if i can't get a good setting.
It works pretty good for me.

- Yup, me too. Another vote for dialling in manual. But for me, if I white balance off my pure white card from my Warm White set, everything goes orange, rather than green. It may have something to do with my PP settings (well, based on Paul Cronin's work) which I am loathe to change because they're just spot on for my taste.

I find the most pleasing images clock in at 200K less than what the WB reports.

Hopefully the EX-5 will have uppy-downy WB like the DSR-570 and Z1.

[Leonard Levy]

First, are you sure your monitor is accurate? Panasonic BTLH1700's are notorious for a green tendency for example.

If its real you have 2 simple solutions. Green white balances have been common on video cameras as long as I remember.

1 - Balance through a 1/8 or 1/4 Green gel. DP's have been doing this for 20 years in the field. Often mixing 1/4 Blue with green - stronger if you need it. Get a large swatch book to hold over the lens.

2 - In the PP menus under phase just move the phase to the magenta ( + numbers ) You can leave it there unless it hurts your pre sets. Then you could have a separate PP for presets.

Leonard Levy