Massive WB issues .....!! <<insert frustration here>>

[rochelle_negle]

I upgraded from the D50 to the D200..

 

I've ALWAYS had issues with WB.

 

I recently bought a WB cap..($20) and custom WB but find even that is a little off most of the time...either too

warm or too cool...I just CAN'T get it right.

 

Is there a special technique to custom WB?

 

Anyone have some tips...I'm so frustrated!

[hans_janssen]

Shoot in NEF.

[cmulcahy]

Use a grey card, and adjust the temperature to your preference.

[phule]

[[is there a special technique to custom WB? ]]

 

Is there any reason you're not shooting RAW (NEF)?

[rochelle_negle]

Yes.

 

Because I find when I shoot in RAW, the pictures are completely drained of color as they are in JPEG.

 

I do understand that when shooting in RAW more post processing is required and the photo needs to be somewhat "restored" to have proper coloring & pop but I am just not trained or aware of how to do that.

 

The pictures look almost vintage like and beige when I shoot in RAW.

 

I know I can't hide the fact that I'm a young photographer here..so any input or support is appreciated.

[wentbackward]

Rochelle,

There are many things you can do in camera, here are two tips for a D300, I hope they work on the D200 at getting good jpgs out first go.

 

1. Make sure settings are default for testing (for instance choose a picture control of standard or neutral and make sure it has not been modified). Set your camera WB to auto (press WB and moving the rear wheel), now adjust the coolness/warmth by pressing WB and scrolling the front wheel. Right will make it cooler (B1 - B6 for blue), left will make it warmer (A1 - A6 for amber)

 

2. Another choice is to set your camera WB to PRE. Press WB and moving the rear wheel, select PRE. Now release WB then press and hold it again until PRE starts to flash. Quickly now point your camera at a blank wall or ideally a correctly positioned neutral card and fire the shutter. The camera should say Good or Gd. Try taking a shot, it should be perfect (perhaps too perfect that it no longer looks natural).

 

You can also adjust the Hue on the picture control settings and you can bracket the white balance.

 

I've found the auto mode won't go lower than 2500K so indoor lighting appears too warm it also blows highlights on the red channel very easily, which is tough to correct in post processing.

[rochelle_negle]

Hey Paul - thanks for the tips.

 

I'm aware of all of that..I sometimes set custom WB with a WB cap ...but find that from time to time, the skin

tones are a little orangey.

 

I think what I have to do is play with settings/custom WB and do some test shots on a human and see what results.

 

I'm going to do that this evening.

[phule]

[[because I find when I shoot in RAW, the pictures are completely drained of color as they are in JPEG. ]]

 

There is little reason to not use the software tools available to automate the post-processing work. It

shouldn't be difficult and Nikon, I understand, provides software with your camera to do just that.

 

Your pictures are not "drained" of anything. Your pictures have the full sensor information available to you.

It's at this point you decide how your final image will look based on your personal requirements and/or style.

 

This is akin to being given the ingredients to a cake, except the software will do the actual cake-assembly for

you. You just need to decide how much sugar, salt, frosting, etc, you're going to use.

 

Relying on the camera to produce your jpg files is akin to going to a bakery. If you don't like the cakes from

the bakery then there's only so much you can do to fix that and, often, you're going to need to start making your

own. The same is true with shooting RAW.

[dan_beauvais]

Hi Rochelle,

 

Have you calibrated your monitor? If not, that is the very first step. That goes a long way to insuring that your monitor is displaying colors accurately. Without this step, you'll have no idea if it's something in the camera or something in the monitor that is causing your color shifts. There are a number of calibration systems available, starting under $100US. The Huey is one low cost example.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Dan in Kitty Hawk

[Matt Laur]

Rochelle: when you use a product like Nikon's ViewNX (which is a free download) or Capture NX2 (which ain't free, but is quite a powerful editing tool - though you can try it for free for 60 days), the in-camera settings that WOULD have produced a JPG are one click away. So, you can shoot to RAW (NEF) files, and have the software render you a JPG just like the camera <i>would</i> have done. But then you can fiddle with the image within a <i>much</i> larger latitude than you can with a JPG, no matter what software you're using.

<br><br>

NEF files are <i>not</i> drained of colors. JPGs out of the camera have contrast, saturation, and sharpness added to them through software running on the camera. You can avoid that one-way trip to a very un-editable JPG by just shooting in RAW, and letting a simple software step reproduce that in-camera processing (it's one click! really!) <i>if</i> you're happy with those results. But you can subtly shift the WB a bit, or deal with other issues as you see fit instead for a given exposure, and not trash the file the way you would with a tortured JPG. Further, software like Capture NX does all of that editing <i>non-destructively</i>. You can always revert back to the original, or to any step along the way.

<br><br>

At the very least, you should be shooting in RAW+JPG so that you at least leave yourself the option of making subtle changes later. It's only a bit of cheap disk space.

[joseph_smith3]

Rochelle, I shoot with a Nikon D 200 and D 300. I do not have nor have I ever had any WB problems. For all of my ourdoor nature and landscape shooting I set my WB to cloudy to add extra warmth to the images. When I tried Daylight, the images were too blueish for my taste as a former slide shooter and Velvia lover. All of the other settings in the camera are pretty much standard except for sharpening.

 

I use Nikon View NX to browse the images on a calibrated monitor and use Capture NX2 to process the images. I shoot NEF all the time. I need to adjust WB in Capture NX only about 1% of the time. I tried auto WB but did not like the results.

 

As others have said, I bet your problem is your monitor and/or its calibration or lack thereof. Digital photography requires a systems approach. It is not just the camera. It involves everything you use in every step of the process.

 

Joe Smith

[bill_keane2]

"Because I find when I shoot in RAW, the pictures are completely drained of color as they are in JPEG.

 

I do understand that when shooting in RAW more post processing is required and the photo needs to be somewhat "restored" to have proper coloring & pop but I am just not trained or aware of how to do that."

 

Something is seriously wrong... Monitor calibration, or a weird setting in-camera. Whether RAW or JPEG, with a D200, if your colors aren't popping (and WB usually right on), something is set incorrectly, or defective.

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

Rochelle,

 

I am surprised that you're having problems with the D200 & WB. I have mine set on AUTO as I shoot mostly outside & I have had very few issues in owning that camera for about 3 years. I think you're making your life difficult in using the WB cap. I have one & I have a WB card - - I'm sure I'll get in trouble for this - - I've not ever used either of them. The D200 has only failed me inside. But fact is that I should have changed the setting for that - - so that's my problem - - not the cameras.

 

My D300 I have set on Daylight - probably because that's what I shoot most of the time.

 

As for color - - how do you have your D200 set up? Depending upon your color mode that can make a huge difference.

 

If you want vibrant colors - - maybe you should shoot it in that setting.....

 

Also - - shooting RAW is the way to go - - once you do that you can play with settings & figure out how you want thing set up.

 

Calibrate your monitor & play with your setting - - I'm sure you'll fast get the color you want

 

JMHO

 

Lil :-)

[oskar_ojala]

A lot depends on the light you shoot in. If the color temperature of the light is very low or if you use fluorescent tubes, then the color will be a bit off. Fix the light and WB will not be a problem and colors will look good.

[rene gm]

Why do you answer questions of someone, who does not provide an example of his problem, but just

complains?

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

Rene - - this is a quote.....

 

"Is there a special technique to custom WB?

 

Anyone have some tips...I'm so frustrated!"

 

Is this not a question? I see a question mark - - don't you????

 

JMHO

 

Lil :-)

[rochelle_negle]

Thanks for all the responses... I think I need to read, re-read and do some testing to determine where the issue lies.

 

Does Adobe Camera Raw provide the same tools as Nikon's ViewNX in terms of editing a raw image?

[bill_keane2]

"Thanks for all the responses... I think I need to read, re-read and do some testing to determine where the issue lies."

 

Do a RESET on the camera. This puts everything back to factory default... You may want to tweak certain settings after, but if the RESET doesn't significantly clear things up, you either have a defective D200, or your monitor is in serious need of calibration. The software options are irrelevant to the problem you are describing.

 

However, if you shoot in RAW, VIEW NX or CaptureNX are the best conversion options. You can edit images in other programs though...

[wentbackward]

... and the answer to everything is not to shoot raw. Take your time and learn these awesome machines. Shooting raw can help you do that. Personally I only shoot raw in situations where I feel 'unsure'. One of the reasons I chose Nikon is the repeatability of operation. Once you know how the camera/lens combo behaves, you can be assured it will always behave that way.

 

Once you're dialled in, you have a huge amount of control in camera. You can even install your own curves and settings into these beasts, removing almost all post processing. I often don't even have to level the picture these days. I do shoot fine and optimise jpg for quality (not size). I've never had an issue getting any in-camera jpgs past any quality control ever and that means more time shooting or searching for inspiration, less time managing images.