Fine-tuning White Balance for jpeg's

[Brownbear]

I'm hoping that someone might be able to enlighten me on how one might choose to use the white balance fine tuning settings when shooting jpegs in practice with the mind to to bring out the best of a sunset or winter scene when using a Nikon camera.

See the chart "Setting WB in the Shooting Menu"

http://masteryournikon.com/2013/01/3...white-balance/

"If you choose to fine-tune any of the color temperature settings after you have selected one of the preset WB values, the color box in the last screen of figure 2 allows you to do so by mired clicks. Each press of the Multi Selector in a given direction is equal to five mired* in that direction—up is green (G), down is magenta (M), left is blue (B), right is amber (A). (* Note: One “mired” is a barely perceptible change in color)."

Thank you.

[pnodrog]

Try heading to the colour that dominates the scene. If it is a sunset with very warm tones you want to enhance or retain move towards amber. If it is a deep blue lake under a blue sky move towards the blue. For emerald hills move towards a green adjustment.

As I shoot RAW and do all fine corrections in PP I never use the fine tune adjust so the above is conjecture based on printing lab experience (40 years ago..... ) and filters used in the days of film. Amber filters were often used for sunsets.

[DanK]

I wouldn't have any confidence that I would get it right. This is one of many reasons I shoot raw. However, I do think about the WB setting anyway because it gives me a starting point. In shooting things like sunsets, I typically set the WB to daylight or 5200K, just so that camera won't try to turn the ambers or blues into whites, and then I adjust to taste in postprocessing.

[Shadowman]

Christina,

The function is similar to those available in lower end cameras, as the manual says "WB can be fine-tuned to compensate for variations in the color of the light source (any light or mixed lighting) or to introduce a deliberate color cast into an image. I added the part in parentheses as an example. I posted a similar inquiry in another post regarding correct WB to choose when using flash indoors and how to compensate for color casts. Your thread has given me a possible solution, however the camera in question was a Canon model.

Back to your question, I wonder if the compensation tool could be used to alter skin tones where you the photographer knows the cmyk or rgb value and want to adjust those values to either an assumed value or to visually adjust until the image reaches the look you want to achieve. I assume you want to use this feature for landscapes and wonder if you trying to correct for chromatic aberrations, sun flare, or hazy values near the horizon?

[Polar01]

Christina it changes the tint on the image, lets say you are shooting people and most times the images are a little cool. So you adjust the white balance by moving what you say is mired clicks, 2 to the right so you warm up the image slightly not as much as going from 5500k (daylight) to 6500k (cloudy). I use it the most at sunrise and sunset you know when you have that touch of pink in the sky, by moving it to enhance those colours. I shoot raw however the WB we used is the "AS SHOT" setting that is used by most raw converters as a starting point in processing so some say it is not worth while, do it in post. You can get some interesting results if you put it. The most important thing to remember is return it to 0 once finished.
If you are shooting jpegs say family snaps add the A+2 to the WB then save the settings in U1 or U2 this way if you have just finished shooting say birds, and all of sudden you have to shoot a family member just turn to either U1 or U2 as you camera will now be set up for family images.

Cheers: Allan

[Polar01]

John I do believe that you can not fine tune the WB the same way that you can with a Nikon, the only way is through adjusting the tint in post.

Cheers: Allan

[Shadowman]

John I do believe that you can not fine tune the WB the same way that you can with a Nikon, the only way is through adjusting the tint in post.

Cheers: Allan

Thanks Allan.

[xpatUSA]

I'm hoping that someone might be able to enlighten me on how one might choose to use the white balance fine tuning settings when shooting jpegs in practice with the mind to to bring out the best of a sunset or winter scene when using a Nikon camera.

See the chart "Setting WB in the Shooting Menu"

http://masteryournikon.com/2013/01/3...white-balance/

"If you choose to fine-tune any of the color temperature settings after you have selected one of the preset WB values, the color box in the last screen of figure 2 allows you to do so by mired clicks. Each press of the Multi Selector in a given direction is equal to five mired* in that direction—up is green (G), down is magenta (M), left is blue (B), right is amber (A). (* Note: One “mired” is a barely perceptible change in color)."

Thank you.

Something not quite right about that note, Christina.

And perception of color change is normally expressed by "Just Noticeable Difference" in units of Delta-E, FWIW.

You see, "mired" (or "mirek") is one MIllion times the REciprocal of a color temperature in Degrees K. So, to a pedant like me, adjusting by mireds means adjusting by color temp and, on a boring color gamut chart, that means going leftwards or rightwards along or parallel to that boring black-body temperature curve i.e. "left is blue (B), right is amber (A)" which is OK.

So, say daylight D55: 1,000,000 / 5500K = 182 mired. Now add 5 mired (1 click right) and we get 187 which converts backwards to a color temperature of 5348K . . . all quite logical . . .

. . . but adjusting "UP" and "DOWN" on a color gamut diagram does not change the color temperature hardly at all, although it does adjust the color, toward green or magenta just like Nikon says. So, "up" and "down" adjustments should really be called something else, IMHO.

None of which affects what you're trying to find out - I hasten to add.

Here's a CIE color diagram:



Notice that there are separate lines of equal color temperature. Going "up" and "down" those lines changes the color temperature not a whit.

[Brownbear]

Thank you to all, truly appreciated. Very helpful to my understanding of this feature.

Paul and Allan, your explanations are wonderful.

Dan... Yes, I've noticed that the daylight setting works well with sunsets. And I also expect that I might end up with some strange results but I'm going to try it, with a safety net of a raw image as back up.

John... Yes, landscapes because I'd like to see if I can capture the true colours of the scene, ie; soft pink sky/distinct shades of green in the trees/blue in the sky etc that is never the same color in the image. However, mostly I asked because someone asked me something about white balance which led me to this camera function and realizing that I didn't know how it works. Fixing CA would be great if possible. I'm truly relieved that Allan answered your question.

Ted... Thank you for the adding on. Very helpful. I can see the challenges of capturing the true WB at the scene with the true colours as the settings confine one to one particular quadrant. All quite logical?


Thanks again to all!

[Polar01]

Christina remember the true WB like the Exposure is what your vision is, also remember you are creating "ART" for yourself not others.

Cheers: Allan