ExpoDisc question/WB problem

[Cindy Flood]

I've used my ExpoDisc with several Canon bodies and with my M8. I have been using it with the D300, too. Tonight I encountered a problem. I was just shooting some test shots inside with incandescent light. I used the Expodisc to set a WB and all the shots that I took had a yellow cast. I re-shot the WB frame a few times. I tried it with Manual and Auto exposure (making sure that my exposure was correct) and the D300 flashed "Good" each time. I made sure the correct WB preset was being chosen (d0). (I use the neutral Expodisc).
I then put WB on incandescent and the shots no longer had a yellow cast.
Can anyone offer any insight as to what is going on here?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jonoslack]

HI Cindy
I can't help, beyond the fact that I now use 2 white balance settings on the D3:
Daylight
Incandescent

If I'm fussed, I'll stick a grey card somewhere in the first couple of shots.

If you're shooting RAW you can sort it out in processing, and it's good to have a consistent base to start from. The expodisc should give you the right setting,

This thread is about Nature, but the principles are the same (maybe you saw it).

http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1767

 

[Cindy Flood]

Thanks, Jono. I'm just flustered by this. Any of my former Canon bodies would have corrected with the expodisc. I just can't figure why it is not correcting in the Nikon.
Yes, I shoot raw, so I can correct. I would just like to think that if I was at an event, I could use the expodisc and get a good starting point (esp. if the light was mixed.)

 

[jonoslack]

Thanks, Jono. I'm just flustered by this. Any of my former Canon bodies would have corrected with the expodisc. I just can't figure why it is not correcting in the Nikon.
Yes, I shoot raw, so I can correct. I would just like to think that if I was at an event, I could use the expodisc and get a good starting point (esp. if the light was mixed.)

Well, I don't understand why you cant either. One think I would say though, if the lighting is mixed, there isn't a RIGHT answer - and I think it's so much easier to take a familiar view and then stick to it; as I say, I'm either shooting 'incandescent' or 'daylight' and it's made life sooooo much easier.

 

[Panopeeper]

I re-shot the WB frame a few times. I tried it with Manual and Auto exposure (making sure that my exposure was correct) and the D300 flashed "Good" each time

Cindy,

one possible reason for the incorrect WB is, that the relevant area of the WB frame contained clipped channels.

When shooting the WB frame, try with a somewhat lower exposure. You can not trust the in-camera histogram anyway, except if you are using a special setup (neutral setting and a neutral WB template, sometimes called UniWB). And, anyway, when you are shooting the WB reference frame, change the WB *before* to incandescent, so that you have a somewhat better idea of its exposure (but that still does not guarantee, that the shot will not be overexposed somewhere).

Gabor