Question About White Balancing
 

Hello, folks! I'm new around here, so please don't kick the new guy!

I'm planning to do a two camera shoot of a mixed martial arts event. One camera will be set up about fifty feet away from the ring and the other will be operated by a cameraman at ringside. Both cameras are identical HD Canon models.

My question is about white balancing. Should I white balance both cameras at the same time in the middle of the ring under the stage lights and then move the cameras to their respective spots? Or should I position the cameras where they'll be during shooting and white balance them from there?

Thoughts?

You'd use the same white balance. The ring is the place to take the white balance for both cameras.

To take this a bit further, it shouldn't matter where the cameras are physically located when you white balance, as long as the white balance is done from a white card or something like that stationed (preferably) in the same spot in the middle of the ring, where the subjects are ultimately going to be (short of some crazy ninja-style throw that puts the subjects directly on top of yours lens - in which case you have other problems... :)).

If the cameras are both on the same side of the ring (i.e. not opposite sides facing each other) I'd find a spot in the ring, get your white balance card out and split the difference of the angle between the cameras to take the measurement. If you must, you can rotate a bit but I'd try to keep it as close to the same place and angle for both white balances. The alternative is to balance one camera and if you can, actually dial in the WB for the other camera as a Kelvin measurement, but I'm guessing you can't necessarily do that.

You might have to move the cameras closer to the ring in order to fill the frame with the white balance card or whatever reference you're using to make sure you're getting a consistent level on both cameras.

That's what I'd do.

Excellent. Thank you very much. That's very good information. To be more specific, one camera will be about 50 feet from the ring and slightly raised up. The other will be held by a cameraman at ringside. The cameraman will move about to capture shots as the action develops. So I'm thinking that white balancing on the white card from the same spot in the ring is the way to go?

I'm using higher end consumer cameras for this, so I don't think I have the option of white balancing by Kelvin.