Light sources and color temperature, White balance adjustment – Sony 370PL User Manual

Page 128

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Chapter 5

Adjustments and Settings

Chapter 5 Adjustments and Settings

Light Sources and Color
Temperature

Adjustment of the white balance to match the light
source is essential to ensure correct color rendering.
The color of a light source is indicated as a color
temperature in kelvins (K). It is higher for bluish light,
and lower for reddish light. When the camcorder is
shipped it is adjusted for use with video lights (studio
lamps with a color temperature of 3200 K). For use
with other light sources, therefore, adjustment is
required.
First use the FILTER control to set the approximate
color temperature, then carry out white balance
adjustment.
The following table shows typical color temperature
values for different light sources.

Color temperatures of different light sources

Light source

Natural

Artificial

Color temperature (K)

Clear sky

10,000

Light cloud

8,000

Cloudy or rainy
skies

Blue light

7,000

6,000

Fluorescent light
(daylight white)

5,000

Direct sunlight,
noon

Mercury lighting

Fluorescent light
(white)

White light

One hour after
sunrise or
before sunset

Fluorescent light
(warm white)

4,000

3,500

Studio lighting

3,200

Halogen lamps
and video lights

Yellow light

3,000

2,500

Thirty minutes
after sunrise or
before sunset

Incandescent
lighting

Sodium street-
lighting

Sunrise or
sunset

Candlelight

Red light

2,000

M

M

m

M

m

M

m

Using the ATW (Auto Tracing
White Balance) Function

The ATW function continuously adjusts the white
balance automatically to adapt to changes in lighting
conditions.

Note

Depending on the shooting conditions, automatic
adjustment may not necessarily give optimum results.
For the best possible results, use the W. BAL switch.

To use the ATW function
Press the ATW button turning the indicator on.
This activates the ATW function, and the ATW
indication appears in the viewfinder.
To disable the ATW function, press the ATW button
again, turning the indicator off.

If the ATW function does not operate correctly
A warning message appears in the viewfinder as
shown in the table below.

White Balance Adjustment

Message

Meaning and correction to be made

:C.TEMP.LOW

If the FILTER control is in position 2, 3 or
4, change it to position 1, then retry the
ATW operation.

:C.TEMP.HIGH

If the FILTER control is in position 1,
change it to position 2, 3 or 4, then retry
the ATW operation.

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