PDW700 Low white balance reading

[Abdullah Alnoori]

Hello all,

If anyone could answer this question. ..

when I do a white balance on my Sony PDW700 I usually get a kelvin reading about 1000K less than other cameras or the light source .. for example when I balance on 3.2K I would get a reading for 2.3K. however the picture looks in the vectorscope balanced will for the light source.

even when I use normal scene files with little or not adjustments..

the camera has a Fujinon HA lens ..

[Alister Chapman]

I wouldn't worry about it. It's not unusual for cameras to give inaccurate colour temperature readings. If the white balance looks correct then that's what really counts.

[Daniel Epstein]

Hey Abdullah,
I think Alister is basically correct if you like the results the camera is working for you.
My experience with Sony cameras leads me to think there is something wrong with the cameras setup which the Auto White is compensating for giving you the low numbers. Since I haven't done any engineering with the 700 I haven't seen what it actually lets you adjust. If it can generate a test signal like the black to white signal the old cameras used for alignment you might see the camera is not correct in preset mode. I would check out the camera using a preset 3200K setting on a chart under Tungsten Light as well and see if the Auto White is giving you similar results as the preset in that setting. If they are drastically different then you are on to something.

[Alister Chapman]

If someone has messed around with the preset white settings in the white balance menu then this can give erroneous Kelvin readings. As this is in the user settings, scene files make no difference. You may want to consider doing a full reset to eliminate this possibility.

[Steve Phillipps]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

If the white balance looks correct then that's what really counts.

One of the big benefits of colour LCD screens and viewfinders - an safety check for white balance!

Steve

[Abdullah Alnoori]

Thanks all for the reply ..

Steve: the color LCD on the 700 has bad colors , as u know ! :)

[Doug Jensen]

Yes, the LCD on the side of the camera is totally useless for anything other than the menus, but if you've got a color viewfinder on your camera, such as the C35W that I have on my F800, you'll never be able to go back to B&W again. Sony : HDVF-C35W (HDVFC35W) : Product Overview : Other

[Alister Chapman]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

if you've got a color viewfinder on your camera, such as the C35W that I have on my F800, you'll never be able to go back to B&W again.[/url]

Completely agree. It might take a few shoots to get used to it if you've been using a mono CRT for many years but it you won't want to go back.

[Uli Mors]

Also agreed.

I own a C30WR with my PDW700 and HATE to use a b/w on my other camera.

Its not only about resolution but also for "not seeing" what the colours look like.

To be honest: on b/w viewfinders I sometimes "forget" whitebalancing now...

ULI

[Alister Chapman]

I don't know how we used to manage with mono CRT's :-}

There are many occasions where I do a white balance and it all appears to happen correctly and the K reading is in the right ball park, then I look at the color VF and it looks a touch cold or warm, so I repeat the WB, maybe tilting the grey or white card this way or that way and then it looks OK. I would have never spotted this with a mono CRT. I also had a camera (D30W) that developed a fault on a shoot where the black level in the red channel became elevated. Didn't stand a chance of spotting it with the mono VF, so it wasn't until the footage was reviewed in the edit suite that anyone became aware of the problem. Re-starting the camera would have cleared the problem, but if you don't know about it..........

I find focus easier with color as you can see the color contrast increase as you come in to focus.