Compton17

Just recently bought a new 50mm 1.8 lens for my Nikon d3200 and the photos all have a green/blue tint to them. My WB is set to auto. I haven't had this problem with any other lens. How can I get the proper colour back?

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Set white balance for available light. Sun, incandescent, flourescent, as needed. It sounds like you are under flourescent.

Compton17

Ok, I'll try that and thank you for your time and help.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Use an Xrite ColorChecker passport to be certain. It will provide 100% neutral color, or you can warm it or cool it a bit using the color sampling tiles provided in the target.

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

Is it just your new 50mm lens? Try shooting a colorful still life, like a flower basket along with an 18% gray card or Colorchecker, with your 50mm and another lens framed so the subject is about the same size in both pictures and about the same ISO, aperture and shutter speed and post. Want to use natural daylight like coming through a window or shoot outside. Its hard for me to believe its the lens unless your using a filter that would cause such a color shift. I have been told some less expensive optical plastic filters can cause color shifts.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Shoot in RAW, and if it is a WB problem, you can change it in post.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Look through the lens. If you don't see an obvious tint, then the lens is not the culprit.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

What make of lens is giving the tint? Nikon, or other manufacturer?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

With the camera in the same location, take pictures using the new lens and one other. Post them, and click "(store original)."

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Are you capturing your images in RAW format?
--Bob

Compton17

To try and answer all questions, there was no no filter on the lens, I do shoot in raw, it's not a Nikon lens but can supposedly be used on my camera and I will try the photo with that lens and another one and compare them. Thank you everyone for your help and patience with a new photographer.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It's unlikely the lens is causing the tint... Most likely the light under which you're using it.

The reason is that when you use Auto White Balance, the camera determines the color temp and tint by readings taken through the lens. For that reason, it would usually negate any color bias inherent to the lens. It's one reason color correction and color conversion filters we used with film are not only no longer necessary or useful with digital... in fact, the camera will try to cancel out any effect from the filter.

You can use the White Balance "presets" instead of Auto White Balance... Tungsten, Sunlight, Shade, Flash, etc.... However, those are actually just round-numbered, "best guesses". For example, "Flash" typically sets a 6000K color temp. But the actual color of light from a flash may be 6143K or 5912K. Yeah, I'm just making those up... But the point is, light from a flash is almost never exactly 6000K... or exactly whatever the other presets cause the camera to render.

Far more precise color rendition can be achieved by setting a Custom White Balance. This is done by taking a test shot of a neutral target under the actual lighting conditions, then telling the camera to reference that to set the White Balance. The target can be pure white, gray or even black. (I usually use the 18% gray side of a Lastolite EZ Balance target, because I can also reference it to set a correct exposure... and because those targets fold up small for storage.)

It's also possible to deliberately bias a Custom WB color rendition. Back in the days of film, we often used different strengths of warming filters. With digital, those filters would be negated, however WB was set. Instead we can use Warm Cards to set a Custom WB. These care a set of targets, each with some slight tint... a light cyan card causes the camera to make images warmer... a pale yellow card causes it to make them a little cooler. There also is a card to correct fluorescent lighting, as well as a neutral gray and pure white targets. https://www.vortexmediastore.com/pages/warmcards-white-balance-system

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

First, be sure your monitor is calibrated and custom-profiled with a hardware and software kit from DataColor or X-Rite. Without a monitor calibrated to the proper standards, and a CUSTOM ICC profile installed in the proper location on your computer, you have no idea what is really in your files. If you make prints regularly, the cost of the calibration and profiling kit will more than pay for itself over time in savings on wasted materials or lab bills for reprints. Your prints will look a LOT better, too, and you'll get what you want on paper a lot sooner!

At the camera, just use a Delta-1 Gray Card or a One Shot Digital Calibration Target or an ExpoDisc or a similar white balance aid, following the instructions in your camera manual and the instructions that came with the target. If you're saving JPEGs at the camera, you will use the target to establish exposure, then use it to do a custom or preset or manual white balance (whatever Nikon calls it). If you're recording raw files, do the same, but also include an *exposure* of the target or WB aid so you can "click to white balance" in your post-production software.

For the ULTIMATE color accuracy, record raw files and use an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport with Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 2018 software. This effectively profiles the camera under whatever light source you're using, and yields the most accurate reproduction possible under that light source. Whether that is pleasing is then up to you to decide, making adjustments as you see fit.

Compton17

Thanks both of you for your help and for explaining how it all works. It does appear to be a white balance thing so I will have a go at that and see if that helps. You're help has been much appreciated, thank you both again.

clickety

Do you have a set of preprinted responses?

The OP questions why a particular lens gives a color cast which is not present with any of his other lens. Unless he is using a different monitor to view the photos from this particular lens (which he does not mention) all the very correct, very detailed information you provide is totally irrelevant to his problem and does not address his problem.