Color temperature settings.

[MikePL]

What is the color temperature corresponding to the available settings? I would probably leave the fluorescent sources aside, as there is some green color compensation involved, but the 'sunny', 'shade' and 'incandescent' are of my interest. Is incandescent set to 3200*K? Is sunny considered as 6000*K or maybe 5500*K? What about shade?

[vmic92]

Hi Mike,
I don't know the K temperature of sunny, shade, ...
But I think it's a way to know that with an experimental little work, using the settings available in RawFile Converter EX.
Like this :
Place a colored subject with many colours and with white and grey parts. A photographic chart is better.
Take 2 shoots of this subject with each balance : the first shoot in jpeg mode, the second in raw mode. One jpeg and one raw for each balance.
Then, in your computer, find the better way to view both in the same time : the jpeg and the raw picture.
The FinePixViewer software can tell you what was the balance used in the jpeg picture.
Open the other picture (the picture in raw mode which have the same balance) with RawFile Converter EX. Select the button to choose the color temperature in manual mode. Then, moving the cursor from 2500 K to 9500 K, trye to find the same colors as the jpeg picture. When you find it, the cursor give you the temperature corresponding to this balance.
I never have making this experience. But it seems to be a logical method.
If you do it, thanks to give me a feed back, and/or the results.
Good work...

[MikePL]

I still had no time to make a thorough comparison (with the RAW file method), but I've made some quick test shots with various settings.

The picture was taken during the most common daylight conditions. The temperature is about 6000*K according to my old Gossen Sixtycolor meter (which, I think, has an error margin of 500*K). The auto white balance setting resembles the real view. The sky is greyish-crappy-blue indeed, so it's not some trouble with the camera. Please note that the 'sunny' setting is almost identical to the auto WB, however the blue is a bit more saturated, while the other tones are not altered. So far this seems to be the best of the manual settings, and looks like this is daylight color temp. So for all those who hopped from slide film to digital, this is the way to go.
The 'sun/cloud' setting is too greenish-yellowish. It resembles the colour cast of the early digital CCDs. Not appealing for daylight shots.

I wouldn't neglect the fluorescent settings, however...

The 'fluorescent 2' looks very interesting. The colors are really well saturated. It looks like the strongest competition against 'sunny' setting.

The pictures were taken in a hurry and are by no means a scientific way of proving something. I was just intending to show you that 'auto' and 'sunny' are not the only possible ways to deal with daylight situations. These pivtures have no good reference point so don't yell that my tests are inaccurate. I know that, but I was just very eager to share my first impressions.

http://www.jedrak.com/000/whitebalancetest.jpg

[KPRussell]

Mike,

Thanks for taking your time with putting together the comparison above. There is certainly a large difference between the images.
I am getting into doing portrait and informal family get togethers and I am finding myself tweaking the WB quite often with folks moving around from shade, to sunny, to indoors and have just come to realize thats what it's going to take to have the photograph on the mark.

I've also been doing some Architectural/Exterior shots for magazines and brochures and in bright sunlight notice a difference in temp from the side of the building I'm shooting.

BTW, does shooting with a Polarizer change the temp of the light at all?

Take care...

[jknights]

Approximate Correlated Color Temperature for Various Light Sources
Source Degrees K
Artificial Light
Match Flame 1700
Candle Flame 1850
40-Watt Incandescent Tungsten Lamp 2650
75-Watt Incandescent Tungsten Lamp 2820
100-Watt Incandescent Tungsten Lamp 2865
500-Watt Incandescent Tungsten Lamp 2960
200-Watt Incandescent Tungsten Lamp 2980
1000-Watt Incandescent Tungsten Lamp 2990
3200-Degree Kelvin Tungsten Lamp 3200
Molarc "Brute" with Yellow Flame Carbons & YF-101 Filter (approx.) 3350
"C.P." (Color Photography) Studio Tungsten Lamp 3350
Photoflood or Reflector Flood Lamp 3400
Daylight Blue Photoflood Lamp 4800
White Flame Carbon Arc Lamp 5000
High-Intensity Sun Arc Lamp 5500
Xenon Arc Lamp 6420
Daylight
Sunlight: Sunrise or Sunset 2000
Sunlight: One Hour After Sunrise 3500
Sunlight: Early Morning 4300
Sunlight: Late Afternoon 4300
Average Summer Sunlight at Noon (Washington, D.C.) 5400
Direct Mid-Summer Sunlight 5800
Overcast Sky 6000
Average Summer Sunlight (plus blue skylight) 6500
Light Summer Shade 7100
Average Summer Shade 8000
Summer Skylight Will Vary from 9500 to 30000