Blue tinted images

[Decfish]

I recently purchased a Nikon D70s and so far I am very pleased with the camera. However, after shooting many pictures, experimenting a bit, I loaded them on the PC and noticed that many of the images had a blue tint to them. These were taken outdoors as well as indoors with the flash. I am using an older Nikon AF 35-80 lens off of my N70 and it has a basic UV filter attached. Any suggestions on what could be causing this.

 

[ndelaware]

Sounds like a White Balance issue. Make sure the WB is set to auto or the appropriate lighting conditions.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Post one and we'll have a look. Between the image and the EXIF, the problem will probaby be apparent.

 

[tinksdad]

Sounds like a White Balance issue. Make sure the WB is set to auto or the appropriate lighting conditions.

Yep! Sound like it to me to. Check your white balance control and make sure it's not on a custom setting.

 

[Groucho]

Also, try shooting a few in Raw format. On your PC, you can then use the Raw conversion software to change the white balance later, and you can see how the different white balance settings affect the color of a picture.

For example, having WB set to tungsten and taking a picture outside will usually lead to a heavy blue tint.

I shot Raw while on a trip to Saratoga Springs (New York, not Disney) and I'm convinced. It was great to be able to go back and change the white balance after the fact. That alone is enough to get me to shoot in Raw.

 

[Decfish]

Thanks for the advise...checked and had the WB set to flash.

 

[tinksdad]

Also, try shooting a few in Raw format. On your PC, you can then use the Raw conversion software to change the white balance later, and you can see how the different white balance settings affect the color of a picture.

For example, having WB set to tungsten and taking a picture outside will usually lead to a heavy blue tint.

I shot Raw while on a trip to Saratoga Springs (New York, not Disney) and I'm convinced. It was great to be able to go back and change the white balance after the fact. That alone is enough to get me to shoot in Raw.

Totally agree!!! RAW is definitely a photo saver. It can act like a digital negative and can be saved many different ways with a different WB and other adjustments on each different save. Try it, you'll see the benefits!

 

[MICKEY88]

with Paint Shop Pro Photo XI

you can change white balance after the fact with jpegs

 

[Decfish]

Post one and we'll have a look. Between the image and the EXIF, the problem will probaby be apparent.

Please take a look at this. WB was set to Auto, it still seems to have a blue tint. I put image in Photoshop and just did a quick fix and it becomes clear how blue the image is.

 

[jann1033]

are you talking about the white( what should be white) if so can't you do a color cast removeal? i took some out door pics of our first snow and they turned out way bluer than that...and i think i had it for manual..did a cast removal and the snow is ok but the sky is yellow

actually when i look at it enlarged the snow is yellow too ( no dogs around hehe) it was snowing pretty hard so don't know if that might have something to do with it or not. so i figured maybe the overall whiteness did it? not sure if that would relate to your problem or not

 

[safetymom]

Is your computer monitor calibrated to see the images correctly? I would start there and check the settings in your camera. Auto white balance is very good on the Nikon D70 and S series.

 

[MICKEY88]

are you talking about the white( what should be white) if so can't you do a color cast removeal? i took some out door pics of our first snow and they turned out way bluer than that...and i think i had it for manual..did a cast removal and the snow is ok but the sky is yellow

actually when i look at it enlarged the snow is yellow too ( no dogs around hehe) it was snowing pretty hard so don't know if that might have something to do with it or not. so i figured maybe the overall whiteness did it? not sure if that would relate to your problem or not

if it is overcast or shady out you will get a bluish tint, that is what the shade WB is for, it filters out the blue.....

using paint shop pro, i can correct that 2 ways, one would be to use color Balance, then WB filters. or another color correction method allows you to click on a white spot and it will color correct the whole image to get the white area white..

 

[Groucho]

You might also need a polarizer to help with snow... it's very shiny and could be reflecting the blue of the sky. A polarizer will help cut the reflections to leave the snow white and the sky blue. (Polarizers are on my mind as I finally picked one up yesterday...)

Like Mickey88 said, if there is a spot in the photo that you know is white, any decent photo manipulation software can white-balance off that. Even better is an 18% gray card but that's not the kind of thing you'll leave lying around in the snow!

 

[Decfish]

Is your computer monitor calibrated to see the images correctly? I would start there and check the settings in your camera. Auto white balance is very good on the Nikon D70 and S series.

I’m not sure about the monitor. I noticed the images looked somewhat washed out and the colors didn’t seem vibrant. I loaded some images in Photoshop and just did an auto adjust (I think that’s what it’s called) and the image popped. The whites were much whiter and the colors over all looked better. I also loaded some older images I had from my Sony p&s and the change was not nearly as dramatic. I have noticed that this seems to happen mostly when the flash is used. Doesn’t appear as drastic on outdoor shots.

 

[fitzperry]

I'll second the advice to shoot in RAW. I have a D70 and have found that the auto white balance setting tends to produce images with a very cool color cast. Since shooting in RAW preserves all the data captured by the sensor, it allows you to set the white balance however you choose. Some snobs ( ) will tell you to set the white balance manually, get it right the first time, and there's no need to shoot in RAW. But when you're on the go all the time, it's difficult to do that, and shooting in RAW affords you considerable flexibility.

Calibrating your monitor is also a great suggestion. When not calibrated, mine has a definite cool cast. There really is not much point in adjusting white balance if your monitor is not calibrated.

 

[boBQuincy]

While color balance can be adjusted on a JPG, it is not the same as adjusting white balance on a RAW image. With a JPG the camera has already done some adjustments, and thrown away the data it considered irrelevant. Any adjustments after that will likely leave "holes" in the histogram, color and brightness values that are no longer there.

With RAW this does not happen nearly as much, and usually not at all. If you have any doubts about the white balance, RAW gives you a much better opportunity to correct it later.

 

[Groucho]

Not only can Raw corrent if you pick the wrong one - it effectively takes WB completely out of the equation. If you're shooting Raw - who cares what the WB is set to? Leave it on auto and anything that's not ideal can be fixed on the PC, with no fear of damaged images.

The less things to worry about when shooting, the better, IMHO.

 

[Decfish]

Everyone has made a great cases for shooting in RAW. Are there any down sides to shooting in RAW?

 

[Groucho]

Oh yes...

The files are much larger, so you'll be able to fit far fewer pictures on your memory card.

Because they're larger, they also take longer for your camera to write to the card - so it will take longer for your camera to be ready for the next picture, and you probably won't be able to shoot as many shots in continuous mode.

The raw format is a lousy one to actually view your pictures in, so you'll have to do at least basic post-processing afterwards to get them into more viewing-friendly jpg format.

It's a balance between the extra quality and flexibility than raw gives you, versus the time and effort that raw requires. Only you can decide if it's worth it. But it's definitely worth trying a few shots in raw then using one of the tools (probably not a bad idea to start with whatever came with your camera - check their web site to see if a newer version is available for download), so you can make an educated decision.

 

[safetymom]

If I am taking pictures where I can get back and take more I use jpg. I only use RAW when they are very important. For most pictures I don't need the extra information. If I use raw I also set the camera to take in jpg also.