Hi,
I recently upgraded my Canon HF-G10 camcorder to an HF-G30. I was considering the HF-G40 but a very good deal came up on a new HF-G30 that seemed too good to pass-up.
Automatic White Balance (AWB) on the HF-G10 was, in my opinion, very good - adapting quickly to changed lighting conditions and in mixed lighting usually arriving at a good compromise. I rarely had to manually white balance off a card to get acceptable result, which is what you want for run-and-gun and events work.
Unfortunately this has not been my experience with AWB on the HF-G30. For one thing it seems to take longer (typically around 10 secs or so) to fully adapt to changed lighting conditions, and sometimes it doesn't quite get there or requires powering the camcorder off and on and again to get it to do. So there is a tendency for blue casts to linger on white subjects when moving from sunlight to shade outdoors and likewise when shooting window lit interiors, especially on overcast days. Even in daylight conditions that should be optimal for accurate AWB (in the 5200 - 5500 K range) you'll find that different aspects of the same white object may take on blue casts - a white car, for example, the roof will be white but some aspects of the bonnet exhibit a blue tint. I can't recall having that issue with the HF-G10. I get the sense that AWB on the HF-G30, in general, arrives at a slightly lower color temperature than the HF-G10 did under similar conditions, and that is borne out by the adjustments required in post to correct for these these casts, as far as that is possible.
Yes, the Color Temperature (K) setting option is a great feature if you have the time to fiddle with it, but that was really designed for fine adjustments in a controlled studio lighting environment, not 'winging-it' out in the field, and trying to make judgements based on what can be made out on the OLED screen or EVF can often make matters worse.
What's frustrating is that in all other respects the HF-G30 is perfect for my needs, but this AWB issue is causing me such angst that I'm at the point of throwing the towel in.
So my question to any HF-G40 users out there (or XA30/35 users for that matter) is whether Canon addressed this issue and improved AWB on the HF-G40 or if it's still the same thing ?
Cheers
