TG-4 White Balance issues/question

[ron_dodge]

Hi,

After shooting with an Olympus TG-830 for a few years I recently stepped up to a TG-4. I just got back from a week in Bonaire I'm a little fed-up with the (lack of) ability to set the white balance on the TG-4 while underwater.

I'm a no-strobe shooter and use white balance adjustments to get "good" color while underwater. This has worked great for years with the TG-830. I could point it at a black wall and tell it that was white and the 830 would accept that and do it's best with the color.

The TG-4 on the other hand seems to require perfect light to set the white balance while underwater. If I was above about 30 feet and there was good sun the TG-4 would set the white balance w/out using the flash. If I was deeper than about 30' I had to use the flash (which is counter productive since I shoot w/ no flash) or I would get the "WB NG Retry" message.

This is super frustrating as the cheaper version of the camera seems to have MUCH better performance in this area. I "upgraded" to the TG-4 for the better lens of the TG-4 and it's ability to shoot in RAW but, I don't want to have to edit every RAW image in Lightroom.

So a question for all the other TG-4 owners out there, is this normal for the camera or did I get a dud and need to call Olympus?

I've attached some images I've shot at depth using the TG-830 w/out a strobe or edits for example.

 

[smoore]

In another recent thread there are similar complaints about the EPL-5 (the thread says EPLR). One solution might be to use the underwater modes which, I believe, are designed for shooting without strobes.

 

[Skeptic14]

I don't adjust white balance manually, I use uw mode and an external strobe. However, the little I've read is that you need some type of card/slate to cover the whole lens to get it set, and not sure if a black surface would work well without a flash.

 

[smoore]

The other thread suggests that the manual white balance does not work if the scene is over or under exposed. The suggestion is that the white balance should be set using one of the automatic exposure modes and not the manual exposure mode.

 

[Simon East]

Hi. I am on my second trip with my TG-4 having previously used Sony WX-1. I am having the same issue.

I take a white card which the Sony had no issue with, I tried using the anchor buoy which is white, the fairly white sand and all I get is an error message 'NG try again'.

I gave up on my first trip although I did get some impressive macro shots with the flash. I brought it again this trip as there was a firmware update to 2.0 but it has not improved matters.

The built in WB and preset modes are no good for really good pics. Manual white balance set at the depth you are photographing at is always the way to go if you are not using a strobe.

The TG-4 will set it on the surface so diagnosis if difficult if you don't want to waste a dive mucking about with it.

I'm sorry but the suggestion that the white card needs to be well lit, fill the frame and not be in shadow is not practical for diving ...you'd need a huge card and your buddy to hold it. My WX-1 did it using a plain white 'credit card' first time, every time.

This is really disappointing as the features and overall quality of the camera are good.

Did you find a resolution? If not mine is hitting eBay.

 

[ron_dodge]

Hi. I am on my second trip with my TG-4 having previously used Sony WX-1. I am having the same issue.

I take a white card which the Sony had no issue with, I tried using the anchor buoy which is white, the fairly white sand and all I get is an error message 'NG try again'.

I gave up on my first trip although I did get some impressive macro shots with the flash. I brought it again this trip as there was a firmware update to 2.0 but it has not improved matters.

The built in WB and preset modes are no good for really good pics. Manual white balance set at the depth you are photographing at is always the way to go if you are not using a strobe.

The TG-4 will set it on the surface so diagnosis if difficult if you don't want to waste a dive mucking about with it.

I'm sorry but the suggestion that the white card needs to be well lit, fill the frame and not be in shadow is not practical for diving ...you'd need a huge card and your buddy to hold it. My WX-1 did it using a plain white 'credit card' first time, every time.

This is really disappointing as the features and overall quality of the camera are good.

Did you find a resolution? If not mine is hitting eBay.

Hi Simon,

No, unfortunately, I haven't found a resolution. I gave up and finally emailed Olympus a few days back to see if they would comment. I agree with you 100%. The built in WB modes and presets are pretty terrible for underwater (everything is just a different shade of blue) so if you don't want to lug around extra lights or spend hours in Lightroom correcting RAW files then manually setting the WB is the way to go.

I'm in the same boat as you, I'm extremely frustrated. I can see that the TG-4 is much sharper and focuses much better than the old TG-830 I was using. But, if every picture turns out blue, why bother? Add in that the cheaper TG-830 will set the WB under ANY conditions and that just escalates my frustration.

With that, my next trip isn't until January so I'm going to ping Olympus for a bit and pray that they can/will fix things.

I'll post here if I hear anything.

 

[stuartv]

I asked a related question a few days ago over on WetPixel. My question was actually about using filters versus doing a custom WB. The responses I got all said the same thing: Even shooting RAW, I will get better results using a good filter (e.g. Magic brand filters) than if I use no filter and do all my color correction using WB. Basically, they said to use a filter and then I can still do manual adjustments in LightRoom, if I want. And I will get a better final product doing it that way than if I use no filter and do all my color correction in LR.

So, maybe you would consider using a Magic (the brand that seems to have the best rep on WetPixel and in the book The Underwater Photographer, by Martin Edge) filter and then leaving the camera on Auto WB?

I was referred to this page for some reading:

M A G I C - F I L T E R S

Seems like that might save you editing every image in LR, anyway. And maybe even give you better results than if the TG-4 custom WB actually worked like you want.

 

[ron_dodge]

I asked a related question a few days ago over on WetPixel. My question was actually about using filters versus doing a custom WB. The responses I got all said the same thing: Even shooting RAW, I will get better results using a good filter (e.g. Magic brand filters) than if I use no filter and do all my color correction using WB. Basically, they said to use a filter and then I can still do manual adjustments in LightRoom, if I want. And I will get a better final product doing it that way than if I use no filter and do all my color correction in LR.

So, maybe you would consider using a Magic (the brand that seems to have the best rep on WetPixel and in the book The Underwater Photographer, by Martin Edge) filter and then leaving the camera on Auto WB?

I was referred to this page for some reading:

M A G I C - F I L T E R S

Seems like that might save you editing every image in LR, anyway. And maybe even give you better results than if the TG-4 custom WB actually worked like you want.

Can you share a link to the thread on WetPixel?

 

[stuartv]

Can you share a link to the thread on WetPixel?

To Filter or Not To Filter - Beginner Forum

 

[ron_dodge]

To Filter or Not To Filter - Beginner Forum