Eye Dropper Tool for White Balance wants me to pick grey, not white...

ckatosmith

Newbie Joined: May 28, 2014 11:58 Messages: 24 Offline

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Jun 10, 2014 17:20

Hi,

I have ColorDirector 2 which I generally like really well. I was surprised and a bit disappointed that the eye dropper tool (if you hover over it) says to pick a GREY spot in the video, not white for white balance correction. I think it is much easier to find/see/guess at what should be white versus grey.

Is there an option to change that? Thanks.

PIX

Senior Contributor Joined: Sep 21, 2011 00:02 Messages: 2910 Offline

Jun 10, 2014 18:51

Hello ckatosmith,

Welcome to the CDR forum

Your surprise is understandable, since most white balance corrections in images are done by selecting an area that should be white.

The important thing is that there is no unwanted temperature or tint shift, & that colours are rendered accurately. So, in CDR, use the eyedropper to select an area that is "grey". Grey is such a "grey" area, but I think of it as a pixel with no leaning towards red, green or blue (neutral). RGB 128, 128, 128 is probably the classic example.

In CDR, I get decent white balance correction even when selecting a white pixel (255, 255, 255). The two spots selected in the screenshot yielded very similar shifts in temperature & tint. The histogram is a good guide.

Are you able to get the balance you want?

PIX


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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Jun 10. 2014 18:53

PIX YouTube channel

ckatosmith

Newbie Joined: May 28, 2014 11:58 Messages: 24 Offline

Jun 10, 2014 20:20

Thanks for the explanation. I have only used it once, and I felt 'lucky' to have something I considered grey in the video.

I'll keep in mind you can click on something white for future trial, but maybe I will put it in the the Suggestion Box. I don't see any advantage for Cyberlink to not have a tool that most other editors have (choosing white!) and that is easier to use. I wonder what their rationale was. Thank you again.