Problem with Canon S100 white balancing (or maybe with me!)

[Madacub]

Hi all, I am experiencing an issue with my Canon S100 white balancing. This is the first time I am using it. Previously I had a Panasonic ZS3 (TZ7) for about 3 years.

When I white balancewith a slate, the pictures come out fine. The problem is when I point the camera even a little upwards (with the same WB setting) the picture comes out very pink in the upper part. The bottom half of a yellow tank is yellow on camera, but the upper part comes out pink. Even upper bubbles have a pink hue to them.

I understand theoretically why this happens. But obviously it is a problem. I am very used to adjusting WB 20 times during a dive, but I can't adjust it every time I take a shot, adjusting for every tilt of the camera. And obviously, when I am on video, following a fish, I don't want pink to suddenly appear when the fish moves upward and my camera follows it.

And here's the kicker: this did not happen with my Panasonic ZS3/TZ7. Perhaps some electronic tuning was applied in the Panasonic so that when a bright part appeared, the WB auto compensated (?). Perhaps even this involves a trade off with perfect WB, but it seems it is a very good trade off to make.

Or am I missing something totally here and not doing something I should? Please help! (I don't want to have to photoshop all my shots! I just want to take quick happy shots - maybe photoshop a couple)

Attached are 3 pics, all untouched. The one of the manta is an old one from my Panasonic (70 feet/21m good visibility) - no pink (it is a screen grab - sorry I don't have access to my old stills right now) and the other two are from the S100 (85 feet/26m poor visibility) - pink all over. In all cases, manual WB was done at the proper depth, orienting forward.

Thanks!

 

[Interceptor121]

As you point the camera up towards the sunball the light changes and you end up with a tint
I suggest you shoot RAW and forget about white balance except for video, in that case make sure the camera does not point towards the sun

 

[CamC]

I have a recently acquired S95, which I imagine has very similar processing, and there is no hint of a tint in similar shots when I manually WB - let alone to the extent in your pictures.

We can rule out the photographer / technique, as your previous camera was OK, and the overall exposure looks fine. Canon point-and-shoots, like all others, have various effects settings, like "vivid" - you haven't accidentally left one of those on? (Seems unlikely, I know.)

 

[Madacub]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. CamC, I checked and that is off.

 

[Interceptor121]

Madacub. Set the camera to shoot RAW only and forget white balance unless you do video, you will save time and effort

 

[acooper]

Built in WB is designed for above water scenes with a more or less "white" light source, meaning a source with roughly balanced red/green/blue. The camera WB software just does not work underwater where the light is strongly biased to the blue. The software tries to bring up the red channel, to the point of saturating the channel, thus the red/pink halos.

Like everyone here says... UW shoot raw and adjust later!

 

[Gilligan]

As others have stated shoot RAW, especially for your non-strobe shots. There is no substitute for it when it comes to post-processing the White Balance.

If you insist on shooting JPEG for your strobe shots then try the Sunny or Cloudy White Balance setting. The Cloudy one will usually yield softer colors.

As for shooting video you have to calibrate the White Balance or you get a blue video without a filter. Even with a filter you should still calibrate the White Balance.

If the S100 is the same as my G12 when it comes to video White Balance, you can lock the white balance after calibrating it so it does not vary during the video.

 

[CamC]

Of course, you don't have to shoot just RAW. The S100 will capture RAW + JPEG simultaneously. You can easily take hundreds of stills per dive (on top of some HD video) so at the end of a day trip - even if you only want to keep a quarter of your shots - that's still a lot of post-processing. Shooting in a dual mode will let you post or upload a bunch of shots straight away as JPEGs, and you can limit the RAW post-processing to the pictures you really want to fine tune.

This all adds up to a lot of space, so invest in couple of high capacity SDXC cards, if you haven't already. That way, your only limit will be your battery life (which is actually one of the relative weaknesses on these Canons.)

 

[Madacub]

Thanks to everyone - I'll be back in the water soon...