Setting WB in E-M1

[frode_inge_helland]

<p>It seems impossible to set white balance in E-M1. It is not difficult to find it in the menu. But it is greyed out and completely inaccessible. I have tried to change other menu settings to get access, but no. The control panel, invoked by pressing OK, is seemingly stuck to the external flash settings.<br>

Which leads to the next problem: <br />My FL-35 will not operate on E-M1, but it works perfectly on my E-P3.<br />I must have pressed some wrong button - but which - and where?</p>

[J.W. Wall]

<p>I have the E-M10, not E-M1, but I did notice that several settings are not available if you have the program dial in iAuto. Try program or one of the A-S-M settings....Hope that works.</p><div></div>

[frode_inge_helland]

<p>Thank you JW,<br />I have tried all the settings on that dial, but with no success.<br />I am wandering if it might be a bug.</p>

[J.W. Wall]

<p>Here's another idea, the color picker affects it -- try Google:<br>

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3576255</p>

<p>http://robinwong.blogspot.com/2013/10/olympus-omd-e-m1-review-comparison-with.html<br>

[find: white balance]</p>

<p> </p>

[GerrySiegel]

I don't see how the Color Creator(CC) display can be part of the problem even though WB gets to be set in AUTO so the book says when you actually do change the color via dial and manipulate that CC mode; and I checked by setting Color Creator wheel to neutral or in no change mode and can still access WB OK.

 

There are three ways I know of to get to the WB to move it to a different stored value like incandescent and AUTO.

 

Here is one way as described in the manual as first method to use. Try this for the heck of it. In the gear menu (see page 101 on lever function, set the lever to mode 1, see right hand of chart for what should appear when rear dial in down lever mode and you use back dial). Once set and OK'd, now try turning lever down ( what Oly calls position 2). OK, If you will now turn the rear dial either way you should bring up a display on bottom. And it should show all the preset WB choices including AUTO and 500K and fluorescent and so on. If not, hmm something is funny going on.....

 

There have of course been bugs. I had one off the bat, but explore the foregoing before you e mail the company or send it in. ( I had to ship mine to East Coast from Hawaii. They replaced the main chip and upgraded firmware.)I still find the manual excruciatingly mysterious in its language, and the choices can give me a headache. Too bad, nice camera but too many choices sometimes. I may be slow to grasp them but I am not alone.

 

The second ways to change principal values like WB are via the Super Control Panel as you know, which should not be "stuck".

 

 

The third way I found is a WB mark or function on what Olympus calls Live Control (see page 30). Live control when activated gives you functions on a strip to the right and the settings of that function like WB on the bottom of the LCD. One of the functions on the right side then is WB and it can be scrolled to and settings set up via arrows or dials. Press OK and it is set or wait 8 seconds and it sets automatically ( page 30 of Eng manual)

Gets to be confusing for sure.

Oh, and my FL 36R flash works with no problem on the EM-1 as well as my Lumix camera hotshoe. You could try wiping down the contacts on camera just in case there is some dust or sliver, even though that is unlikely. Same here for my FL 50 and even the old FL 20...so I can't explain what is wrong...no sign that there is any connectivity or inconsistent flashes or ...?

[frode_inge_helland]

<p>Thank you so much JW and Gerry.<br />Now I have something to study in the Christmas.<br />Merry Christmas to both of you here from Norway, this distant corner of the world.<br />Frode</p><div></div>

[www.philwinterphotography.]

<p>Here's another way to set WB, which you may find easier. Go to the gear menu, go to Button/Dial/Lever and click OK. Then select Button Function. Click OK. You will see a list of the buttons available. Scroll to the button you want, click OK, then scroll until you see WB. Click OK. You've just assigned WB to the button of your choice. When you press the button - in my case, FN1, you will see the WB options at bottom of the screen. Just turn the front wheel to select the WB you want. It's easier to do than to explain it. </p>

<p>You can also choose the WB (and almost anything else) from the Super Control Panel. But that requires pressing the OK button, navigating to the WB option, and clicking OK again just to view the WB options. </p>

<p>As mentioned above, moving the lever down, then turning the front control wheel changed ISO, and the rear wheel changes WB (unless, of course, you have assigned the control wheels in lever position 2 to something else).</p>

<p>The E-M1 is a complex camera, but once you get it set up, you will rarely have to go into the menus. And you never have to take your eye from the EVF to make any changes - even bracketing and HDR. My problem is remembering what I have assigned to what.</p>

[frode_inge_helland]

<p>Thank you very much Phil.<br />Something is rotten in the kingdom of Denmark:<br />In the SCP the WB is greyed out whatever I do. The only way is through the Live Panel, which is too limited.<br />And when I try to invoke the SCP i get stuck in the Flash menu - which do not work.<br>

This should be very simple. But i isn't. <br />I wonder why.</p>

[elliot1]

<p><em>"I must have pressed some wrong button - but which - and where?"</em><br>

Possibly.<br>

Not sure why those options are grayed out for you but whenever I have had a settings issue that I could not resolve, resetting the camera to factory default setting usually corrected the issue. I know this can be a pain because you have to go through and redo all you settings but it may resolve your issue.</p>

[nathaniel_alpert]

<p>Inge,<br>

Do I understand correctly? Are ypu mounting a Canon FL-35 lens? If so, I wonder if that is the source of your problem. If so, it is not really a problem, if you shot in raw mode. Then you can set the white balance in post. Nothing is lost.<br>

Hope this helps.</p>

<p> </p>

[frode_inge_helland]

<p>Nathaniel,<br>

I only shoot in .jpg + .orf with original lenses, like the 12-40, 12-50, 50-200, 7-14 etc.<br>

But I think fundamental issues as adjusting WB should be simple and starightforeward. I love the MF ring on 12-40 and wish for the aperture adjustment be on the future lenses also - time setting on camera, not only in the menus.</p><div></div>

[nathaniel_alpert]

<p>The E-M1 provides ready access to all commonly used adjustments, including WB, via the touch screen and rear dials. You toggle between the adjustment screen and live view with a button the left rear of the camera body. There is no need whatsoever to dive into the menus.<br>

It is reaally worth understanding this feature. Once understood it is most convenient, betterr than any camera I have owned.<br>

Hope this helps.</p>