Colour cast of different cameras

Fulk

Well-known member
The other day we popped into Yordas Cave, interested to see how low the water was.
While there we took a few snaps on two cameras ? an Olympus TG-5 and a Canon G1X, a couple of which I?ll try to post on here. They were taken in identical fashion ? using the auto-focus system by the light of a caving lamp, with an off-camera flash fired by the camera?s inbuilt flash, which was shaded by an IR filter. They are more or less untouched, except for minor adjustments to the exposure, but the difference in colour cast is to my eye, astonishing ? the results from the TG-5 being much more natural.


 

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ZombieCake

Well-known member
A huge difference - one question: were the white balances (or any 'creative' exposure modes) set the same? That could make part of the difference.  The water on the Olympus (colours aside) looks much clearer and detailed too.
 

Fulk

Well-known member
Ah, ZombieCake, I normally leave the cameras on 'sunshine' light balance . . . but forgot to check. In fact, the Canon one is on sun, the TG on auto; damn!!! It sort of negates the comparison, I guess.
Tseralo ? they are on JPEG.

So ? I just took a couple of snaps in our garage (which is quite dark), ensuring this time that the TG was set to Sunshine WB . . . but on the picture, it says auto WB again, so I don't know what's going on there. Anyway, there is a similar marked difference in the colour of the two images, the TG looking quite natural, the Canon looking 'orangey'.
 

ZombieCake

Well-known member
The difference in colour temperature could well help explain then. Not sure what the colour temperature of each of the camera settings is as I don't have either camera.  However, looking at the Olympus Pen-F (I'm guessing various Olympus cameras have some sort of DNA sharing) in my lounge as of now in artificial light there is quite a difference between the 'Auto' and 'Sunny' settings, the latter being much more orange and 'warmer' with obvious colour shifts.
What's more surprising is the image quality of the Olympus seems better than the Canon.  The TG-5 has half the megapixels of the Canon which seems to help in the lower light, although there could be other factors at play.
 

Fulk

Well-known member
Actually, ZombieCake, the Canon has 14 M-pixels and the TG 12, but in order to post them on here, I reduced them both to 8x6-inch at 125 pixels / inch.
I think that the Canon has a slightly larger sensor, but even so when I enlarge the originals on my computer, there's not a lot to choose between them at quite big magnification (~20-inch tall print).
 

The Old Ruminator

Well-known member
I have noticed a difference with the TG series and other makes. Whatever the default preset is with the TG seems to work for me. Other images from a different camera look as above. I wonder if somehow the flash output is different. Going back over old digitized slides I find that haze removal and colour correction on Photoshop 18 helps a fair bit.

One from a solo working trip yesterday to record work being done. All looks normal to me. Yes, that's the old battered TG 2 which is still going well.

 

Fulk

Well-known member
I've just done a few tests round the house ? it appears that if you switch the flash on on the TG 5, then it automatically shooses 'auto WB'.
 

Bob Mehew

Well-known member
One scientific approach would be to use a colour card and measure differences.  I have an old one (QPcard 201) though I suspect the colours will have slightly faded.  There is also a need to calibrate your monitor if you want to do it visually, though that does not answer the differences between the two cameras displayed on the same screen.  PM me if you want to follow it up. 
 

ZombieCake

Well-known member
flash on on the TG 5, then it automatically shooses 'auto WB
See page 65 of the TG-5 instruction manual.  There's a menu setting for tweaking how white balance works with flash.  https://cs.olympus-imaging.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/download/manual/tg/man_tg5_e.pdf

(TG-5 is next on my shopping list so I downloaded the manual first to see what it can do.  Yes, I know I'm sad...)
 

Fulk

Well-known member
Thanks for that, ZombieCake . . . when all else fails, read the instructions, eh?

So I tried the Sunshine setting in the the garage with the same flash gun, and found that there's a subtle difference; on Sun/WB the picture is a tad warmer (though nothing like the Canon pic above), and I would judge that the colours (tackle bags, ropes, oversuits drying from our last trip, in addition to all the 'garage garbage', so lots of different colours) are more true to life on Auto/WB.

(I don't think you're at all sad to have a good look at the product spec. before blowing nearly ?400.)
 

mrodoc

Well-known member
Two variables, the camera itself and the flash itself (if off camera). I find a Canon G9 and Yongnuo flashes give a very warm image whereas my old Olympus 5050Z tended to the blue end of the spectrum. I find getting the colour right is in part a matter of taste. I notice Mark Burkey favours a bluish caste to his flash lighting but only noticeably on the back lighting.
 
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