Anyone know if white balance changes from lens to lens?

12 years 9 months ago #114162 by Hawkins
I have noticed that when I take photos of my daughters cheer-leading competitions that are inside and I switch lenses, I can almost tell a faint color difference between lenses. Sometimes a photo will look cooler or warmer, and I know I had switched lenses during that time. So will the white balance change from one lens to another?


Photo Comments
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12 years 9 months ago #114168 by nikkie nature
I do not think so. I think the white balance is all within the camera, not the lens. Now if you have a filter on a lens, that could make a difference.


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12 years 9 months ago - 12 years 9 months ago #114170 by Henry Peach
Yes. Lenses can have slight color cast differences. For instance it seems to me that the Sigma lens I own tends to be a bit warm yellow compared to my Canon lenses. Among my classic camera lenses I've encountered a fair amount of color variation. One of my favorites is the 50mm f/1.4 Pentax Super Takumar. It has a radioactive internal lens element that turns yellow over time. Sucks for color, but like a built in #8 filter for BW. :)

EDIT: Filters, particularly from different brands, could also have color cast differences. So if you had different UV filters on each lens that could be part of it too.
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12 years 9 months ago #114176 by Rob pix4u2
As was said it's the lens elements not the camera body, but it could also be the indoor lighting changing temperature slightly as the bulbs heat or cool a bit, or as you are focusing on a specific area the temp of certain bulbs overhead are warmer or cooler in the arena. I know this is true in the hockey arena where I shoot most often that bulbs at one end are slightly different than at the middle or other end.

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Rob Huelsman Sr.
My Facebook www.facebook.com/ImaginACTIONPhotography

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12 years 9 months ago #114183 by Henry Peach

Rob pix4u2 wrote: ...it could also be the indoor lighting changing temperature slightly as the bulbs heat or cool a bit, or as you are focusing on a specific area the temp of certain bulbs overhead are warmer or cooler in the arena.


:agree: Fluorescent lights can cycle through a variety of colors, and color cast changes from shot to shot if the shutter speed is faster than the cycle length.

The way to find out if it's the lenses (take off the filters) would be to set the wb to daylight or something other than auto, and shoot the same thing in the same light at the same exposure settings. Something white would make slight color casts easier to see.
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12 years 9 months ago #114205 by Hawkins
So if you are looking for consistency between photos and are swapping out lenses, how can you insure you are getting the same white balance?


Photo Comments
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12 years 9 months ago #114235 by Rob pix4u2
You can use two camera bodies or not swap lenses and test the lighting over a period of time to see if the arena /gym lights are your source of the color casts. there really should be no change in the white balance in the camera body- only in the lens elements but if you are using two bodies then you won't be swapping lenses. About as clear as mud eh ?

Remember to engage brain before putting mouth in gear
Rob Huelsman Sr.
My Facebook www.facebook.com/ImaginACTIONPhotography

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12 years 9 months ago #114244 by Henry Peach

Hawkins wrote: So if you are looking for consistency between photos and are swapping out lenses, how can you insure you are getting the same white balance?


Do some personal testing to determine the difference, and then you can correct that difference in processing or using color correction filters on the lens.
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12 years 9 months ago #114250 by Shadowfixer1

Hawkins wrote: So if you are looking for consistency between photos and are swapping out lenses, how can you insure you are getting the same white balance?

Do a custom white balance whenever you swap lenses. If what you are seeing is slight, then I suspect it is the different coatings on the lenses and not the availabe light that is the culprit. Doing a custom white balance whenever you swap lenses will fix that problem.
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