A Comparison of White Balance Modes ( P, A, S, M Modes Only)
On this page, we shall take a look at the effects of different white balance modes. For each available color temperature (i.e., daylight, cloudy, flash, fluorescent, and incandescent), we take images of the same scene using all available white balance modes. By comparing these images, we hope to gain some understanding of using an appropriate white balance mode, or to know how to obtain creative effects with white balance modes.
Under strong sunlight, the best choices are Auto, Daylight or White Bal Preset. The following images were taken in a sunny day using different white balance settings. The one taken with Auto is similar to the one with Daylight. But, the former seems brighter than the latter. However, both lack a touch of a late summer afternoon mood (around 5pm). In terms of tonality, the one taken with Auto is not as saturated as the one with Daylight, and the one with White Bal Preset is better. Color temperatures for incandescent and fluorescent are much lower than that of sunlight. As a result, both images are bluish. Since cloudy daylight and flash have lower color temperatures than sunlight and higher than incandescent and fluorescent lights, the images taken with Cloudy and Speedlight are warmer than those of Incandescent and Fluorescent.
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| Auto | White Bal Preset | Daylight |
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| Cloudy | Speedlight | Fluorescent |
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| Incandescent |
In a heavy overcast or rainy day, the best choices are Auto, Cloudy, or White Bal Preset. The following images were taken in a rainy day using different white balance settings. The images taken with Auto, Daylight and Cloudy are similar; but, the one using Cloudy definitely has a better rendition of green leaves. The one taken with Fluorescent is similar, but has a slightly stronger touch of blue. There is no doubt that the one with Incandescent will show a very strong touch of blue. It is interesting to point out that the one taken with White Bal Preset added too much green touch to the image, making it not very realistic and similar to the one using Flash. Because heavy overcast and rainy day has a strong cast of blue, to reduce this blue touch (i.e., warming up the scene), a light warm 81a filter and a stronger 812 filter were used. The last two images were taken using Daylight, one with a 81a filter while the other with a 812 filter. It is obvious that the one using 812 has a stronger (i.e., warmer) effect than that of the 81a. Both delivered a better and more natural effect than that with White Bal Preset.
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| Auto | White Bal Preset | Daylight |
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| Cloudy | Speedlight | Fluorescent |
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| Incandescent | Daylight with 81a filter | Daylight with 812 filter |
Flash lights are designed to have a color temperature similar to that of the sunlight. But, of course, flash lights are "warmer" than sunlights! The following images were taken in a room illuminated only with fluorescent lights and the internal flash was always on (i.e., fired for every shot). As a result, there is no surprise that the ones taken with Daylight, Fluorescent and Cloudy are very similar. On the other hand, the images taken with Auto and Speedlight are also similar and look warmer. The one taken with Incandescent is bluish which is normal because incandescent lights have lower color temperature. The one taken with White Bal Preset looks very similar to that of Incandescent. This is because the flash does not fire when performing a white balance preset, and, as a result, the camera only detects fluorescent lights. Consequently, when the flash fires, excessive blue color will be recorded!
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| Auto | White Bal Preset | Daylight | Cloudy |
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| Speedlight | Fluorescent | Incandescent |
Fluorescent lights have lower color temperature than those of flash lights. The best choices are Auto, Fluorescent, or White Bal Preset. The following images were taken in a room with only fluorescent lights. The images taken with Auto, Cloudy and Fluorescent are very similar to each other. The images taken with Daylight and Speedlight are similar and are a little darker than the previous ones. All five images show a touch of green. On the other hand, the one taken using White Bal Preset is very accurate. The last image was taken using Daylight, which is expected to have a touch of green, and a Tiffen FLD filter that can counter the green color. The ceiling is a little bluish and the wall near the light sources still has a touch of green. While it is not very realistic, it shows that the FLD filter does work effectively.
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| Auto | White Bal Preset | Daylight | Cloudy |
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| Speedlight | Fluorescent | Incandescent | Daylight with FLD filter |
For incandescent light, the best choices are Auto, Incandescent, White Bal Preset. The following images were taken with a single 75 watt light bulb. Note that the background is a white paper. The one taken with Auto is similar to the one with White Bal Preset. Both are underexposed but can be corrected with Exposure Compensation. Because incandescent lights have color temperatures lower than that of the of sunlight, flash lights and fluorescent lights, the images taken with Daylight, Incandescent, Cloudy and Speedlight are similar to each other. The image taken with Incandescent does not show the white background correctly, and is similar to the image taken with Daylight with a 80a filter. The 80a filter is a blue one used to counter the excessive reddish light. Apparently, a single 80a filter is insufficient to counter balance the reddish light from a light bulb.
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| Auto | White Bal Preset | Daylight |
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| Cloudy | Speedlight | Fluorescent |
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| Incandescent | Daylight with 80a filter |