AWB...who uses it???

[Donnie Frank]

Hey doods!

So for the first time in years (probably ever), I shot a client using Auto White Balance. I have tried AWB on my Phantom 4 Pro for mapping, but found it couldn't seem to handle dirt very well, constantly toggling from cool to warm to cool to warm, which made for some inconsistent orthomaps. So I always "hard code" White Balance via the "Custom" option.

Back to my trusty Inspire 1...

On a whim, I decided to shoot one of my construction clients using AWB. Because they use the video for forensics, they don't really care about color temperature. I watched as the dirt color changed from bluish to brownish...interesting. I also notice that I'm not able to match the AWB exactly with the Custom setting. The Custom setting is either slightly too cool or slightly too warm. It's almost like the AWB is more "granular," but not always accurate. So, that said...

I'm just curious; Does anybody here use AWB ever for ANY shooting you do??? Last week's color fiasco just confirms why I never used it in the first place.

D

 

[RMartin]

I'm just curious; Does anybody here use AWB ever for ANY shooting you do??? Last weeks color fiasco just confirms why I never used it in the first place.

D

When I was shooting video with the Inspire I would run into color problems and tried using AWB to correct it thinking that the problem was over or under exposure of the shot. It solved some of the problem but I still got color flares which I never figured out. Fortunately, most of my business is mapping so image quality is really the last problem in that side of the business.

 

[The Editor]

I never EVER use AWB on any camera I use.
It will always track/change mid shot and it is a nightmare to keyframe out in post.

Just shoot fixed value - then adjust in post if necessary.
Experiment with around 5700k (if shooting daylight).
Some ND's will throw an off-set but once you get used to your filters you will know what to add or subtract.

Counterintuitively - Blue is higher and Red is lower when it comes to color temperature/kelvin values

 

[Donnie Frank]

I never EVER use AWB on any camera I use.
It will always track/change mid shot and it is a nightmare to keyframe out in post.

Just shoot fixed value - then adjust in post if necessary.
Experiment with around 5700k (if shooting daylight).
Some ND's will throw an off-set but once you get used to your filters you will know what to add or subtract.

Yep...yer preachin' to the choir on that one.

Counterintuitively - Blue is higher and Red is lower when it comes to color temperature/kelvin values

I go back and forth with this because it all depends on the semantics your perspective. White Balance vs. Color Temperature. Here's what I know to be true.

* If the environment is bluer (like a cloudy day), the color temperature is higher (6000K - 7000K).
* If the environment is yellower (sunset, candle light), the color temperature is lower (3200ish).
* "Cooler" generally means "bluer."

White balance is inverse:

* If everything looks blue in your lens, and you want to "warm it up" (make it "browner), you RAISE the WB to compensate. Therefore, "warmer" is "higher WB."

* If everything looks yellow in your lens, and you want to "cool it off" (make it "whiter" or "truer"), you LOWER the WB. Therefore, "cooler" is "lower WB."

So these sentences are true:

* The candle looks warm, so I will cool it off by lowering the white balance.
* The cloudy sky looks cool, so I will warm it up by raising the white balance.

So what this means TO ME, is that "color temperature" is the INVERSE of "White Balance." So one should be careful mixing up those terms.

All that said, NOT kolij trained....just my personal experience. I invite argument.

D

 

[RMartin]

I never EVER use AWB on any camera I use.
It will always track/change mid shot and it is a nightmare to keyframe out in post.

Just shoot fixed value - then adjust in post if necessary.
Experiment with around 5700k (if shooting daylight).
Some ND's will throw an off-set but once you get used to your filters you will know what to add or subtract.

Counterintuitively - Blue is higher and Red is lower when it comes to color temperature/kelvin values

I have heard from a class I took online that was the best method. I also forgot that part.

 

[SanCap]

You should change to topic title to, AWB....Don't Use It !!!

 

[Donnie Frank]

You should change to topic title to, AWB....Don't Use It !!!

LOL...well....because I'm not an expert on the topic, I didn't want to GIVE advice. My objective was to hear what other photographers were doing and if their experience with AWB (at least DJI's version of it) was the same as mine.

In my "photography world," I basically have 3 cameras. My Sony point-n-shoot, which I keep in fully auto mode for quick and dirty video and photos. My Canon 70D, which is in fully manual mode 100% of the time, sans White Balance, which I keep in AWB maybe 50% of the time. Naturally, for any client videos, I set the WB manually. And then I have all my drones, which are all ALWAYS fully manual, including setting WB, regardless of what type of shooting I do. I only vary video settings from D-Log to "Normal." So, as you can imagine, I've gotten pretty good at estimating color temps and WB settings.

As you can see in this screen capture, the WB seems too cool to me, with shadows actually appearing as blue.



As you can imagine, this is construction video, so the client doesn't much care about color temperature or WB. But I see it as a good opportunity to hone my color correction skills (which still need work by my estimate). Of all the skills I have, "color correction" is the one thing I wish I was better at. I use Lumetri scopes, but I find that "balancing" the scopes makes for some odd color palates. But I digress....

D

 

[Autcon]

50/50 on the AWB...depends on the job and what clients are looking for...

 

[Donnie Frank]

50/50 on the AWB...depends on the job and what clients are looking for...

I felt the same. I'm shooting construction progress videos for a client every 2 weeks. I've been shooting for them for a little over 2 years and always set WB manually. But last week I thought, "What the heck...they don't care about the color." So I shot AWB. Everything just looked blue to me. Back to manual.

D

 

[Avocet]

I set it at 5600 and rarely move it. AWB for non aesthetic filming - surveying, etc.