By the way, I also like the pictures in your gallery.
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Biggest Problem with NEX cameras
- Thread starter Nell27
- Start date
Yes, manually setting the white balance does help.
Dez,
From the pictures you've posted I think you do a great job with the NEX camera.
I agree with everything you've said and just wish Sony could do something to get the automatic white balance a little closer to neutral.
Someone a couple of post down said that Photo perzon should show up any minute and I had to laugh because they're right. I'm sounding a lot like that guy. Ugh!
El Matadurr
Veteran Member
'atta boy.
DezM
Forum Pro
Thanks. Most of what I shoot is outdoors, so AWB isn't an issue. It does pretty good. Indoors, it can be a hit or miss.
I think that if you voice your concerns to Sony at their support site or via phone, they'll listen and will see this and other issues addressed in a firmware update.
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Dez
http://dezsantana.com
I think that if you voice your concerns to Sony at their support site or via phone, they'll listen and will see this and other issues addressed in a firmware update.
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Dez
http://dezsantana.com
You're right and saying something to Sony would do a lot more good than complaining on these forums.
Then again, Sony probably gets all kinds of worthless complaints so they may just put it in their round file.
I really like the NEX cameras and this seems like it would be an easy fix that would benefit everyone so I will say something and see how they respond. Chances are it's already been brought up but one more voice, in the crowd, couldn't hurt.
I'm very fussy about White Balance (shooting RAW or JPG) and have an ExpoDisc on the way.
That said AWB indoors is best I've seen on the Nex-7. I'd still use Custom White Balance when I can and I think of it and I have dedicated one button to it.
However, it drives me insane when it says it failed on WB measurement. Never seen a any camera do that. I was hoping they addressed that over the Nex-5.
I have seen a lot of poor white balance photos posted. Seen a lot of correct ones too.
The Canon 5DII did worse on AWB indoors than the Nex-7.
That said AWB indoors is best I've seen on the Nex-7. I'd still use Custom White Balance when I can and I think of it and I have dedicated one button to it.
However, it drives me insane when it says it failed on WB measurement. Never seen a any camera do that. I was hoping they addressed that over the Nex-5.
I have seen a lot of poor white balance photos posted. Seen a lot of correct ones too.
The Canon 5DII did worse on AWB indoors than the Nex-7.
LTZ470
Forum Pro
Agreed the Nex-7 is much better at AWB for some reason? The 5N has a very warm AWB indoors...Olympus has TWO (2) AWB settings in camera...one is Warm AWB "On" and the other Warm AWB "Off", Sony needs this same setting, I shoot my EP3 with Warm AWB "Off" all the time....
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FlickR Photostream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46756347@N08/
No they are NOT! EVERY camera has its one rendering. In the past you had people who loved Kodak colors others loverd the Colors from Fuji and others loved te AGFA.
With digital it is the same. Rendering colors is very personal. Some like Vivid colors, others like as natural as possible etc. That is why you can set it in the camera what kind of colors you like.
It is easy, when you like the colors of M43 better, AND you like the lenses of the M43 better, AND you like the IBIS of m43 better, then the Nex, then maybe the m43 is the better camera for you... Nothing wrong with that,but don't expect that the Nex will ever be the camera for you...
Enir4
Senior Member
Biggest NEX problem is lack of good lenses (NT)
John Bean (UK)
Forum Pro
I read the whole thread before commenting and I'm afraid I can't take sides even though I initially thought I would, when I read the OP.
Firstly, if AWB is the biggest issue you see with a NEX then your usage is clearly very, very different from mine. I've only ever owned one camera whose AWB choice more or less matches my perception and that's the Fuji X100; all others I've ever owned - including the Olympus E1 with its dedicated WB sensor - gave AWB so far out that I simply never used it.
I like images to look as they looked to my eyes, not sterilised by colorimetry. I often use custom WB (it's not hard, is it?) but more often I just use a canned preset, whether it be daylight or artificial light. Outdoors in the UK I tend to use "cloudy" no matter what the light, and indoors I use the nearest appropriate preset, usually "tungsten" (I may have the names wrong, no camera to hand). One thing I never do is adjust WB shot-to-shot, nor do I want the camera to do it either.
But on balance (sorry) I started to think a bit like the OP: if others (Fuji) can do such a good job with AWB - and it really is good on the X100 - then why is it so bad on cameras like the NEX? I don't find it a problem (and certainly not the biggest problem) but I have to ask myself why I have my X100 set to AWB but not my NEX-5 or C3.
It would seem that never using AWB is not really a mater of personal choice, rather a choice forced on me by the awful AWB on cameras like the NEX.
Disclaimer: the NEX doesn't have the worst AWB of all cameras I have used, that honour goes to the Panasonic G1. But the NEX comes a close second ;-)
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John Bean [GMT]
Firstly, if AWB is the biggest issue you see with a NEX then your usage is clearly very, very different from mine. I've only ever owned one camera whose AWB choice more or less matches my perception and that's the Fuji X100; all others I've ever owned - including the Olympus E1 with its dedicated WB sensor - gave AWB so far out that I simply never used it.
I like images to look as they looked to my eyes, not sterilised by colorimetry. I often use custom WB (it's not hard, is it?) but more often I just use a canned preset, whether it be daylight or artificial light. Outdoors in the UK I tend to use "cloudy" no matter what the light, and indoors I use the nearest appropriate preset, usually "tungsten" (I may have the names wrong, no camera to hand). One thing I never do is adjust WB shot-to-shot, nor do I want the camera to do it either.
But on balance (sorry) I started to think a bit like the OP: if others (Fuji) can do such a good job with AWB - and it really is good on the X100 - then why is it so bad on cameras like the NEX? I don't find it a problem (and certainly not the biggest problem) but I have to ask myself why I have my X100 set to AWB but not my NEX-5 or C3.
It would seem that never using AWB is not really a mater of personal choice, rather a choice forced on me by the awful AWB on cameras like the NEX.
Disclaimer: the NEX doesn't have the worst AWB of all cameras I have used, that honour goes to the Panasonic G1. But the NEX comes a close second ;-)
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John Bean [GMT]
Since I myself had inital difficulties calibrating WB, I noticed that it usually fails if the camera is set to Auto ISO.
If you set it to ISO 100, ....800, and then shoot at a grey card or white tissue, it works just fine.
If you set it to ISO 100, ....800, and then shoot at a grey card or white tissue, it works just fine.
As I found out, how pointless it is to try to get you to understand that you were finding photos with bad color OK, I decided to show you these pictures...
They were made by my NEX 5N and Oly EP-1. Both AWB with the Heliar 15mm mounted.
The OOC JPG from the NEX is GREENISH:
The OOC JPG colors from the EP1 look real:
If you want, have a look at my gallery. The same shots exported from RAW are there too. The NEX is even GREENER in RAW.
I believe, the FUJI color rendering is also on this level and probably even better.
For those, that think that manually setting WB would help... I exported these shots with AUTO WB applied by LR to RAWs to get all things equal. These shots also shown the NEX's tendency to produce GREENER photos.
So, are you gonna ban me again?
They were made by my NEX 5N and Oly EP-1. Both AWB with the Heliar 15mm mounted.
The OOC JPG from the NEX is GREENISH:
The OOC JPG colors from the EP1 look real:
If you want, have a look at my gallery. The same shots exported from RAW are there too. The NEX is even GREENER in RAW.
I believe, the FUJI color rendering is also on this level and probably even better.
For those, that think that manually setting WB would help... I exported these shots with AUTO WB applied by LR to RAWs to get all things equal. These shots also shown the NEX's tendency to produce GREENER photos.
So, are you gonna ban me again?
DuncanDovovan
Senior Member
Like I said: This is a personal preference.
With the WB you can express a lot.
I do not expect my camera to know what I want. I adjust WB of EVERY picture I take in post processing - no matter which camera I use. WB is a way to convey a feeling. No machine will be able to do that right.
Love it, leave it or change it, moaning about it is not an option.
With the WB you can express a lot.
I do not expect my camera to know what I want. I adjust WB of EVERY picture I take in post processing - no matter which camera I use. WB is a way to convey a feeling. No machine will be able to do that right.
Love it, leave it or change it, moaning about it is not an option.
If I look out the window and my neighbor's light-apricot-yellow house can be shot with correct and real colors by one camera and the other camera mutates the colors into the green dimension, I don't think it is OK.
Subjective WB and bla bla personal expression is one thing, incorrect color another.
What you can see from my LR RAW and auto WB exports is, that the NEX has issues even after correcting the WB to attain neutral or realistically looking colors. It is not only a question of the WB. You just can do what you want, this camera just isn't able to record color correctly.
Subjective WB and bla bla personal expression is one thing, incorrect color another.
What you can see from my LR RAW and auto WB exports is, that the NEX has issues even after correcting the WB to attain neutral or realistically looking colors. It is not only a question of the WB. You just can do what you want, this camera just isn't able to record color correctly.
zubs
Forum Enthusiast
As Dez has said, those who don't like the wb indoors, should actively contac Sony support. In volumes they will take note and address it.
1) Scarcity of NEX7 units, at least in N. America. Believe it or not, some people like to hold a camera, or peep through the EVF, before buying.
2) No fast, or even semi-fast, long lenses, unless you buy an adapter and hoist a competing brand DSLR lens about with you.
3) 1080 60p video that Sony Blu-ray players can't play, or that few editing programs can support, unless you convert; and web sharing options that decimate the bitrate, making the source format little more than a waste of time.
4) Poor mics exposed to fingers and no mic jacks.
Others have mentioned the feeble AF in low light, the vexing menu structure, and the high cost of the lens options.
The WB problem plagues many cameras. Incandescent lighting makes everthing appear orange, but the programmed setting makes things look ghoulish green. Sodium vapor street lighting makes everything spectral, but there are insufficient other hues to boost to allow any balance, so the choice is between yucky or no color at all.
But, once your wedded to the camera, "for better or worse" vows prohibit any nagging or criticism, right?
2) No fast, or even semi-fast, long lenses, unless you buy an adapter and hoist a competing brand DSLR lens about with you.
3) 1080 60p video that Sony Blu-ray players can't play, or that few editing programs can support, unless you convert; and web sharing options that decimate the bitrate, making the source format little more than a waste of time.
4) Poor mics exposed to fingers and no mic jacks.
Others have mentioned the feeble AF in low light, the vexing menu structure, and the high cost of the lens options.
The WB problem plagues many cameras. Incandescent lighting makes everthing appear orange, but the programmed setting makes things look ghoulish green. Sodium vapor street lighting makes everything spectral, but there are insufficient other hues to boost to allow any balance, so the choice is between yucky or no color at all.
But, once your wedded to the camera, "for better or worse" vows prohibit any nagging or criticism, right?
John Bean (UK)
Forum Pro
That's not the fault of the NEX, it's the fault of the terrible default profile that Adobe supplied for it. Use a different brand converter and you'll see completely different colour, or do what I did and make a proper profile and use that instead of the default in ACR/LR.
Colour from a raw file is far more effected by the converter than the camera that recorded it.
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John Bean [GMT]
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