Light Sources And Color Temperature; Using The Atw (Auto Tracing White Balance) Function - Sony 300PF Operating Instructions Manual

White Balance Adjustment
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
Clear sky
Light cloud
Cloudy or rainy
skies
Fluorescent light
(daylight white)
Direct sunlight, Mercury lighting
noon
Fluorescent light
(white)
One hour after
sunrise or
Fluorescent light
before sunset
(warm white)
Studio lighting
Halogen lamps
and video lights
Thirty minutes Incandescent
after sunrise or lighting
before sunset
Sodium street-
lighting
Sunrise or Candlelight
sunset
102
Chapter 5 Adjustments and Settings
Color temperature (K)
> 10,000
8,000
Blue light 7,000
> 6,000
5,000
.
White light
>
4,000
3,500
3,200
.
Yellow light 3,000
> 2,500
.
Red light 2,000
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.
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.