Another white balance question

Hi,

there has been a lot of discussion about white balance settings here, but most seem to compare auto vs. manually calibrated under water. I will soon be off to Egypt and would like to sort some things out before departing.

I have an Olympus C-3000 and an Epoque ES-150DS slave flash. The C-3000 does not have to ability of manually calibrating WB using for example a slate. Should I go for auto WB or should I use a fixed setting? Of the fixed settings, cloudy gives the most natural whites in air, but the pictures still need a little compensation in photoshop. To me, using a fixed setting seems like a good idea - after all, film photographers use it all the time with great results...

I am not sure how the WB measurement works in the Olympus: I have covered the internal flash, so if WB is measured during the pre-flash, the camera must base its descition on ambient light only (what is the point of the pre-flash, anyway?). This can't be good! I will not be able to examine my pictures until after the trip, so some advice would be very appreciated.

/Erik

If you can't set WB manually, then I would stick with a setting like "cloudy" as you mentioned. It's one less thing the camera needs to do when you press the shutter.

FWIW, film photographers don't account for white balance, strictly speaking. It's the type of film that handles that, as there are different films for different color temperatures of light that are optimized for different situations, i.e. incandescent versus sun.

Hope this helps.

Tom

I had a similar situation with my Dimage xi on a recent trip, as everything is auto. I realise now I need to upgrade the camera!!!!

I would agree. Set the camera to cloudy and try it out. There may also be an option to change the ISO settings with your camera. Normally they are pre-set to auto. Try taking a few pics on the different ISO settings (400 may probably work best in darker conditions) and check your results when you get back home.

Alternatively, as I do, take a laptop with you to check your results after each dive day. This is the only way you learn as the information is fresh in your memory & you can correct mistakes the following day. Trying to recall what settings were used for each shot when you get back home is impossible. If a laptop is not an option harass the dive school in Egypt to use their kit........they rip you off enough for the diving, so make the most of them!!!

It may be wise to take your own card reader in this case.

Mark H

Correction to my question: I meant "Should I go for automatic WB or should I use a fixed setting?" (the C-3000 has a choice of auto/sunny/cloudy/tungsten/flourescent). I have corrected my post above. I might also add that I am not interested in taking ambient light photos - the foreground will always be illuminated with the flash. This makes fixed WB sound like a good idea to me, but on the other hand the color temperature changes with the distance to the subject. What do the pros use?

You seem to have understood me correctly anyway, thanks for your views Mark and Tom! Feel free to add more opinions anyone.

/Erik