NJphotodoc wrote:
Hi all- Got my D7200 and love the camera. Definitely a step up from my D7000 but I do have a question with setting white balance in Auto mode. Simply put, it does not give me this option. In all other modes (A,M,S) not a problem but when I put it in Auto, pushing the WB button gets me nowhere.
I know the Nikon engineers think they are smarter than the photographers and maybe this is one more example of showing the camera is more intelligent than me, but if anyone has had this and found a fix or work-around, please let me know. I was taking photos at a hospital holiday party yesterday and the background lighting was florescent along with diffused flash from my SB700. The auto mode did a decent job of making the right choices for exposure so maybe I should just leave well enough alone.
As always, all advice gratefully appreciated.
Hi all- Got my D7200 and love the camera. Definite... (
show quote)
You can't. On Nikon's consumer cameras you have a full auto mode - where camera makes all the decisions about all parameters - essentially reducing it to the functionality of a cellphone camera out of the box. It makes the camera more accessible to casual photographers.
If you want to have most of the benefits of Auto operation, but want to be able to set a few parameters, they provide P (Programmed Auto) and if you are using flash, M would be a good choice, so that you can have one way to control the mix of ambient light by adjusting the shutter speed without affecting the aperture. You can also control the light output from the flash, to accomplish more or less the same thing. I am old school - the way we used to do it was to use the guide number, adjust the flash output for the distance, which would dictate the aperture, and use slow shutter to mix in more ambient or vice versa.
As you have discovered, you can set your white balance, control over the flash, aperture, focus areas, in A,P,M, and S. - In your user manual, page 111 states:
"In modes other than P, S, A and M, white balance is set automatically by the camera.". Auto mode will not let you change the white balance, nor will the scene modes.
Nikon's engineers ARE smarter than we are. They provide cameras with all sorts of menus and controls to suit just about anyone who picks up one of their cameras to shoot with. The camera is just a tool, and has no intelligence of it's own. It only does what you tell it to. Knowing your gear's characteristics and capabilities is the key to being able to best utilize it's myriad of features. I wouldn't take Nikon's approach to camera design too personally. After all, they are trying to make everyone happy.
As far as white balance with mixed lighting, especially when some of the lighting is fluorescent, is probably the most difficult situation for a camera. Not only does the fluorescent flicker at 120 cps, providing different color temp, balance and light output at different points in the cycle, requiring that you shot at 1/60 or slower to make sure that your exposure encompasses an entire cycle, you have to contend with the color of the flash, and different levels of light from the fluorescent lighting as well. Unless you light the entire room with speedlights strategically placed around the room, you cannot be assured of consistent results. More advanced cameras come with an anti-flicker setting that times the exposure in such a way as to minimize the flicker effect.
Here is some reading for you on the fluorescent flicker
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Photography-Tips/flickering-lights.aspxhttp://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/4115/do-fluorescent-lighting-and-shutter-speed-create-a-problem-with-color-cast