EX3 manual white balance problem at DVinfo.net

Brent Hallman · February 26th, 2011, 10:49 PM

Alright, here is the issue:

Last night I was shooting a sporting event inside an arena. I was using my EX3 with my Nanoflash.

I set my manual white balance with a vortex media warm card under the lights in the middle of the court before the game.

I was recording for about thirty minutes...then the camera thought it knew better than me and preformed and AWB during the middle of my shoot! I did not touch anything, the manual balance was still selected.

This has happened to me once before, now it is starting to tick me off. I was just getting b roll, so I can colour balance in post, but it is a pain.

Does anyone have experience with this/know what is going on?

Thanks,

Brent

Matt Davis · March 1st, 2011, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brent Hallman

.then the camera thought it knew better than me and preformed and AWB during the middle of my shoot! I did not touch anything, the manual balance was still selected.

Would that have been position B?

There's an option to set position B to AutoTrace White.

However, you can still hit the White Set button. As you've found, that doesn't prevent the the camera from getting distracted and letting the colour temp drift off...

Brent Hallman · March 1st, 2011, 10:38 AM

Thanks for the reply Matt,

The camera was set to position 'A'..... so that is why I am confused...the camera should not be doing a balance by itself in that position.

Hirata Tomoki · March 6th, 2011, 08:15 AM

I had same experience too! EX1R

Alister Chapman · March 6th, 2011, 10:35 AM

Just a thought.... there wasn't a change to the power going to the lighting of the arena? I've see quite large swings in colour temperature when the mains voltage has fluctuated or possibly the lamps have been dimmed.

It would be more worrying if the white balance change was happening mid shot under sunlight.

Brent Hallman · March 6th, 2011, 11:33 AM

Alister,

I balanced under the lights on the floor of the arena...then after awhile I went up into the stands to get a different angle.

The lighting in the stands was quite dim compared to that of the arena floor where I was still aimed and recording at.

I can see how that may affect the White Balance if I had it set to the ATW position....but why would it change on me if I set the white balance manually in position 'A'?

It's happened twice to me, both in arenas, in the same kind of shooting environment (balanced under the lights on the floor, then record up in the stands).

-Brent

Alister Chapman · March 6th, 2011, 01:46 PM

If the lighting in the arena is on dimmers or some other control panel it is possible that the white balance can change as any dimming or control of the lamps can lead to a change in color temperature. It may or may not be your issue, just throwing in some options.

Dana Kupper · March 6th, 2011, 02:55 PM

Please forgive me if this does not help, but sometimes I hit buttons on my camera while carrying it, or climbing stairs, or whatever. If you accidently hit the white balance calibration button on the front, it would activate the procedure without you knowing, especially if you are carrying the camera and not looking through the eyepiece. Maybe you could put a protective cover over the button with cardboard and tape and see if that helps?

Hirata Tomoki · March 7th, 2011, 02:25 AM

I think it is not an accident, in my case, I shooting in outdoor (snowing day) and use manually white balance position "A" (I never use AWB, also position "B" is set at Non-AWB already on the menu), EX1R suddenly jump to another white balance, luckly, the difference is big, so I note it immediately. May be you can tell me it is cause of low temperature, the temperature of that day is -3C

Brent Hallman · March 8th, 2011, 02:10 PM

To respond to Alister: Lights were constant throughout the whole game, no changes in brightness, everything was stable.

To Dana: I did not touch anything, the camera was on the tripod while I was recording and I was very aware of all of my settings during filming.

To Hirata: Both times it happened to me, I was inside...about 20 Celsius.

I think the next time I'm at the repair shop I'll get them to take a look.

Thanks for the input everyone.

February 26th, 2011, 10:49 PM	#1
Brent Hallman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 89	EX3 manual white balance problem Alright, here is the issue: Last night I was shooting a sporting event inside an arena. I was using my EX3 with my Nanoflash. I set my manual white balance with a vortex media warm card under the lights in the middle of the court before the game. I was recording for about thirty minutes...then the camera thought it knew better than me and preformed and AWB during the middle of my shoot! I did not touch anything, the manual balance was still selected. This has happened to me once before, now it is starting to tick me off. I was just getting b roll, so I can colour balance in post, but it is a pain. Does anyone have experience with this/know what is going on? Thanks, Brent

March 1st, 2011, 10:38 AM	#3
Brent Hallman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 89	Re: EX3 manual white balance problem Thanks for the reply Matt, The camera was set to position 'A'..... so that is why I am confused...the camera should not be doing a balance by itself in that position.

March 6th, 2011, 08:15 AM	#4
Hirata Tomoki New Boot Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Japan Posts: 24	Re: EX3 manual white balance problem I had same experience too! EX1R

March 6th, 2011, 10:35 AM	#5
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: EX3 manual white balance problem Just a thought.... there wasn't a change to the power going to the lighting of the arena? I've see quite large swings in colour temperature when the mains voltage has fluctuated or possibly the lamps have been dimmed. It would be more worrying if the white balance change was happening mid shot under sunlight. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

March 6th, 2011, 11:33 AM	#6
Brent Hallman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 89	Re: EX3 manual white balance problem Alister, I balanced under the lights on the floor of the arena...then after awhile I went up into the stands to get a different angle. The lighting in the stands was quite dim compared to that of the arena floor where I was still aimed and recording at. I can see how that may affect the White Balance if I had it set to the ATW position....but why would it change on me if I set the white balance manually in position 'A'? It's happened twice to me, both in arenas, in the same kind of shooting environment (balanced under the lights on the floor, then record up in the stands). -Brent

March 6th, 2011, 01:46 PM	#7
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: EX3 manual white balance problem If the lighting in the arena is on dimmers or some other control panel it is possible that the white balance can change as any dimming or control of the lamps can lead to a change in color temperature. It may or may not be your issue, just throwing in some options. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

March 6th, 2011, 02:55 PM	#8
Dana Kupper Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 36	Re: EX3 manual white balance problem Please forgive me if this does not help, but sometimes I hit buttons on my camera while carrying it, or climbing stairs, or whatever. If you accidently hit the white balance calibration button on the front, it would activate the procedure without you knowing, especially if you are carrying the camera and not looking through the eyepiece. Maybe you could put a protective cover over the button with cardboard and tape and see if that helps?

March 7th, 2011, 02:25 AM	#9
Hirata Tomoki New Boot Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Japan Posts: 24	Re: EX3 manual white balance problem I think it is not an accident, in my case, I shooting in outdoor (snowing day) and use manually white balance position "A" (I never use AWB, also position "B" is set at Non-AWB already on the menu), EX1R suddenly jump to another white balance, luckly, the difference is big, so I note it immediately. May be you can tell me it is cause of low temperature, the temperature of that day is -3C

March 8th, 2011, 02:10 PM	#10
Brent Hallman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 89	Re: EX3 manual white balance problem To respond to Alister: Lights were constant throughout the whole game, no changes in brightness, everything was stable. To Dana: I did not touch anything, the camera was on the tripod while I was recording and I was very aware of all of my settings during filming. To Hirata: Both times it happened to me, I was inside...about 20 Celsius. I think the next time I'm at the repair shop I'll get them to take a look. Thanks for the input everyone.