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Samir Kharusi | all galleries >> Galleries >> LPS-P2 or CLS? > White Balance
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October 2009 Samir Kharusi

White Balance

Azaiba, Muscat, Oman

I set up the above shots specifically to show colours that I expected to be problematic; reds, blues and purples. These colours should show up any problems with white balance using a modded camera and the various filters. All the frames were captured using Raw and eye-dropper white-balanced on that vertical post, equivalent to using Custom White Balance. Other settings were at "Neutral". All were shot at ISO 200, so you can also gauge how much the sensitivity is impacted.

At the extreme left is a non-modded camera (the Canon G10) that yields superb colour balance. This is how all the colours should come out. Next is a modded camera with a Hutech UIBAR UV/IR Blocker. To a discerning eye the colours are no longer "perfect" but very close. Recall that I picked an assemblage of colours specifically to show up any deviations. A normal, every day mix of colours in daytime snaps will look spot-on. The next image with the LPS-P2 is still reasonably "OK", and at a pinch one can even use this filter instead of a UV/IR blocker for daytime snapshooting. But now the dark red flowers have become a lighter red and the purple flowers have also become red. Blue has shifted towards Teal. Still, if you are shooting a galaxy, the colour balance should still look quite satisfactory. I.e. for practical astronomical imaging the LPS-P2 behaves almost like a White-Light filter. The CLS does not. It is basically a duo-tone filter with broad passbands. You get all Blues coming out as Teal and anything purple comes out as bright Red. Yes, it will help further in your emission nebula imaging (those with OIII and Ha) but at the cost of white balance. Live with it. The right-most frame shows what a camera that does not have any UV/IR Blocker at all does to white-balance. Simply impossible! The Near IR really messes up all foliage colours. The Astronomik UHC (not displayed above) when used with a UV/IR Blocker behaves like the CLS on steroids, two passbands that are a lot narrower than in the CLS, but not quite narrow enough to be true narrowband. The following slides should aid in choosing which filter for which purpose.

Hutech Canon T1i(500D)
ISO 200 Raw captures, white balance set on the vertical post full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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