White balance with a Strobe

[vimaldude]

I have Panasonic TZ1 with Ultramax Strobe. The panasonic has manual white balance and an Underwater scene mode. When using the camera's flash, I usually set the mode to Underwater and that takes care of the white balance.

My question is what should I use when using the external strobe? Do I even need to set the white balance at all?

[Gilligan]

I have Panasonic TZ1 with Ultramax Strobe. The panasonic has manual white balance and an Underwater scene mode. When using the camera's flash, I usually set the mode to Underwater and that takes care of the white balance.

My question is what should I use when using the external strobe? Do I even need to set the white balance at all?

IMO yes. Use "auto" or "daylight" or possibly "cloudy" if you like the softer color results.

The "underwater" setting is more for non-strobe shots to help with the loss of color at depth. It is not as good as "manual"/"custom" for non-strobe shots. Having to re-calibrate your custom white balance at varying depths and available light conditions will yield better results than the "underwater" setting.

Shooting RAW is the best setting for non-strobe shots but since your camera does not have RAW capability then the "manual"/"custom" white balance setting is best for non-strobe shots.

[halemanō]

Some strobe photography will not be impacted by white balancing;


http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/P1010271C.jpg (http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/112176)

Some strobe photography will be impacted by white balancing;


http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/P10102851.jpg (http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/112177)