white balance
 

When shooting "run and gun" outside in changing lighting conditions (shade/clouds etc) would I be better to leave white balance on auto or outside settings?

I have had very good results with auto white balance but this is a 3 camera shoot (gl1, xl1, xl1s) and I think maybe the daylight setting on all 3 would make matching footage easier?

Doug,

My first thought is to, at a minimum, manual WB all cameras to the same exact lighting/white card. Otherwise you are relying on the manuf. presets for all 3 cameras, which will most likely be different.

A better approach, if you have time and the equipment, is to checkout/change the color balance of all cameras well before the shoot using a professional, properly calibrated, monitor. Duplicate the planned lighting as closely as possible, and compare/adjust all cameras using the monitor as a reference. Doing this you should be able to color balance all cameras very closely since they are all Canons.

Save the custom settings for each camera, and then use those settings the day of the shoot. If at all possible, have your monitor on location to verify settings just prior to shooting. Make adjustments as necessary. Then you should be set for the day.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Best Regards,
Pete

I think the Xl1 and the Xl1s are about the same.
But that's a guess.

This is an outdoor shoot. I will be shooting towards the sun, away from the sun, in full light and in shadow, clouds come and go over the course of 3-4 hours. Would a manual white balnce really make sense in those circumstances?

Or do you mean that a manual white balance would bring the cameras closer together?

The changing conditions of your shoot make it even more important to do manual white balances. The color temperature will vary with time of day, and with sun/shadow/overcast. For a given shot, set the WB for the main subject, or to obtain the particular effect you desire.

Some cameramen will WB in the shadow to shoot in the sun because they like the effect. Test and determine which is best for you.

If you do not WB throughout the day, you will find that intercutting the shots may be difficult and may require color correction in post.

The purpose of manual WB is to ensure that the colors always look the same even though the light color temperature changes from shot to shot (as the sun rises/sets). When in doubt, do a manual WB.

What you do in a "run and gun" situation depends on the camera and the effect you want to achieve. Before I would use auto WB I would test to make sure I like the results. Your obvious choices are:
(1) Manual WB at start of shoot and maintain throughout
(2) Auto WB
(3) Daylight Preset WB

Again, testing with the specific camera will tell you the best approach.