Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Beginner's Questions => Topic started by: cowboy on April 04, 2009, 02:27:32 pm

Title: Auto WB vs Daylight WB
Post by: cowboy on April 04, 2009, 02:27:32 pm
A number of respected pros suggested that Daylight wb was a better choice than Auto wb. I being the novice that I am began doing it. I suggested it to another photographer (lesser experienced but more opinionated than the pros who made the recommendations) and he came down on me like Thor's hammer. His reasoning is a raw file is a raw file how that file is captured is of no consequense. Since all involved were shooting raw, I assumed that the capture was somehow affected by usin Auto or Daylight prior to forming the raw file. Can someone explain the reason for using daylight vs auto or is it simply the pros dealer's choice?
Title: Auto WB vs Daylight WB
Post by: Panopeeper on April 04, 2009, 02:40:25 pm
The WB selection does not affect the raw data, but it does affect the embedded JPEGs, which are the preview and the thumbnail. A consequence of this effect is, that the WB selection influences the histogram displayed in-camera and the clipping indication, for they are based on the preview JPEG.

Extreme example: if you are shooting in bright daylight and select "incandescant", the histogram may not show any problem, nor does the clipping indication, but the green channels may be horrendeously clipped.

See the related thread Matching RGB histogram with captured RAW data (http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=33469&hl=)
Title: Auto WB vs Daylight WB
Post by: cowboy on April 06, 2009, 11:13:08 am
Quote from: Panopeeper
The WB selection does not affect the raw data, but it does affect the embedded JPEGs, which are the preview and the thumbnail. A consequence of this effect is, that the WB selection influences the histogram displayed in-camera and the clipping indication, for they are based on the preview JPEG.

Extreme example: if you are shooting in bright daylight and select "incandescant", the histogram may not show any problem, nor does the clipping indication, but the green channels may be horrendeously clipped.

See the related thread Matching RGB histogram with captured RAW data (http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=33469&hl=)

Thank you Pano. I understand and I read the references that I could find. Some were even understandable. I appreciate your response.
Title: Auto WB vs Daylight WB
Post by: PeterAit on April 06, 2009, 11:19:06 am
Quote from: cowboy
A number of respected pros suggested that Daylight wb was a better choice than Auto wb. I being the novice that I am began doing it. I suggested it to another photographer (lesser experienced but more opinionated than the pros who made the recommendations) and he came down on me like Thor's hammer. His reasoning is a raw file is a raw file how that file is captured is of no consequense. Since all involved were shooting raw, I assumed that the capture was somehow affected by usin Auto or Daylight prior to forming the raw file. Can someone explain the reason for using daylight vs auto or is it simply the pros dealer's choice?

Your friend is correct. The camera WB setting affects only JPEGs that it generates. This is one of the many beauties of RAW - you can worry about WB later.

Peter
Title: Auto WB vs Daylight WB
Post by: ranmori on May 29, 2009, 08:26:50 pm
simulation credit auto (http://simulationcreditauto.net/)
Quote
PeterAit wrote:
The camera WB setting affects only JPEGs that it generates. This is one of the many beauties of RAW
Really? I didn't know about this