What Is Color Temperature; White Balance Adjustment - Sony UPX-C200 Operating Instructions Manual

What Is Color Temperature?

A red light makes a white object look reddish. This
mechanism applies to photographs. When the subject is
under a reddish light, the subject looks reddish on the
picture. Color temperature is a way to represent the
colors of light as values.
When pure carbon is burnt under ideal conditions, it
produces different colors at different combustion
temperatures. A color temperature is a numeric value
that represents a color based on the color-temperature
correspondence of pure carbon combustion. With the
color temperature going from the lowest to the highest,
the color changes in the following sequence: reddish,
yellowish, neutral, and bluish. In general, the color
temperatures of natural lights are as shown below:
Sunlight at sunrise and sunset: 3500K to 5000K
Daylight: 5400K
Daylight at noon: 6000K to 6500K
Sky light: 10000K to 12000K
Shade under a clear sky: 12000K to 18000K
Flashes also vary in their color temperatures. Some
flashes are vulnerable to color-temperature drops after
continued use.
To support flashes of different color temperatures, this
camera allows color-temperature adjustment between
3000K and 7000K in the step of about 500K. For
instance, when the color temperature has been set to
5000K and the photographed picture is bluish, set the
color temperature to 5500K or higher and try again.
When AUTO is selected for WHITE BALANCE, the
white balance is automatically adjusted upon preflash
within the range of the automatic photometry of the
subject. When automatic photometry is disabled, the
color temperature is fixed at 5500K.
Although 5500K is commonly recommended for
photography, this recommendation is based merely on
the characteristics of films which are designed for
5500K. Thus, this value is not directly related to this
camera.
10
Functions of the Camera

White Balance Adjustment

With this camera, you can adjust the white balance in
one of the following ways, using the Menu function:
AUTO: The white balance is automatically adjusted
according to the lighting conditions for shooting.
One Push: The white balance is adjusted with the use of
a white object as a reference. This feature is not
available in Auto flash (A ) mode.
3000K–7000K: The white balance is adjusted for the
selected color temperature in the range of 3000K to
7000K in the step of 500K.
Performing One Push White Balance
adjustment
The One Push feature facilitates white balance
adjustment. The white-balance valaue set by the One
Push adjustment will be retained until the white balance
is adjusted the next time. Follow the steps below.
Notes
• The One Push feature is available only when flash
mode is set to a setting other than A
• Perform One-Push White Balance after other
necessary camera modes are set.
1
Place a white subject under the same lighting
conditions as when shooting a picture, and display
it in the center frame of the camera.
2
Display the Menu display.
For details, see "Displaying the Menu Display in
CAMERA Mode" on page 14.
3
Press v or V of the control button to select W.B.,
then press ENTER of the control button.
The White Balance display appears.
4
Press v or V of the control button to select One
Push, then press ENTER of the control button.
The One Push W.B. display, which is transparent at
the center and semitransparent in the periphery,
appears.
Readjust so that the white subject you placed in
Step 1 above is displayed in the center frame of the
camera.
5
Check that OK is selected, then press the Release
button or ENTER of the control button.
The white balance for the lighting conditions is
adjusted.
The flash may fire, depending on the flash mode
setting.
mode.