Setting daylight WB on HMC150

[LoneWolf]

I would dearly love the ability to set Kelvin white balance on the HMC150 or at least, a "Daylight WB" preset. A menu option to be able to assign a K color temp WB to one of the WB channels would be fantastic. If you've played with DSLRs you'll be aware they do allow you to configure WB this way.

I find the HMC's WB a little bit too cool for my usage, even on calibrated computer monitors. What I'm currently doing now to get my 'daylight' preset is that I actually take the HMC outside during daytime hours, set one of the WB channels (say, Bch) and AWB it. Then permanently leave it, dialing in B when I need daylight, A for on-the-fly WB work, and PRST configured for ATW.

This approach works well, but just wondering if any of you have found if there a more efficient way to set daylight WB or work around this?

 

[Denwa]

I would like this feature to. Shot a fund raiser with some rock legends on the stage. The lighting was 4400K. Couldn't manual WB due to the colored gels. Now we have to fix in post.

 

[averan]

interesting.
i've found the preset 5.6k wb to be too warm, always giving me red faces, but the ATW and manual wb definitely go too blue.

i've started using the ATW more, assigning it to Ach wb, and assigning one of the user preset buttons for ATW Lock. then i adjusted the Color Temp Ach in my scene files to -2.
the ATW balances less towards blue than a manual wb, for which i've adjusted the Color Temp Bch to -4.

this way, if i have time to wb manually, i set my Bch and what i shoot is what i see, ie 5.6k.
and if i'm in a rush, i use ATW on Ach and lock it after it adjusts and get the same effect.

 

[MadHMC150]

Honestly, I use the presets 3.2k for inside and the 5.6k outside and have been happy with the results. I do use tungsten for indoor lights so the 3.2k is perfect.

I found using the AWB and other methods have more undesirable results. 4400k lights would be a challenge. Scene files also effect the look of the WB, so it depends...

 

[Mike Harvey]

Ummmm... there is a daylight preset. It's the 5.6k preset. Set the camera to "Preset" on the A/B/Preset switch, and press the white balance button to switch between 5.6k and 3.2k.

 

[tikigod19]

Am I going crazy or can I not find this WB Button anywhere?!

 

[tikigod19]

Oh there it is... Hidden on the front!

 

[Danny1280]

Another way to cheat a warmer manual white balance is to use a warm card--a slightly blue tinted white balance card that tricks the cam to go a little warmer. I made my own by printing the tints on photo paper on an inkjet printer and mounting them on foamcore. Works pretty well, and you can try different tints of blue to see what gets you the best results.

 

[Denwa]

Same place it is on the 2/3" ccd cameras. lol That's one thing I like about Panasonic's small cameras. The switches and buttons are placed pretty much where they are on their big brothers.

Just so you know. ABB (black balance) is also done through the WB switch. You hold it in till the iris closes and you see ABB on the LCD screen. Highly suggest black balanicng the camera after eevry power on.

 

[tikigod19]

Just so you know. ABB (black balance) is also done through the WB switch. You hold it in till the iris closes and you see ABB on the LCD screen. Highly suggest black balanicng the camera after eevry power on.

Do you need a black card to do this? I've never had a camera that requires a black balance before...

 

[hendosan]

No, black balance is handled in camera (you'll notice the frame go black for a second, and I assume the camera just closes the iris).

 

[D.R. Gates]

switch between 5.6k and 3.2k.

If only all the color temps we come across fell easily into those two settings.

As for my experience, I too was finding the Panny skewing blue when using the selected presets. It doesn't help that the color LCD gives off a lousy representation of the actual white balance it's recording. When I just let the camera figure it out itself, using ATW, the footage looked much more natural.

 

[tikigod19]

If only all the color temps we come across fell easily into those two settings.

As for my experience, I too was finding the Panny skewing blue when using the selected presets. It doesn't help that the color LCD gives off a lousy representation of the actual white balance it's recording. When I just let the camera figure it out itself, using ATW, the footage looked much more natural.

I really like the ATW function when in a rush. Am i right in saying that if I walk into a different room with different light, this ATW will change the white balance (unless ATW LOCK is enabled)?

With regard to the blue ting that I've heard the LCD gives footage, is this also replicated in the eye piece? If not I suppose its good practise to set your colour up using the eye piece and then open the LCD when finished?

 

[scapsinger]

For stage lighting during a performance, auto white balance could be disastrous. The theater lights themselves are very frequently 3200K (not always, but often) and so using the 3200K preset can give you a very close shot at actual white balance. This will allow any gel color to come out fairly close to actual on the recording.

I use the 5600K and 3200K presets all the time if I don't have a chance to actually white balance. They give me a close enough approximation so that if it's not what I want, I have at least gotten a CONSISTENT coloration on my image. If you run auto white, then your white is probably changing CONSTANTLY and any adjustments you make in post will have to be done carefully and constantly across your clip(s).

As for using the A and B settings to make your own custom 5600K and/or 3200K presets, keep in mind that not all light is equal...indoor lights aren't always the same and the light from the sun changes throughout the day (well, the appearance of that light changes, anyway).

Your only real smart option at all times is to carry a white/warm/cool balance card kit and balance it when you change locations. It really doesn't take that long, and unless you're doing run and gun news coverage, it will always be worth the extra effort.

Of course, white t-shirts or a blank sheet of white paper can also substitute when you're in a hurry.

But back to topic...I'm pretty happy with the results I've gotten from the presets. No complaints here. Having an option to tweak the temperature would be nice, but it's not something I plan to write a feature request about, either.