D300 Auto WB seem way off ? - DPChallenge Forums

Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra

12/20/2007 10:53:27 AM · #1

I have been spending some time getting familiar with the D300. On my old D70s, I pretty much left it in Auto WB all the time with a few exceptions. I have found that my D300 in Auto WB mode seems to be off most of the time. I have resorted to setting a custom WB setting for every scenario. This isn't that big of a deal, but I kind of liked not having to think about it a whole lot.

Anyone else experiencing goofiness with the Auto White Balance on their D300?

P.S. I'm not complaining, the D300 is mind blowingly awesome! :)

Bear_Music

Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

12/20/2007 10:57:36 AM · #2

How does it perform when setting the supposedly correct WB, i.e. daylight for scenics, tungsten for indoors under incandescent, etc? If these are off, are they all off in the same direction (too warm, too cool, whatever?).

R.

Sony Sonnar T* 35mm f/2.8 ZA

12/20/2007 11:03:37 AM · #3

Well, it always seems to be on the warm side. Indoors under fluorescent lighting it's wayyyyyy to warm. Outdoors under sunlight it's pretty decent. In general though, it's on the warm side. I can probably adjust all the presets to a few degrees cooler and see if that helps.

Great to hear from you Robert. I hope things are going well on the cape.

salmiakki

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

12/20/2007 11:17:42 AM · #4

Honestly speaking, I haven't paid too much attention to the AWB settings. I normally shoot RAW, so if things are a bit on the warm side I adjust in ACR.

I did however, notice that it was very warm when I was using Fluorescent lighting. But, I also put that down to perhaps having my colour saturation set to vivid in addition to the White Balance.(gotta try and make things a bit more colourful up here in the grey North!)

As I said, I haven't experimented with it too much at this stage.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

12/20/2007 11:20:47 AM · #5

This is something you're noticing when processing RAW images perhaps? Do you seen the WB problem when viewing images on the camera LCD?

I ask because the Sony a700 and Nikon D300 have a similar (if not the same) sensor. There have been some issues trying to find RAW converters that recognized in-camera settings for the new sensor. When you see (preview) the image on your camera LCD you're seeing a JPG thumb of it (that's the way I understand it anyway), and the in-camera settings (WB in this case) are being applied.

When you open the image in a RAW converter are you seeing a change in the thumbnail displayed by the software? Where it displays correctly briefly then switches?

I'm not familiar with Nikon and RAW file handling. With the Sony image processing software the RAW images were being handled correctly. When using a third-party converter (Adobe Lightroom for example) the converter wasn't handling the RAW files correctly. I've ended up using SilkyPix for RAW conversion and it seems the best of what I've tried thus far.

May be a moot point...sorry for the rambling if so. :-)

pawdrix

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

12/20/2007 11:53:05 AM · #6

Reset the camera to it's factory presets. There may be conflict somewhere in the way you have set your personal settings. Start from scratch.

Sony Sonnar T* 35mm f/2.8 ZA

12/20/2007 11:53:32 AM · #7

Sakmiakkil: I had similar "vivid" settings, so I will tone that down and see if it helps. I haven't been shooting in RAW because Aperture hasn't been upgraded to support the D3/D300 yet, so JPG is what it's been.

glad2badad: Yah, the images are warm on the camera LCD. I haven't been shooting in RAW, just JPG.

Thank you both for your replies. I was just curious if my D300 as a WB problem or if everyone elses is acting similarly.

salmiakki

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

12/20/2007 11:59:26 AM · #8

Originally posted by jahoward:

Sakmiakkil: I haven't been shooting in RAW because Aperture hasn't been upgraded to support the D3/D300 yet, so JPG is what it's been.

Yeah, what's up with that? I wish they'd get a move on. I'm using ACR at the moment.

Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra

12/20/2007 12:02:44 PM · #9

Originally posted by salmiakki:

Yeah, what's up with that? I wish they'd get a move on.

Amen! It's not really a big deal for me as I tend to shoot JPG unless it is a paying gig, so since it is a part time thing, it hasn't affected me yet, but if they don't get to it soon, it could be trouble.

Bear_Music

Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

12/20/2007 12:16:37 PM · #10

Originally posted by jahoward:

Sakmiakkil: I had similar "vivid" settings, so I will tone that down and see if it helps.

That may well be your problem right there. ANY of the WB settings is gonna look strange if you are bumping up saturation significantly, which is what "vivid" does. So by using "vivid" and then setting custom WB to offset your "problem", you are most likely just removing some (or all) of the vivid changes...

R.

candlerain

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

12/20/2007 12:22:41 PM · #11

My friend bought 2 40D'S and returned them both for the same problem. He hated the WB. Instead he got himself another 1D Mark III which deals with WB a lot better (so he says).

12/20/2007 02:55:49 PM · #12

I love the D300 too much to complain too much about the WB. It could certainly be user error at this point. I am going to try leaving the saturation and a more normal level to see if that helps.

I'm a little old fashioned, but I typically carry a gray card with me, so I should be able to nail the custom WB setting every where I am shooting.

I will test again tonight and report back to see if it made a difference.

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-4.0D

12/21/2007 08:58:38 PM · #13

Hmmm, even in normal saturation mode today, the Auto WB was a little warm even out in daylight.

Nikolai1024

Nikon D300

12/21/2007 09:01:39 PM · #14

//www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=705543

12/21/2007 09:09:17 PM · #15

Originally posted by Nikolai1024:

//www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=705543

Thanks, good tip. I typically like to customize the WB, but also have a tendency to forget to change it when the conditions change. (hence my desire for a good AWB)

Gatorguy

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

12/22/2007 12:50:14 AM · #16

I never use AWB, but from what others are saying, it is much superior to the D200. I have seen tests where using AWB, and shooting the same scene, the differences were staggering depending on where the zoom was. If the zoom was out and there was some blue sky in the photo, the results were much different that zoomed in on the same scene, in this case,some middle eastern architecture.
I have also had inconsistent results and have given up on it.

Message edited by author 2007-12-22 00:51:02.

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

12/22/2007 01:57:20 AM · #17

I am not familiar with the D300, but if you are using spot metering or center weighted metering, then the area that you are metering may be causing the color shift. The Fuji S3 does that sometimes with me when using spot metering.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

12/22/2007 09:01:31 AM · #18

AWB for Dummies here...

R.

ben4345

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

12/23/2007 08:32:48 PM · #19

I use AWB shooting raw, and usually mire to A2 and A4 for flash (for D2xmode1) . This seems to get my AWB dead on. Why not try fine tuning you AWB on the D300, it's SO customizable!