Administrators Andrew Reid Posted January 16, 2020 Administrators Share Posted January 16, 2020 Auto WB priority set to white should give white tones to white surfaces (like a white wall) under warm interior incandescent lighting. For me it usually gives yellowish-green. Does anyone have a work-around? I have resorted to using the custom presets (1-3) instead. These seem to capture true white, whereas the AWB system is all over the shop. Sometimes it will get it right, but you could be stuck with yellow or orange for 10 seconds before it changes. Maybe certain metering settings crap it up, I don't know. What I do know is that Sony has the worst automatic white balance system on the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrsisson Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 I find Sony’s metering (regardless of the setting used) to be similarly useless.. Especially in photo mode. I’m not buying anymore in the future. Spec’s be damned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members BTM_Pix Posted January 16, 2020 Super Members Share Posted January 16, 2020 1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said: Does anyone have a work-around? Remember this from the other week I originally got this years ago as there were a couple of stadiums on my beat with mixed sets of floodlights that produced a horrible light that all manner of white balance settings couldn't tame and this made a much better fist of it. I use it with the Pockets for ProRes but its just generally a useful tool, especially if you're shooting the same thing with differemt brands. I'll do an A/B with it on an a6500 tomorrow if you want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted January 16, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted January 16, 2020 Ah yes I do remember it Gotta be worth a try hasn't it?! Maybe I can bundle these with Pro Color ? When Sony bought Minolta the bought years of film colour science. After the A900 they trashed it all and still 10 years later, it's bollocks If any normal people put in a performance like this in our jobs - breaking something then not fixing it for a decade, would we still have a job to go to afterwards? Sony manager's must have a lot of faith in their colour science department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 33 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said: Remember this from the other week I originally got this years ago as there were a couple of stadiums on my beat with mixed sets of floodlights that produced a horrible light that all manner of white balance settings couldn't tame and this made a much better fist of it. I use it with the Pockets for ProRes but its just generally a useful tool, especially if you're shooting the same thing with differemt brands. I'll do an A/B with it on an a6500 tomorrow if you want? Ah, I have something similar lying around here somewhere. Believe this: https://www.expodisc.com/ Never actually used it much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members BTM_Pix Posted January 16, 2020 Super Members Share Posted January 16, 2020 25 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said: If any normal people put in a performance like this in our jobs - breaking something then not fixing it for a decade, would we still have a job to go to afterwards? Ironically, the very day after I was wafting that thing around proved that when it comes to politicians that rule certainly doesn't apply either ! 1 minute ago, Cinegain said: Ah, I have something similar lying around here somewhere. Believe this: https://www.expodisc.com/ Never actually used it much. The Expodisc balances a bit warmer IIRC One of those times when the knock off is actually a bit better! Cinegain 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted January 16, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted January 16, 2020 Seems to get good reviews https://www.amazon.co.uk/ExpoDisc-Neutral-Portrait-Balance-Filter/dp/B00GUQJZCW/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=expodisc&qid=1579208829&sr=8-3 "A must for colour blind photographers!" Or colour blind cameras for that matter! IronFilm, ND64 and Cinegain 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Or you can get Santa's I mean... Peter's https://petergregg.com/a-better-white-balance/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted January 16, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted January 16, 2020 If only there were a USB version which would override the camera's own system. A lot of chat at DPReview about AWB on Sonys https://***URL removed***/forums/thread/4246574 Their solution... Shoot raw ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted January 16, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted January 16, 2020 Another thing I have noticed is multi-metering doesn't work during a recording if you shoot movies from a stills mode. So the metering mode changes from the default stills one, when you hit the record button, to something like center or full screen average - usually changing the exposure along with it. Bonkers. Emanuel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emanuel Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 6 hours ago, Andrew Reid said: Their solution... Shoot raw ? Well, I've heard raw can compromise your highlights if you white balance it, so... ; ) Isn't it, @CaptainHook? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members BTM_Pix Posted January 17, 2020 Super Members Share Posted January 17, 2020 On 1/16/2020 at 8:14 PM, Andrew Reid said: Ah yes I do remember it Gotta be worth a try hasn't it?! OK, nothing elaborate but did these today with an A7Rii. All standard profile, straight out of the camera JPEGs. To make a reference, this is a daylight one, which the AWB does OK with and as expected is pretty much identical to manually white balancing it using the knock off Expodisc. This one is using AWB. And this is the one using the Expodiscalike. To make it make a more challenging comparison, I set the X-Rite up against a white wall adjacent to the window with the left side being lit by a lamp and the right side being lit by daylight. This is it with the AWB. And this is it after setting a manual WB with the Expodiscalike. The AWB is slightly cooler and the Expodiscalike is actually a more accurate representation of how it looked to the eye. Putting the dropper on the same colour patch on the X-Rite, you can see the broad difference in RGB values. AWB on top, Expodiscalike below. So its a subtle difference but even on a quick not exactly that scientific test its definitely there and of course the advantage is it will be locked in for the whole shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted January 18, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted January 18, 2020 The problem I am having with the Sony AWB is under incandescent light and also when there is a mix of artificial light. I'll show you what I mean... Just digging out the file. Here is how AWB Priority = White is supposed to look And here is AWB Priority Ambient, doing it's job to keep the ambient shade of warm retro light bulbs... But AWB Priority = White is very useful, as it maintains a Leica-like neutral white, allowing you to tweak the temperature in post. It is as useful for S-LOG as it is for Creative Styles. S-LOG has some WB baked in too, so that neutral look is important. Here is AWB Priority = White gone wild... It has done a piss stain balance. It is not a nice ambient amber or white. It is neither. Here is how it should look: And it did get there. Just took a lot of coaxing. The reliability needs fixing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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