D 300 White balance issue

[erixphoto]

Has any one else expeienced the following and if so, how did you correct? I

was shooting martial arts yesterday inside against a back drop. Camera was set

at ISO of 1250, aperture priority at F2.8 1/640 in Raw, no flash, used

continuous lighting. I was shooting high speed (CH - 6FPS). Problem was

different frames in the sequence had different white balance. One or two would

be dead on and several would be much yellower. I tried both auto WB and

preset. I know I can fix in Photoshop, but would like to get right in camera.

I have shot this set-up several times before and not had this issue.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance,

 

Eric

[joe_a2]

Eric....If you are getting a variation in exposures, and the light isn't changing, my first guess is that you are not storing the preset WB after the measurement. Many of those changes require a final press of Done or OK, so perhaps double-check your procedure. I know I sometimes back out of a change without storing it. Just an idea.

[peter_koralis]

Don't use auto WB.

With a manual setting, you shouldn't have problems unless the light source changes / fluctuates (eg fluros)

[glen_berry]

Eric - someone much more knowledgeable than I will likely have a better answer, but here's my take on it. From what I've read and understand in the manual, (I've only had the camera for 5 days) the camera doesn't appear able to accommodate 6 fps while shooting in RAW due to buffer capacity. I understand it's possible in JPEG, but not RAW. As I said, someone else will in all probability have a more detailed answer.

[tonybeach]

"Problem was different frames in the sequence had different white balance. One or two would be dead on and several would be much yellower."

 

> Hi Eric,

 

You are most likely experiencing fluctuations in the electrical cycle of the lighting. To get it right in camera you will have to set your exposures based on the 60 hertz cycle (50 hertz cycle in Europe); so you have to select Manual Exposure mode and choose 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, etc. Most people don't realize that when using Aperture priority you get slight variations in shutter speeds; so this this should avoided when getting exact shutter speeds is critical.

 

"...the camera doesn't appear able to accommodate 6 fps while shooting in RAW due to buffer capacity. I understand it's possible in JPEG, but not RAW."

 

Hi Glen,

 

That is wrong. The camera shoots just as many fps in RAW as JPEG, but the buffer fills up faster so you can't do it for as long. There are factors that can adversely effect fps such as Active D-Lighting, High ISO NR (when shooting at high ISOs) and 14 bit RAW; but 12 bit RAW is not one of them.

[tholte]

Anthony, How in the heck do you know all this stuff? You are one knowledgeable guy and I have learned a lot by reading your answers to posted questions. When I do bust loose and get a D300, I will be ahead of the game thanks to your posts. Muchas Gracias!

[elliot1]

I bought the D300 based on Tony's posts/comments about it. I am thrilled with the camera!

[glen_berry]

Anthony - thanks for that - luckily I prefaced my comments by saying "someone much more knowledgeable than I..." whew - thought I might be on the hook there for a minute or two. I still haven't taken a shot with my D300 - haven't finished the owner's manual and instructional DVD yet, and I want to have a little more intimate knowledge of the camera before I start blasting away. Thnaks again.

[tonybeach]

Hi Glenn,

 

Not to worry, I only meant to correct your information and certainly didn't intend to offend anyone.

 

Regarding your new D300, congratulations and I'm sure you will love this camera. Just start out by setting it to Neutral Picture Control, Center weighted (Average) metering, Aperture Priority, Auto WB, ISO 200, +.7 EC, 12 bit lossless compressed NEF, and go from there. Open the images in NX and dial them back half to a full stop using the EC tab and select D2x Picture Mode with Auto Sharpening, Contrast, and Saturation and I can just about guarantee that you will be blown away. It's a piece of cake.

[glen_berry]

Anthony - I'm going to try exactly what you recommended. I've never shot NEF, so that will be new - I've read some negative comments about NX running slow, but I'll load it and follow your instructions to a T. One question though - @ page 10 of my manual, all 51 focus points appear to be visible in the "Viewfinder Display" diagram. At page 65 the manual indicates "only active focus point is displayed in the viewfinder. Remaining focus points provide info to assist focus operation". I don't see 51 focus points in my viewfinder at anytime, (although they are visible in the top LCD panel) and assume these are hidden, save the one mentioned @ page 65. Correct?

[penn10]

Hey Glen, the image on page 10 is for illustration purposes. It simply shows your what is where, doesn't necessarily mean they will all be displayed at the same time.

 

In order to see the focus points, you will need to change your AF Area Mode (Page 64) to Auto Area AF. It's a rotating dial in the back. By changing to Auto Area, camera will automatically select focus points and briefly display them when shutter half pressed.

 

Also, you have to be in Single-Servo mode (another dial at the side of the camera).

 

Good luck!

[erixphoto]

I appreciate all the responses, altough I'm still not convinced I have the right answer. I spoke with Nikon this morning and altough they don't have an answer they did say if it was the frequency of the lights it would show an issue on every picture in the sequence. It would also seem to me that if the frequency were the issue auto white balance should be able to correcect for each frame. Also, I have shot this exact setup several times before under flouresant lights with no white balance issues.

Thanks again, I'm supposed to call Nikon again tonight, I'll let you know if I find anything.

Eric

[tonybeach]

"I spoke with Nikon this morning and although they don't have an answer they did say if it was the frequency of the lights it would show an issue on every picture in the sequence."

 

> Hi Eric,

 

The person you spoke to didn't know what they were talking about.

 

Here's a sequence using the same settings as you used under a fluorescent light.<div></div>

[tonybeach]

Different lighting and different EV can make the problem more severe, using Auto-WB doesn't make a difference because the light can change from the time the WB is determined (while the camera is metering) and the time the exposure is actually taken.<div></div>

[erixphoto]

Well, Anthony, those histograms are hard to refute. Now I'm a believer. I am guessing my origianl assumption that the camera can re-adjust for every frame in a highspeed sequence is incorrect. If the camera takes redings only at the beginning, I can definately see how the lighting frequency could be an issue.

Thanks to all for your input,

Eric

[douglas_hill1]

Informative responses. There's no obvious way to synchronize with the variations of light, and with shutter speeds shorter than 1/120 you lose the benefit of averaging. If you have control over the lighting situation, you could switch to electronic ballasts which have a much higher frequency and eliminate the stroboscopic effect. I play table tennis in two different gyms, one with electronic ballasts and the other with older lighting, and tracking the ball is much easier without the flicker.