Nikon D500 shooting very “cool” desire WB check

GillianO

New member
Nikon D500 shooting very “cool” despite WB check

Hi! I am new to Nikon! Loving my D500, BUT it seems to shoot quite cool (both RAW and JPEG) compared to what I was used to with my Canon. Anyone else notice this photo temperature issue? Any fixes? I am using the 300mm f4, and the 70-300mm telephoto as well as the 50mm 1.8. Thanks so much for any help!
 
Last edited:

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
Re: Nikon D500 shooting very “cool” despite WB check

That's a common refrain between Nikon and Canon... If you want...google it, and you'll find several discussions on the internet for adjusting the camera's Picture Controls on the Shooting Menu... Realize of course, that what you see on the display is simply a JPG preview of the image. If you shoot RAW and/or do any post-processing, you can adjust the warmth in post-processing...

If you really insist... you can also create a Custom White Balance setting in the camera and use it as your default WB setting...
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Re: Nikon D500 shooting very “cool” despite WB check

Hi! I am new to Nikon! Loving my D500, BUT it seems to shoot quite cool (both RAW and JPEG) compared to what I was used to with my Canon. Anyone else notice this photo temperature issue? Any fixes? I am using the 300mm f4, and the 70-300mm telephoto as well as the 50mm 1.8. Thanks so much for any help!
Nikon's cool White Balance default annoys me as well, it's primarily why I've started using a custom White Balance whenever I can. When I do have to use Auto-White Balance I've made some adjustments to its default. And just to be absolutely clear... This is an entirely different than taking a reading and creating an in-camera Custom White Balance... This alters the Auto-White Balance function itself.

To adjust the Auto-White Balance to a warmer default go into the Shooting Menu (Camera icon) and scroll down to, "White Balance". Click right to enter the White Balance sub-menu, right again to enter the "Auto" setting sub-menu and right a third time to enter the adjustment section. The menus for your D500 might be slightly different than the menus on my D750, but what you're looking for is this:
.....
WB Menu.jpg
.....
As you can see, you can move the default setting marker from the center of the grid up (for more green), down (for more Magenta), left (for more Blue) and right (for more Amber). I have added a few clicks of Magenta on my camera because I think it renders better skin tones. I also add a couple points of Amber frequently when I'm shooting outdoors. You can experiment with different settings here and maybe get the warmer tones Canon users are accustomed to. While I don't have any specific recipes for you I could suggest you start by adding about one point Magenta and one or two points of Amber... See where that gets you.

If at some point you decide you don't like the changes you've made, you can always reset them so there's no harm in experimenting.

Good luck!!
 
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pforsell

Senior Member
Re: Nikon D500 shooting very “cool” despite WB check

Hi! I am new to Nikon! Loving my D500, BUT it seems to shoot quite cool (both RAW and JPEG) compared to what I was used to with my Canon. Anyone else notice this photo temperature issue? Any fixes? I am using the 300mm f4, and the 70-300mm telephoto as well as the 50mm 1.8. Thanks so much for any help!


Hi,

the D500 WB is pretty accurate. It seems that the default settings Nikon has chosen are different than what you wish, but that is not a problem since the WB is adjustable. Please see your manual pp. 159-179 to find out how to do it. I also provide a link to download the manual below.

http://download.nikonimglib.com/archive3/wnoC000lNlWT03DWqPn45bMh2471/D500UM_NT(En)05.pdf

Have you tried the third Auto WB option (Keep warm lighting colors), which is the obvious choice if you use AUTO WB (I don't use auto-anything). You can also fine tune the selected WB with sub-command dial if you're not yet getting warm enough. And of course you can make it accurate by doing manual preset white balancing.

The bottom line: you can get any white balance you wish.
 
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