How to professionally set white balance on EOS 90D?

[sara03]

Hi! Im using canon 90d for some video production work and I still can’t quite figure out how to set WB fast, the typical “take a picture” thing is too slow and takes too long navigating menu.

I really miss the fast WB button as on other cameras that works by just putting the grey card in the frame. Obviously, you cant set perfect WB every time by just dialing it manually and looking on monitor.. Auto WB is fine but it can change during the shoot and its hard to fix that on post. Also Auto WB doesn’t tell you anywhere the exact kelvin that it figured out to write it down for example. And the last thing that bothers me, is the idea of taking a picture of grey card as the reference photo. How is that photo accurate? It is taken with auto WB by itself. Anyone know a way around this on canon 90d? Or a hack to speed up the process without taking pictures?

[rs-eos]

Your DSLR is primarily a photo camera.  So WB workflows are geared towards that.

If you need absolute accuracy with colors, it's always best to use a color chart (I personally use those from DataColor).

If you are filming events where lighting changes often, your best bet is to use Auto WB.

For ultimate control, you'd really need equipment capable of capturing RAW footage.  There, as with photos, WB won't be baked in and give you the ability to change in post.

[normadel]

An 18% Grey Card is not a guarantee of "accurate" color balance or exposure. It represents an average of tones of a "normal" scene. If what you are shooting is not "average" in color mixture or shades, exposures won't be what you expect.

[Waddizzle]

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@sara03 wrote:

Hi! Im using canon 90d for some video production work and I still can’t quite figure out how to set WB fast, the typical “take a picture” thing is too slow and takes too long navigating menu.

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If you want accurate colors and WB, then you must capture a sample image, preferably saved as RAW, not JPG.  If that is too much to ask, they you will be at the mercy of the Auto WB function built into the camera.

I think most ”professional” videographers record video footage in RAW format and perform color grading in post.