Olympus E-1 - Manual (Page 85)

85
Image
, image quality and color
6
White balance
Color reproduction differs depending on the light conditions. For instance, when
daylight or tungsten lighting are reflected on white paper, the shade of white produced
will be slightly different for each.
With a film camera, you can adjust color balance using different films for different light
conditions or by using filters. With a digital camera, on the other hand, white color can
be adjusted to reproduce more natural white with a digital processor. This adjusting
mechanism is called white balance. There are three options for setting the WB with
this camera.
Auto white balance
This function lets the camera automatically determine the amount of white light and
adjust the color balance. Auto WB is sufficient for most light conditions. If there is no
near white color in the picture, the white balance of the image may not be correct. In
such a case, use preset WB or one-touch WB to achieve the correct white balance.
Preset white balance
You can set the white balance by selecting the appropriate color temperature for the
light source. For example, use preset WB when you want to reproduce more red in the
picture of a sunset, or capture a warmer artistic effect under artificial lighting. You can
enjoy creating different color tones by trying the different preset WB settings.
The color temperatures available for preset WB are as follows: 3000, 3300, 3600,
3900, 4000, 4300, 4500, 4800, 5300, 6000, 6600, or 7500.
One-touch white balance
~
”Setting the one-touch white balance” (P. 89)
You can set the optimum white balance for the shooting conditions by pointing the
camera at a white object like a sheet of white paper and pressing the
(one-touch
WB) button. The white balance achieved with this setting is saved as one of the preset
WB settings.
White balance sensor
This camera is equipped with a white balance sensor
to detect the light source when pictures are taken.
The sensor measures and calculates infrared and
visible rays to detect sunlight, fluorescent light,
floodlight and blue floodlight. When you take pictures,
be careful not to cover or shade the sensor section. White balance sensor