How do you set the EX1 for exteriors?

J

jacotte

Carbonite Member
I can't figure out the right settings to shoot exteriors on the EX1. I usually set the white balance switch to "A" (Which gives me 3900 color tempetature). When I switch to "B" I'm also on 3900 color temperature. That works fine for interiors and tungsten lighting. However when I shoot outside I need to switch to "preset" which gives me some variable color temperature (with mediocre color end results). All I want is a two setting switch: Interior and Exterior. What is the way to get that?
 
A & B are typically manual presets, in that you take a manual white balance in that setting and it remembers it for you.

There are a few ways to achieve your desires, but a simple way is to take a manual WB indoors on A and one outdoors on B and leave them.

Alternatively you could use the preset and a picture profile with white set to about 3000K on one (call it indoors) and one about 5600K (called outdoors). Then switch picture profiles as needed...
 
How do I set up the "presets"? Why isn't there an easy way to do this? I'm from the old school where exterior and interior color temperatures are 3200 for interior Tunsten and 5200 for exteriors. Why can't Sony just make a switch. This is ridiculous. By the way, how do I use presets? I don't understand this whole thing.
 
Its on page 38 of my EX1 manual. Give it a read & see how you go. You seem a little angry it isn't identical to your old camera, but the fact is while it isn't as simple for this particular desire, it is far more flexible than a two setting option...

The reality is, when you just dialed in a 3200K or 5200K dial, your WB was innacurate. Rarely was that the actual WB at the time.
 
I just don't have the time to put a white sheet of paper in front of the camera and fiddle with buttons everytime I try to shoot something.
 
jacotte said:
I just don't have the time to put a white sheet of paper in front of the camera and fiddle with buttons everytime I try to shoot something.
Click to expand...

That's how the pros do it. There is no perfect temp setting. Every time the light changes you need to get a new WB. Whether you have time or not, that's how it's done.
 
jacotte said:
Does this mean I need to have a sheet of white paper handy anywhere I go with my camera?
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Yes. Your camera bag should have enough extra space for a piece of paper. But also a white shirt will do. White paint on a wall, anything white, as long as it's in the same light as your subject. It doesn't work if you just hold paper 6" from your lens. Have your subject hold it. Presets are more of a consumer thing.

Chadfish
 
jacotte said:
I just don't have the time to put a white sheet of paper in front of the camera and fiddle with buttons everytime I try to shoot something.
Click to expand...

So just do what I said. Record one balance in position A and one in position B, then switch between A & B for indoors and outdoors.

Of course, just like your old technique, your WB will pretty much always be wrong but it will be realitively ballpark and maybe acceptable for someone less discerning about accurate colours.
 
One think about my old Quasar VK-743UE tube camera is that it was equipped with a translucent white lens cap, which was also used for setting WB. It worked well. Perhaps a translucent card, designed to be transmissively-neutral, would be a suitable convenient way to WB as-needed.
 
I have not done color ballancing in a long time. Could you run me through the procedure? What buttons to I press and in what order? Also, what is the difference between A/B and the Preset button? Are not all of them presets? Thank you.
 
I think it is time to read a few pages of the manual. Its not hard.
Preset is fixed at a colour temperature, in the EX1 you can override the default preset (3200K I think) by using the picture profile settings.

A & B are settings that remember manual colour balance settings. ie: You take a WB in A, the camera remembers that setting until you take another manual WB with the switch in A. This is the same way all professional ENG cameras work. It is nothing new and nothing unusual.
 
I forgot to add the "tongue firmly planted in cheek" emoticon. I figured it was better than saying "RTFM". ;)
 
For those that can't understand cryptic jokes, there is a paper manual that comes with every EX1 camera.

Also, No you don't have to carry a white card with you. Anything white in your vicinity can be used to white balance. See a guy with a white T-shirt, you can balance off his shirt. TV news cameramen do this all the time. Not super accurate but if you so dislike carrying a white card this will do.
 
I hate using that round thingy on the left side of my transportation device. Why can't I just tell it where to go and it takes me there. 'hello onstar, take me to the automatt, please'. Life is soooo inconvienient
 
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