why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

alpi69

alpi69

Veteran
videocamers do need whitebalance. you can also live with the presets 3200k and 5600k like in film (daylight and artificial light).

but on all the digital stillcams i held in my hands you do not need to do so. this fact came to me suddenly and now i am asking myself...why not? do they have a better "autowhitebalance" or is it the same and it doesn´t matter on one shot, but in consitstent shots (25 fps) the colours change too much without clear reference.....??
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

most digital still cameras do have whitebalance buried in the menus somewhere uesually containing presets of "indoor and outdoor.. and cloudy" and other prosumer garble like that, but they are perspectively 3200k,  5600k and such  .. some of the more professional ones have an actuall balance functon .

otherwise they just shoot what they see.. alot of didgital pictures are way off in color because of this.. not alot of people know how or when to white balance.. but the same is true for still film cameras. people use daylight film indoors, and indoor film outdoors, and the colors are all messed up because of it.. usually its daylight film indoors, and all the walls are orange and such.. i think its just an overlooked thing is all.
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

A lot of "consumer" level digicams do auto white balance, keeping the user unaware of the function entirely. All cameras have to be white balanced, not because the camera's sensors are inconsistent, but because light is.
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

Most people use 5600K film indoors, but they also use 5600K light. Built in flashes...
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

:) this is true.. the first 4-6 feet from the camera where the flash reaches with authority when it goes off are usually close to being somewhat balanced. its the people and objects in the nearbye background that are chumped.. :P
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

Yeah... but then again, if you can see the birthday cake, it's all good ;D
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

I think orange indoor shots are just something accepted in the public subconcious. We've all been seeing so many orange toned indoor shots for all our lives (those of us born pre-digital), that I think we've become somewhat aclimated to the tone in snapshots.

Like how shakey handheld cameras and jump cuts were previously seen as jarring to the audience, now they're part of our visual lexicon.
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

lol..  *cough..cough* the bourne supremecy *cough*


i can see the director now..  " does anyone have a jackhammer around here..?     what!.. well just start convulsing violently, and you! over there! .. yeah you.. take this rubber mallet, and hit the side of the lense with it.... no .. harder! "

lol i did like the film despite the overachiveing handheld style though. and very true about the color just being waned into acceptance.. alot of stuff is .. it used to be .. dontblow stuff out.. now its not glitsy enough if you dont.
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

And of course, Photoshop is any digital camera owner's best friend.
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

I'm still have problems with jittery camera movements and fast motion jump cuts. They just don't jive with my motor! I recently turned down a unpaid gig (perhaps the unpaid part made my decision) to do this kind of camera work on a sit-com spec piece. This is not saying I don't see the value of high shutter speeds (Gladiator) or fast cuts to move the action along but that I still find that jittery motion done intentionally just does not do it for me and I can forgive such camera work in a real live situation because it's real life and people have no choice in the matter. Just my 2 cents!
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

Well, yeah, and also the type of shutter you're seeing in Gladiator and Saving Private Ryan definately translates differently onto film then it does onto videotape. It doesn't bother me as much in a feature when someone uses an small shutter angle, but on video it just makes it look so much more...video.

Today's trivia question: what's the landmark film that opened the door for handheld camera and jumpcutting as a technique rather then an impediment?
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

quick stab... Blair Witch?
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

Something by von Trier? (Dancer in the Dark?)

I hope it wasn't Blair Witch; that movie was abysmal.
 
Re: why do we not whitebalance stillcams?

hmmmm...

just think about it...even with YOUR EYES, you'll often SEE a yellow dominant light with normal indoor lighting...
 
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