# Strange A57 white balance shift



## TexasChris (Aug 28, 2012)

The question.....what was I witnessing.....this same phenomenon occurred in several different white balance settings including auto.  The details for these pictures are as follows.




Sony A57
IS0:                        3200
Exposure Time:        1/320
f stop:                     5.6
Metering mode:         Center weighted average
Exposure bias:         0
No flash
White balance:          Manual, no changes made


Auto focus and continuous exposure  [lo].  


The arena is a red dirt arena, there was a lot of dust in the air....I'm unsure of the lights....they are "tennis lights" was all the barn supervisor could tell me.  What was happening?

























Was this caused by dust in the air?  Light frequency? or something else I'm unaware of?  I observed this is in WB auto, WB daylight etc......it was crazy.

TIA,


Chris


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## rexbobcat (Aug 28, 2012)

I'm tempted to say its because of the lights, which seem to be those tungsten (I think?) street lights, which aren't continuous and instead flicker on and off rapidly. 

You probably caught it at the height of it's cycle and the bottom.

Just a guess.

I used to have the same exact thing happen when I photographed football games


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## TexasChris (Aug 28, 2012)

That makes me feel better! I saw it as waves moving across the arena when i'd shoot continuous.  Did you ever get a fix or work around for it?


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## rexbobcat (Aug 28, 2012)

Not particularly. I found that trying to shoot at lower ISOs helped with the major color shifts. When I maxed out the ISO on my camera, which is 3200, I would start to get severely inconsistent photos.

I also assume that you do, but I'll say it anyways. Always shoot these kinds of situations where the light changes a lot in RAW. That way you have a lot more latitude for fixing colors and exposure


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## TexasChris (Aug 29, 2012)

Eek.  I don't....I shoot in fine.   *hangs head* I'm a noob.  I don't know a thing about post processing...but i was reading last night because of your post....I do now.  Thanks for the tip Rex.  I got some serious mileage out of that sentence.


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## MLeeK (Aug 29, 2012)

It's the cycling lights. It's harder to avoid than it is to fix in post. It will happen in an arena or gym or football field, etc. 
It's a nightmare with the really crappy lighting. Some arenas and fields will be better than others!


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## Kolia (Aug 30, 2012)

Also, are you really really sure you don't have a red shift compensation in the AutoWB setup ?  (click right when selecting AutoWB)

More and more I set my WB manually. Take advantage of the EVF preview mode to confirm your colors. 

And shoot RAW + Jpeg at least. This way you'll have the option of adjusting the image if needed.


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## DiskoJoe (Aug 31, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> I'm tempted to say its because of the lights, which seem to be those tungsten (I think?) street lights, which aren't continuous and instead flicker on and off rapidly.
> 
> You probably caught it at the height of it's cycle and the bottom.
> 
> ...



I think your probably correct on this assumption.


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## DiskoJoe (Aug 31, 2012)

TexasChris said:


> Eek.  I don't....I shoot in fine.   *hangs head* I'm a noob.  I don't know a thing about post processing...but i was reading last night because of your post....I do now.  Thanks for the tip Rex.  I got some serious mileage out of that sentence.



Shoot in RAW. Always.


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