Problem with White Balance at import

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Per P.

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Hi,
By import into LR 2.7 my WB setting from the camera gets overwritten. The camera setting is typically 55'' but after import into LR it shows up as "As shot" but the setting is 445' for all photos.

I am wondering if this is a left-over from playing with presets, but I have used the reset to Adobe settings function dilligently without success. For the record I tried importing into the LR3 beta with the same result.

Hope someone can help, Per.
 
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Did this work before 2.7?

You don´t say if you shoot RAW or jpg.
The WB-settings in camera only effects jpgs, not RAW files. For RAW-iles you set the WB in LRs develop module.
 
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Do you have an develop preset set in the bottom left corner of the Import dialog window? The setting is sticky and may have been set in the past and forgotten.
 
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Hi,
Thanks for the responses.

1) I shoot RAW and the issue is recent but could be related to a number of activities on my behalf. I know that setting WB in Lightroom is easy enough. But I still want the photo imported with the WB as set in the camera, rather than having to update it in post-processing.

2) The photos are imported with No Presets, so it isn't a sticky. Could well have been, so thanks.

Cheers, Per.
 
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How does the image look? Generally, the raw in-camera WB data is a bit more complex than just a Kelvin temp value.
Are you just disquieted by the numerical difference, or is the image wrong as well?

Frequently, Lr's interpretation of the number and the mfgr's setting disagree. In your case, tho' 1'''+ is a pretty big miss.

And, oh BTW, welcome to the forums.
 
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Hi Brad,

Thanks for the welcome. There is nothing wrong with the image per se, but when checking the Replay version on the camera the info clearly states 55''K (which is also what I have set), and after the import when I open it up in Developer it says 445'. This is not how it should be.

And since this is a new occurence I am sure I have messed it up somewhere. But the reset to Adobe defaults does not seem to have corrected it so I am out of options. This is where you come into it :-\

Cheers, Per.
 
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I noticed this as well this weekend. I am using v2.7 and I shoot RAW on my Canon 5D Mark II. (I haven't tried this on my 5'D, but I will try it sometime over the next couple of days)

I was shooting with a 5'''K bulb, so I manually set the temperature on my 5Dm2 to 5'''K. Other shots I set to 55''K. When I imported the RAW images, they show up 'as shot' as 3''K colder, e.g. 5'''K showed up as 47''K, and 55''K showed up as 51''K.

Although the images looked ok, I did feel that they were indeed a bit cold, so I manually set all of the images to the temp that I had set in my camera and the change felt right to me.

I initially noticed this in v2.6, and decided to go ahead in perform the update to v2.7, and the 'problem', if it is a problem, carried over.
 
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[quote author=Per P. link=topic=9672.msg65427#msg65427 date=1272297247]
.. There is nothing wrong with the image per se, but when checking the Replay version on the camera the info clearly states 55''K (which is also what I have set), and after the import when I open it up in Developer it says 445'. This is not how it should be.[/quote] This is exactly how it should be. In the camera the processing engine applies your in camera adjustment and the image you see in replay is actually a processed JPEG. The RAW has none of these applied and when LR gets the RAW image none of the in camera settings are applied. LR then evaluates the image and determines what WB the camera found. What the camera might call 55''K may be evaluated as 445'. You can prove this to your self by setting the camera WB to tungsten and shooting a daylight image. The camera replay will have a blue cast and the imported RAW image when auto corrected will have a WB closer to daylight WB. Before auto correction, it will take the settings from the embedded JPEG (~27''K). If you look in the EXIF of your DNG (RAW) file, you will see that the WB setting (Tungsten) is in the Maker notes and is not in an area that LR uses to make adjustments.

If you are shooting RAW, set the camera on AWB and forget it. Only if you are shooting JPEGs out of the camera do you need to worry about WB.
 
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[quote author=clee'1l link=topic=9672.msg65436#msg65436 date=12723'1318]
If you are shooting RAW, set the camera on AWB and forget it. Only if you are shooting JPEGs out of the camera do you need to worry about WB.
[/quote]

So, you are saying using a custom white balance to remove color cast is pointless then (such as by using an ExpoDisc) when shooting RAW? I just cannot agree with the above statement, but perhaps I am misunderstanding what you are saying. When I use a custom white balance, it saves me a TON of work in color correction, even when shooting in RAW.

Now, I do know that a RAW file is just that, the RAW data. But, the white balance information is recorded in such a manner so that when it is imported into LR, the information is applied to the output of the image. That would be the 'shot as' under white balance. So, this is why I think it is important for the information that the camera records, such as the manual setting of a certain color temp, be translated correctly to LR.
 
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What's happening here is just that the numbers disagree, but the neutral color is still neutral. This is nothing to worry about.

In the raw data, the white balance is not recorded as a temperature in degrees Kelvin -- it is recorded as coordinates in the color space used by the camera. Because Lightroom does not use the same profile as the camera in making its raw conversion, it might decode that to a different numerical temperature value , but the neutral color will still be neutral.

Still, as Brad, says, 1'5'K is a far larger discrepancy than I've ever seen. I've never played with Leica raw files, though.
 
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Mark has expressed it more succunctly than I did. But yes, you don't need an Expo Disc when shooting RAW. Removing the color cast on RAW can only occur in post processing and LR is much better at finding the neutral values that you and your eye on a hopefully calibrated monitor.
 
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[quote author=Mark Sirota link=topic=9672.msg6545'#msg6545' date=12723'6821]
What's happening here is just that the numbers disagree, but the neutral color is still neutral. This is nothing to worry about.

In the raw data, the white balance is not recorded as a temperature in degrees Kelvin -- it is recorded as coordinates in the color space used by the camera. Because Lightroom does not use the same profile as the camera in making its raw conversion, it might decode that to a different numerical temperature value , but the neutral color will still be neutral.

Still, as Brad, says, 1'5'K is a far larger discrepancy than I've ever seen. I've never played with Leica raw files, though.
[/quote]

Thanks Mark, I understand now.
 
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Thanks All, even I understand now :)

If Lightroom is better at finding neutral values than me, does this mean I should use the Auto setting in Developer as my starting point?

Cheers, Per.
 
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Hi everyone, I am new on the forum, I have a pentax k2' and started recently to try Lr with the Beta. So far I am very pleased. I was looking for informations on WB when I found this forum.
I might say something stupid, but did you check the camera calibration. Lr3 by default imports in adobe standard.Could the difference comes from there?
 
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[quote author=MilesOfTexas link=topic=9672.msg65454#msg65454 date=12723'87'']
[quote author=Mark Sirota link=topic=9672.msg6545'#msg6545' date=12723'6821]
What's happening here is just that the numbers disagree, but the neutral color is still neutral. This is nothing to worry about.

In the raw data, the white balance is not recorded as a temperature in degrees Kelvin -- it is recorded as coordinates in the color space used by the camera. Because Lightroom does not use the same profile as the camera in making its raw conversion, it might decode that to a different numerical temperature value , but the neutral color will still be neutral.

Still, as Brad, says, 1'5'K is a far larger discrepancy than I've ever seen. I've never played with Leica raw files, though.
[/quote]

Thanks Mark, I understand now.
[/quote][quote author=Per P. link=topic=9672.msg65489#msg65489 date=127236'61']
Thanks All, even I understand now :)

If Lightroom is better at finding neutral values than me, does this mean I should use the Auto setting in Developer as my starting point?

Cheers, Per.
[/quote]
That will be image dependent Per, personally I find most images work well with "As Shot".
 
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as sad as it is acdsee pro will import your photos exactly how they came off the camera, why lightroom has to mess with the WB i really do not know, i have came across the same problem using welding glass and also infra red filters, they both look fine in acdsee and even windows preview until you import into LR, and i am sorry to say but lightroom just doesnt get the white balance back as well as the camera did in the first place.
why does it have to do anything to the picture surely thats for you to do and not the software. might as well stick my camera on auto and really let go of what i want to achieve.
 
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If you prefer the way your camera converts the RAW data then stick to camera produced Jpegs. LR does not do anything to your RAW files and it does not mess about with the White balance. LR merely renders your RAW files using the default settings. I repeat it renders your "RAW" data, not your camera settings / adjustments.
 
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@clee

http://photofocus.com/2'1'/'9/15/photofocus-podcast-episode-51/ tip 11, the bit about AWB

I sometimes use an expodisc for tricky light an find it picks better than LR does. I don't even claim to understand temp and tint, but using the expodisc picks a better starting point than auto in LR for me. What I tend to find is that the picture adjusts better, they may look similar after an auto but the temp and tint values will be completely different.
 
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Don't forget that in Preferences on the presets tab,
there is an option in the 'default develop settings'
to "Apply auto tone adjustments"

Is it possible you have that selected?
 
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