| name | white-balance-and-color-temperature |
| description | Use when matching camera to scene lighting. Wrong white balance = blue or orange cast.
|
White Balance and Color Temperature
White balance matches camera to light's color temperature. Daylight ~5500K, tungsten ~3200K, fluorescent ~4000K. Set manually for consistency.
Color temperature reference
| Source | Kelvin |
|---|
| Candlelight | 1900K |
| Tungsten/incandescent | 3200K |
| Halogen | 3200K |
| Fluorescent | 4000-4500K |
| Daylight (sun) | 5600K |
| Overcast | 6500K |
| Shade | 7500-9000K |
| LED (varies) | 2700-6500K |
Setting white balance
- Auto WB — camera guesses (often wrong in mixed lighting)
- Preset — daylight, tungsten, fluorescent
- Custom WB — point at white card or grey card, set
- Manual Kelvin — dial in exact value
- Shoot RAW + adjust in post — flexibility (photo + some video)
Mixed lighting trap
Common scenario: window (daylight 5600K) + lamp (tungsten 3200K) in same scene. Camera can match one or other, but not both.
Solutions:
- Match one light to the other (gel the tungsten with daylight-correction gel)
- Close the curtains, control with lamps only
- Wait for matching daylight (overcast)
- Accept mixed light, color-correct in post
Where this fits in the X3 empire
WB discipline for CardPrepAI video shoots.
