Canon HFG20 White Balance - Greenish tinge, dull colors

[ChrisCuthbertsn]

Hi,

My Canon HFG20 (on the left in the picture) seems to have difficulty white balancing properly. It has been subtle in some ways, but I keep seeing it not looking 100% right and I finally did some tests about this yesterday. It seems to have the most problems under fluorescent lights where it seems to have a soft greenish tinge to the overall color. It is like the color is all still working, but even under the best conditions and natural light, the colors do seem muted.

In the pic below, comparing images with an identical HFG20 camera on the right (which was bought at the same time)...the camera on the right has vibrant colors and auto white balances very nicely. It may be tricky to fully see from the picture, but there is a noticeable difference for sure between the camera images, both on the viewfinders and also when the video has been transferred to the computer.

Is there a special reset (different from the normal reset) that can be done to the camera to remedy this? Or is this something to do with the camera not having proper overall color for some reason and needing to be sent in for repair?

(I did swap postions of both camera as well, and the same results)

Thanks!

[VideoGeek]

Have you tried manually setting the white balance using a white or gray card?

[Richard]

Hi ChrisCuthbertsn,

From your post, it sounds like you're using the Automatic White Balance (AWB) setting. Have you tried shooting with the "Fluorescent" white balance setting or a custom white balance setting, using an 18% gray card (A white sheet of typing paper will do in a pinch)?

This process is breifly described on page 62 & 63 of the VIXIA HF G20 Instruction Manual