On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 15:05:50 GMT, "Renee" wrote:

SNIP....

Here's the link if you're interested

http://tinyurl.com/42tad

When I first got my current camera, I read in a generic digital photography
book that it's advisable to avoid using AWB indoors. I don't have the source
of reference or exact quote because I no longer have the library book I
checked out. It didn't mention a camera brand, it just said to avoid it
indoors. It also said that AWB works best outside in sunny conditions. The
author was a professional photographer with a much more sophisticated camera
than I own, so I took his advice to heart.


SNIP

That's all besides the point, since here's what I've been wondering:

After perusing the internet, it's my understanding now that you only do a
custom white balance adjustment indoors when you're shooting without a
flash. Maybe that's what you all meant, and I somehow missed the point. Is
this correct? I've only played around with the presets and haven't tried to
do a custom white balance with my camera yet. I wonder whether the custom
adjustment will work, as someone mentioned, on a white spot instead of using
a white paper or gray card. A spot would be much more convenient for casual
shooting. Will it work if the white spot doesn't completely fill the center
of the frame? I guess you could try zooming in on it first so it does. I'll
have to give that try when I get a chance. Meanwhile, does anyone else use
custom white balance with the Canon S1 IS, when and how do you use it, and
what kind of results do you get?

TIA

Renee


Renee,
I'll do my best to answer your question(s) but I don't own a
Canon S1 IS, though I do own a G2, A40, A60, A70, & a Digital
Rebel/300D DSLR. My suspicion is that the author of the book you
referred to probably had most of his/her experience with a DSLR. For
reasons, I can't explain, it seems that most DSLR's set to AWB don't
do as well as P&S (Point & Shoot) digital cameras in AWB mode.

My Digital Rebel/300D is a good example of this. Even under
100% incandescent lighting, it almost always has a yellow tone, this
surprisingly remains true even if I set it's WB preset to
incandescent. With the incandescent preset, it's better but still too
yellowish. Incorrect WB is also common under almost all fluorescent
lighting, again in both AWB or Fluorescent WB preset. The solution in
both cases is to set a custom WB.

Now as to my P&S digital camera experience (mostly with
Canon), AWB seems to do far better under all situations than my DSLR.
The same is also true of using the preset WB settings such as tungsten
which I routinely set when indoors under mixed lighting. By mixed
lighting, I refer to daylight coming in from the windows & the use of
some incandescent indoor lights being on, such as a lamp over the
dinner table. The Canon S1 IS falls into the P&S category, though
it's a rather specialized camera due to it's 10x IS lens. No insult
intended but it's largely an A70 with a much nicer lens, thus I would
expect it to act much the same as my A70 with regard to AWB
performance. As stated, my P&S cameras do very good in AWB in 90% of
the lighting situations that I use them in. Thus I generally leave
them in AWB mode with the exception of mixed indoor/outdoor lighting
situations.

In most cases when you set a custom WB, only 3/4 of the
picture need have a white or gray card in the frame. I rarely use the
gray side of my white/gray card because I find the white works better
especially in low lighting indoor situations. As to what you use if
you don't have a white/gray card with you, this can be a little
tricky. Generally most places have copy/printer paper & that is
generally close enough to a neutral white to work well. In fact, I
always keep 2 or 3 sheets of quality white printer paper folded & in
each of my camera bags for just this reason.

A word of caution with using a white card or paper to set your
WB: Get the exposure correct! Too dark or too bright (saturated) &
your WB setting may not be accurate. It would be nice if my DSLR had
3 custom WB settings instead of just 1. They could call them custom
user WB presets, (Canon I hope your listening).

Bottom line, most P&S just seem to do fine with AWB in most
situations, so find out what works well for you & your camera & use
that. Also in situations where AWB does not do well, note the
lighting that was being used & if possible revisit the location & use
different WB presets to see which works best. Also take a few shots
after setting a custom WB too. Check the results & use what works
best.

With more & more homes & businesses converting to much more
energy efficient lighting such as compact fluorescent lamps, having a
custom WB & knowing how to use it can be important. My house now has
about 95% warm white fluorescent illumination. It does not take too
long for them to pay for themselves in energy savings which in turn
reduces air pollution often produced in power generation.

We (all human beings) have made such amazing technological
strides forward & yet we are nearly all still using 100 year old
internal combustion engines to power vehicles. Sorry, I got off topic
but I do hope we are able to pressure our governments & industry to
seek out non-polluting alternatives & make them practical for
everybody.

Hope something I have offered is of help to you & or others.
I'm also an amateur photographer & digital camera enthusiast, even
with 25+ years in 35mm SLR & 3+ years in digital photography I am far
from considering myself a professional & likely never will.

Respectfully, DHB

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President,
or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong,
is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable
to the American public."--Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918