The term "white balance" comes from the world of video images that uses a device (waveform monitor) to match or "balance" signals from the camera red, green and blue channels to obtain clear whites in different conditions lighting was done, you know balancing. In this article we use "white balance" for digital cameras in a similar way: the process of measuring your temperature light source color precisely, according to lighting conditions and the use of theseInformation correctly balance your whites and colors.
The symptoms of sore white balance
If the camera's white balance is set wrong, or if the camera selected the wrong algorithm to measure the color temperature, then you will have a color to see on screen will be either slightly blue, light orange or light green. A low color temperature of light shifts toward red, a color temperature of light shifts towards the high blue. Different light sources emitTemperatures slightly different color and then the color cast. Let's take a look.
What is the color temperature and how is it measured?
The color temperature is actually the heat from a light source, and the effect that the temperature is issued for the intensity of a particular color in the visible spectrum. For example, a 200-watt light bulb intensity than at the end, orange / red, blue and purple and shows very little intensity. Your photo makes it look "hot."Daylight has an equivalent of the whole spectrum, so that you see purple and blue with the same intensity of oranges and reds. But in the shade or covered with a heavy sky has more intensity in the blue / purple, so that the oranges and reds will have very little strength. It makes your photo look "cool."
Here are some examples of color temperatures of conventional light sources:
1500 K: Candle Light
2800 K: 60 W light bulb
3200 K: sunrise and sunset (being hit bySmog)
3400 K: tungsten lamp (ordinary household bulb)
4000-5000 K: cool white fluorescent tubes
5200 K: bright midday sun
5600 K: electronic flash.
6500 K: cloudy sky
10000-15000 K: deep blue clear sky
Newer light sources such as fluorescent and other artificial lighting, require further adjustments for white balance, because they can make your photos appear green or magenta.
How does a digital camera auto-detect and blackBalance?
The camera looks for a reference point in the scene that represents white. It will then calculate all other colors from this white point and the spectrum of known colors. The RGB data from the sensors is measured by a predetermined number of numbers and equations to figure out what setting the white balance for most work properly. Remember, the automatic white balance, taking care to observe the color of white will be displayedWhite in the photo.
Set the white balance the camera on AWB will provide color accuracy in many conditions. The camera adjusts the white balance of 4000K - 7000K with a best guess algorithm. Auto white balance is a good choice for situations where the light changes over time and the speed is a problem (for example, animal photography, sports photography). However, you should avoid using auto white balance settings in the following situations:
1) the scene is strongly influencedby a color
2) The color accuracy is imperative
3) You are photographing scenes very hot or very cold (eg a sunset)
White Balance Presets
Most digital cameras have white balance presets. These presets work well when:
1) The light source corresponds to one of the preset white balance
2) the scene is heavily dominated by one color
Let the most common default options:
Tungsten - "Tungsten" is the namethe metal used to produce the filament of the bulb. The color temperature of this setting is fixed at 3,000 K. Use the best: at home at night. Otherwise, the show will prove to be blue. Creative Use: Set the exposure compensation to -1 or -2, and use this approach in the light of day and night to simulate.
Fluorescent - The color temperature of this setting is fixed at 4,200 K. Best use: neon, mercury, HMI and metal halide bulbs in your garage, stadiums and parking lots used.Otherwise, the show will prove to be purple.
Daylight - The color temperature of this setting is fixed at 5200 K. Best use: studio strobes. Otherwise, the risk may have a slight blue tinge.
Rain - The color temperature of this setting is fixed at 6,000 K. Best use: direct sunlight and rain. This setting is your image with an orange color, which is often desirable in warm landscapes and portraits. Creative Use: sunsets.
Shade - The colorTemperature of this setting varies from 7,000 K - 8,000 K. Best use: shooting in shade, no direct sunlight (cloudy), backlit scenes. Otherwise, the show turns out to be orange. Creative use: direct sunlight - it warms your photos even more!
Flash - The color temperature of this setting is fixed at 5,400 K. This is almost identical with the clouds, but sometimes redder depending on the camera model. Best use: a cloudy sky. Otherwise, the display will turn red.
