preset it and forget it

[<bluesclues>]

I just need a simple answer, and if there is a thread with the info throw up the link.

Ok when using DVC-Pro or Betacam SP. If I preset the white balance,is it true that all I need is to put it on the right filter and shoot away.

 

[dethstryke]

Not always the case...

I usually will just shoot on Preset unless I know the temperature is diffrent from the present value. After a while you start to see in Kelvins.

 

[<You are lazy>]

Preset is for hacks. Have you ever set up a monitor and looked at the difference between doing it right and doing it lazy?

I'll bet you use auto iris and dream of having auto focus too.

 

[Flash-Frame]

Bah.. preset. I have found that it will burn you more than save you.

It is somewhat true that if you have preset on, and you are on the correct filter, you will be in the ballpark of the white balance you want.

My presets are at 3200k and 5600k. The problem is that majority of the time when I get white balances, I hardley get exactly a 3200k or 5600k reading. If I had preset on, my color would be off.

It is better to just get a correct white balance and save preset for emergency shooting situations when you don"t have time for an immediate balance.

 

[FOCUZ]

I you have a camera such as a 600 you have multiple filters. 3200, 5600, and 6300 K. I have actually found that using preset 3200 in an indoor interview setting gives it a warmer look. When you white balance using your tungsten lights you come up with about 2900k. Using preset 3200 warms it up just enough.

When you are outdoors 6300 is fine except at dawn, dusk, and shade.

It isn't being lazy it is knowing your camera.

 

[dan bach]

I use my beta-sx in preset in only a couple of situations...

First when I have to hit the ground running and I'll miss a shot if I have to white-balance. It's better to know you're at least in the ballpark colorwise than lose a shot.

I'll also go with preset occasionally when I'm outside and have several colortemps in the same shot. If I'm dealing with direct sun and shade I'll preset instead of trying to re-white with every shot. Most of the time I'm happy with the results. With my sx, when I constantly whitebalance, i've sometimes ended up with yellowish video...especially when I get an over 10k reading which I'm NEVER comfortable with.

The best advice I can give is for you to take your camera out in a variety of conditions when you have some spare time and see for yourself what it does.

After a while, you will learn to eyeball different light and basiclly know what your lighting conditions are.

 

[BluesDaddy]

I have noticed that during the winter here, the sunlight is more like 5300K, so I wouldn't use preset until summer comes back around. The bottom line is, know your camera and get the max out of it. Don't just set and forget.

 

[Wideangle]

No two cameras really look the same no matter how you set them up. The key to using any preset
settings is to know your individual camera and
what it does under all lighting conditions.
As some have pointed out, their presets are nowhere near their normal lighting conditions
when they white balance. THINK in kelvin scale
and learn how these values correspond to your
camera. Once you know what your camera is
giving you in certain lighting situations, you
can then determine when you can and cannot
rely on a preset. For me, it's a crutch that
can burn you if your not careful. The new
sony d-35's have a preset white that goes
up and down the kelvin scale..very nice feature
but again if you don't truly know what those
values look like on that individual camera or
you are not using an accurate monitor, your
flying blind....Long story short, whenever
possible, white balance...

 

[<MIPhotog>]

I ONLY preset at night. Not partly dark, but totally dark.

 

[Currentchief]

presets are for emergencies ONLY.

When you arrive somewhere and you literally have seconds to get the shots, then a preset is ok, until you have time to WB.

Otherwise, there's just too many combinations of light temps out there to expect even the most perfectly adjusted preset to compensate for.

 

[Salty Dog]

Presets are for those that know how to use them. If you are not comfortable using it, or don't know when to, then don't. Presets are used differently for different cameras and different photographers. I use my preset almost exclusivly outdoors in daylight, but indoors I only use it when I know it's 3200 light.

For those that call preset for emergency only or for lazy photographers, that's a blanket statement, just because you don't use it doesn't mean other photogs don't. Both my emmy nominated stories were shot on preset.

 

[Breakingnews]

Not sure if someone added this already. But if you have and A and B switch o your preset. You can white on A and then white on a different filter on B and I has always work for me. But the only time that I use is when I now I dont have the time to get a white. Also At night when shooting crime scenes and fires etc. I always shoot on preset. just my two cents

 

[SandRat]

Originally posted by Currentchief:
presets are for emergencies ONLY.

Completely false statement. Everything on the camera is a tool and if you know how to use your tools properly in the right situations, your return product will shine.

If I'm shooting under lights, I will white balance and check the temperature. If I get a reading below 3200, I sometimes use my preset so I get an image that's a little warmer. Same goes for shooting outside. If I get a white balance of 5300 outside, I kick it to preset and the shot is a touch warmer and looks much better.

The key is to get a base reading of what the light temperature is, and then tweak the numbers to get what you want. Sometimes just holding your white card at a different angle to your camera can get your temperature up just a bit, without getting that orange-gold Warmcard look.

 

[ewink]

<agree>
Yeah - Night when it's too dark to get a valid white off of anything. As for the 5600K preset - If I roll up onto a fire or something and I can't find something white right away I will shoot on preset till I can make my way to a police car.
</agree>

 

[cameragod]

I think the expression is not “preset it and forget it” but “preset it and worry about it all the way back to the office until you can check it’s OK”
Why not just white balance?

 

[<Dethstryke>]

Shooting on Preset is not at all "lazy". What is the point in white balancing every two seconds if you know what the temperature is? Anyone who thinks it is just a lazy excuse not to white balance is looking at it wrong. Conversely, I always laugh when I see other guys white balancing every time they move their cameras. Its just un-necessary. Learn your color temperature and learn how to use your camera! Just because some people can't come back with consistent color in their video without triple checking their white balance every 4 seconds doesn't mean those of us who shoot on presets cant. And it doesn't at all mean we don't know what we are doing, and being... "lazy".

 

[SandRat]

Originally posted by cameragod:

Why not just white balance?

Did you read any of the previous posts???

Because a perfect white balance is not always what you are looking for and they haven't given me a camera with optional color temps yet. How can the preset help with this...scroll up to my last post.

 

[Lost in Alaska]

Originally posted by dan bach:
I'll also go with preset occasionally when I'm outside and have several colortemps in the same shot. If I'm dealing with direct sun and shade I'll preset instead of trying to re-white with every shot. Most of the time I'm happy with the results. With my sx, when I constantly whitebalance, i've sometimes ended up with yellowish video...especially when I get an over 10k reading which I'm NEVER comfortable with.

Being farther north, I will never use preset outside. Direct sun here I have gotten a 5.3K. Cloudy days especially in the winter I am amlost always over 10K.

Now if they could just use the front wheel of an sx to manually adjust the color temp.

 

[Chicago Dog]

Originally posted by ewink:
Yeah - Night when it's too dark to get a valid white off of anything. As for the 5600K preset - If I roll up onto a fire or something and I can't find something white right away I will shoot on preset till I can make my way to a police car.

I did the exact same thing when I rolled up to a car accident out in the boonies about two weeks ago.

I have to plug my cam light into a battery instead of it being directly connected to the camera itself. Obviously, switching to preset is a lot quicker in that situation. Once I'm sure I've got a few seconds, I'll hook up the light and grab a white off a squad car.

 

[whatsatripod]

The only and I mean only time I shoot on preset is if I don't have an available white around to shoot, or at night on breaking news and stuff is popping around me throw into present and roll. Other than that it's white balance, white balance, and white balance some more!!!!!!!!