Is it just me, or does K-5 AWB render a bit cold?

RickyFromVegas · 04-21-2012, 12:27 AM

It seems that K-5's auto white balance renders colors colder than what I'm used to.
Not just that, but when I was doing the test shots earlier, I noticed that I had to turn up the WB on auto to A7, the right most option available in order to duplicate what my eyes were seeing.
Is that normal?
I mean, I can certainly correct it later anyways, but something that boggled me today.

Eberbachl · 04-21-2012, 12:29 AM

In my opinion the K-5 shot on the right looks more natural. It looks the way my K-5 box looks. I think the K20D shot looks a bit warm.

RickyFromVegas · 04-21-2012, 12:33 AM

Yeah. I always noticed that the AWB on K20D were bit off as well.
This shot doesn't do it much justice, but when I was doing testshot earlier in the natural sunlight filled room, K-5 still rendered colors colder than what my eyes were seeing.
I really love how k-5 renders images. I mean, you guys weren't kidding when you said K-5 is one of the best cameras with high dynamic range and all that.

JohnBee · 04-21-2012, 12:35 AM

I second the K-5 shot as looking more natural. Thought it's hard to tell without knowing what the original scene looks like.

Though the best way to draw a meaningful conclusion in cases such as these is to use a WB card on both systems and compare them afterward.

PS. are you confident on your monitor settings?

RickyFromVegas · 04-21-2012, 12:40 AM

in that photo, the light was a tungsten lamp just outside the frame.
What my eyes saw was just in between those two. Colder than K20D, warmer than K-5.
Maybe my eyes need calibrations.

For the record, I prefer the K-5's images WAY more than I do with K20D.

Gimbal · 04-21-2012, 12:42 AM

I agree, my k5 tends to be a little cold as well. I usually warm up pictures taken outside in sunlight, and lightrooms auto WB also (almost always) suggests a warmer tone. The end result is usually somewhere in between.

Anvh · 04-21-2012, 12:51 AM

Under tungsten most AWB render the scene warmer, the K5 is one of the best under these condition.

JohnX · 04-21-2012, 01:13 AM

It's not just WB. Don't forget you can set up the camera to process JPEG image tone in a variety of ways, including bright, neutral, etc. Compare the settings on your K20D and K5 to see if they're the same.

RickyFromVegas · 04-21-2012, 01:23 AM

both were taken in raw format without any on-body enhancements

stevedh · 04-21-2012, 02:21 AM

In which case the actual white balance is done when its converted to jpeg as the actual RAW data is just what the sensor sees, although I think it also stores information about the camera's white balance settings when it took the photo

**Rondec** · 04-21-2012, 03:24 AM

Just wondering if you have AWB in Tungsten light set to subtle correction or strong correction? The K5 definitely does render colder than the K20 in those situations, but I like it better.

WightWalker · 04-21-2012, 04:17 AM

K5 does look a more natural - it's AWB is much more responsive than my K10.

On seascapes with large amounts water & sky, shots also looks a tad blue; I tone this down as required adjusting the WB in Lightroom.

Frogfish · 04-21-2012, 05:10 AM

I did a paid shoot yesterday alongside 3 Canon shooters, a 40d and 2x7d's. My jpg settings are factory standard (because I usually shoot in RAW) and my shots were the only ones which needed additional contrast/saturation, which frustrated the hell out of the girl processing our shots as the cards came in (we were out in the field with 'runners' delivering our CF/SD cards to the base for processing so that a slideshow was ready at the end of the day).

Not a problem for me but I'll remember to add contrast/saturation to my jpg settings next time !

Frogfish · 04-21-2012, 05:10 AM

I did a paid shoot yesterday alongside 3 Canon shooters, a 40d and 2x7d's. My jpg settings are factory standard (because I usually shoot in RAW) and my shots were the only ones which needed additional contrast/saturation, which frustrated the hell out of the girl processing our shots as the cards came in (we were out in the field with 'runners' delivering our CF/SD cards to the base for processing so that a slideshow was ready at the end of the day).

Not a problem for me but I'll remember to add contrast/saturation to my jpg settings next time !

**Ron Boggs** · 04-21-2012, 07:53 AM

One of the nice things about AWB is that it can make quick adjustments for you as you point your camera in different directions thus changing the light slightly...or as you move from one room of mixed lighting to another. AWB is great for "grab shots" as well. Note that filters on your various lenses will impact white balance too of course.

For fixed targets or when you have time to dial in your pics you will likely find that selecting white balance manually will be a better option.

Also potentially impacting white balance is the shooting style choices available in the K5. I keep mine set to the slide film setting to mimic the look I'm used to. Sorry I don't know the actual terminology for this setting, but it's definitely in there and alters the look of the white balance.

04-21-2012, 12:27 AM	#1
RickyFromVegas Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Las Vegas Photos: Gallery Posts: 366	Is it just me, or does K-5 AWB render a bit cold? It seems that K-5's auto white balance renders colors colder than what I'm used to. Not just that, but when I was doing the test shots earlier, I noticed that I had to turn up the WB on auto to A7, the right most option available in order to duplicate what my eyes were seeing. Is that normal? I mean, I can certainly correct it later anyways, but something that boggled me today.

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04-21-2012, 12:29 AM	#2
Eberbachl Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Doreen Posts: 111	In my opinion the K-5 shot on the right looks more natural. It looks the way my K-5 box looks. I think the K20D shot looks a bit warm.

04-21-2012, 12:33 AM	#3
RickyFromVegas Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Las Vegas Photos: Gallery Posts: 366 Original Poster	Yeah. I always noticed that the AWB on K20D were bit off as well. This shot doesn't do it much justice, but when I was doing testshot earlier in the natural sunlight filled room, K-5 still rendered colors colder than what my eyes were seeing. I really love how k-5 renders images. I mean, you guys weren't kidding when you said K-5 is one of the best cameras with high dynamic range and all that.

04-21-2012, 12:35 AM	#4
JohnBee Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: front of computer Posts: 4,600	I second the K-5 shot as looking more natural. Thought it's hard to tell without knowing what the original scene looks like. Though the best way to draw a meaningful conclusion in cases such as these is to use a WB card on both systems and compare them afterward. PS. are you confident on your monitor settings?

04-21-2012, 12:40 AM	#5
RickyFromVegas Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Las Vegas Photos: Gallery Posts: 366 Original Poster	in that photo, the light was a tungsten lamp just outside the frame. What my eyes saw was just in between those two. Colder than K20D, warmer than K-5. Maybe my eyes need calibrations. For the record, I prefer the K-5's images WAY more than I do with K20D.

04-21-2012, 12:42 AM	#6
Gimbal Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 1,906	I agree, my k5 tends to be a little cold as well. I usually warm up pictures taken outside in sunlight, and lightrooms auto WB also (almost always) suggests a warmer tone. The end result is usually somewhere in between.

04-21-2012, 12:51 AM	#7
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	Under tungsten most AWB render the scene warmer, the K5 is one of the best under these condition.

04-21-2012, 01:13 AM	#8
JohnX Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: London Posts: 873	It's not just WB. Don't forget you can set up the camera to process JPEG image tone in a variety of ways, including bright, neutral, etc. Compare the settings on your K20D and K5 to see if they're the same.

04-21-2012, 01:23 AM	#9
RickyFromVegas Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Las Vegas Photos: Gallery Posts: 366 Original Poster	both were taken in raw format without any on-body enhancements

04-21-2012, 02:21 AM	#10
stevedh New Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 24	In which case the actual white balance is done when its converted to jpeg as the actual RAW data is just what the sensor sees, although I think it also stores information about the camera's white balance settings when it took the photo

04-21-2012, 03:24 AM	#11
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Southern Indiana Photos: Gallery Posts: 15,435	Just wondering if you have AWB in Tungsten light set to subtle correction or strong correction? The K5 definitely does render colder than the K20 in those situations, but I like it better.

04-21-2012, 04:17 AM	#12
WightWalker Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: IW Posts: 113	K5 does look a more natural - it's AWB is much more responsive than my K10. On seascapes with large amounts water & sky, shots also looks a tad blue; I tone this down as required adjusting the WB in Lightroom.

04-21-2012, 05:10 AM	#13
Frogfish Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Shanghai Posts: 4,490	I did a paid shoot yesterday alongside 3 Canon shooters, a 40d and 2x7d's. My jpg settings are factory standard (because I usually shoot in RAW) and my shots were the only ones which needed additional contrast/saturation, which frustrated the hell out of the girl processing our shots as the cards came in (we were out in the field with 'runners' delivering our CF/SD cards to the base for processing so that a slideshow was ready at the end of the day). Not a problem for me but I'll remember to add contrast/saturation to my jpg settings next time !

04-21-2012, 05:10 AM	#14
Frogfish Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Shanghai Posts: 4,490	I did a paid shoot yesterday alongside 3 Canon shooters, a 40d and 2x7d's. My jpg settings are factory standard (because I usually shoot in RAW) and my shots were the only ones which needed additional contrast/saturation, which frustrated the hell out of the girl processing our shots as the cards came in (we were out in the field with 'runners' delivering our CF/SD cards to the base for processing so that a slideshow was ready at the end of the day). Not a problem for me but I'll remember to add contrast/saturation to my jpg settings next time !

04-21-2012, 07:53 AM	#15
Ron Boggs Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: MT Posts: 1,076	One of the nice things about AWB is that it can make quick adjustments for you as you point your camera in different directions thus changing the light slightly...or as you move from one room of mixed lighting to another. AWB is great for "grab shots" as well. Note that filters on your various lenses will impact white balance too of course. For fixed targets or when you have time to dial in your pics you will likely find that selecting white balance manually will be a better option. Also potentially impacting white balance is the shooting style choices available in the K5. I keep mine set to the slide film setting to mimic the look I'm used to. Sorry I don't know the actual terminology for this setting, but it's definitely in there and alters the look of the white balance.