Sony Nex 5 custom white balance

[Wojo]

Hello All

I have a Sony NEX-5, and am useing it for astrophotography. I am useing a C/D on this subject and the person recommends to set a custom white balance on the night sky, to help eliminate light polution.
I have been unable to do this. Following the Sony info ,I go to the CWB, set the control to CWB setup, point camera to the sky, press shutter and I get
(custom white balance error 9900k M9).
The person in the C/D uses a Cannon to do this. I am wondering if it is possible to do this with the Sony??

Thanks for your time.............................Wojo

[Wojo]

Not even a guess , how to do this??..............................Wojo

[Andy Stanton]

This link may help.

How to Set White Balance

[SilverScreen]

To set the custom WB with Nex5, I maneaged with a shooting mode "antiMotionblur" and in setup "BrightnessColor", where the wheel take you to "CustomSetup".
Work fine.

[Wojo]

Thanks for the reply
What I was originaly trying to do was eliminate the reddish hue in night time sky pictures. in jpeg.
I found if I use Raw , then use CWB in say Photoshop or even the editing software that came with the camera, I can closely achive a decent looking night sky color............................Thanks Wojo

[SilverScreen]

Now there are several other options with NEX. 3 modes where you get a BW and all the yellow, blue, red or green --- then combining the 4 images or using only 3 will proberly cut out but add some. Also there are various HDR options .
In fact what you complain are how good the chip and software work. I am sure you can use both hard and software to go around this problem. Now I don't know about the new 24 Mp. Nex, the Nex 5 I use are just 14 Mp. And what will be added with new firmware is difficult to say.

[SilverScreen]

Hello All

I have a Sony NEX-5, and am useing it for astrophotography. I am useing a C/D on this subject and the person recommends to set a custom white balance on the night sky, to help eliminate light polution.
I have been unable to do this. Following the Sony info ,I go to the CWB, set the control to CWB setup, point camera to the sky, press shutter and I get
(custom white balance error 9900k M9).
The person in the C/D uses a Cannon to do this. I am wondering if it is possible to do this with the Sony??

Thanks for your time.............................Wojo

I wonder ; is this a foult at all ?

See you are told two things, first that the camera think it is a foult and secondly a number could be a color "tempeture", , please I do not know what the number mean, but if the light is very low or not normaly ballanced, you allway's get this messeage that it is a foult, and the light is measured to those numbers.

Now at night there are not much light from the stars, but don't you think, that when it return a measure and set the chip, that then you set the right "white ballance afterall, -- only the camera tell you what you allready know, that the light are terrible, for normal images that is.

But you do not intend to take normal images I guess.

Anyway, I can take images with my Nex5, 14 Mp. also with very different color measurements, there allway's come an image and the numbers vary all depending what light it is, --- but just the fact it is measured, proberly set the chip to work with that "white ballance -- or ( well I guess you just must experiment) . I thought a lot of using the Nex for night foto, even invested in T. Rings, just for Astro use as you, but there are a lot more information to find for Canon. Still why should Nex not be as good or even better ? Anyway if you buy a Nex-2-C-mount plus a C-mount -2- 1,25", put the two together with the C-Mount thread, then you have the shortest distance ever, from flange to chip, and that mean you can allway's focus any telescope. Something that is difficult sometimes, if you buy the standard Nex-2- 1,25" , as that start with a tube where what you get whan you put the two I point to together you have a short adapter that you allway's can lenghten where with a Canon, you are left with the same distance from flange to chip, as with a *Nex, with a standard 1,25" or 2" adaptor.

Anyway, -- what happen if you put a filter in and then set the white ballance, and then remove the filter --- Well if you do the same at normal light, you gain color sentitivity, maybe that can be used in Astro ?

Now I am not an Astro amature, I just bought a lot of adaptors for various lenses, among those also for telescopes and I know the Nex, can focus in particular telescope types --- if you follow my advise, where you must rebuild the telescope, to get a Canon working -- due to flange-mirror distance. So I hope you can use my advise.
Just search FaceBook for "Per Corell" there I placed images of the adaptors mentioned.

[SilverScreen]

P.s. -- Sorry if this P.s. make you even more confused, but when I asked about "White ballance" in danish foras I was told, that to set the white ballance, you buy a special gray card (expensive to ), . This particular Gray is used to set the right white ballance so you are from the ansvers I got there, not supposed to set tha white ballance, in the individual light condisions but set it in a general manner for the camera and chip. Now is this true or is it again one of those vintage remains, from when it was film cameras and not digital cameras, when you were supposed to put on real filters not digital ones ? I do not know.

[Andy Stanton]

P.s. -- Sorry if this P.s. make you even more confused, but when I asked about "White ballance" in danish foras I was told, that to set the white ballance, you buy a special gray card (expensive to ), . This particular Gray is used to set the right white ballance so you are from the ansvers I got there, not supposed to set tha white ballance, in the individual light condisions but set it in a general manner for the camera and chip. Now is this true or is it again one of those vintage remains, from when it was film cameras and not digital cameras, when you were supposed to put on real filters not digital ones ? I do not know.

I'm not sure what you're asking but yes, higher quality cameras like the NEX 5 have a custom white balance option which allows you to set your white balance with the use of a white or grey card. The cards are not expensive. Select "custom" from the white balance menu, point the camera at the white or grey card under the lighting conditions you'll be shooting in, filling the frame with the card, then press the shutter button.

[SilverScreen]

I'm not sure what you're asking but yes, higher quality cameras like the NEX 5 have a custom white balance option which allows you to set your white balance with the use of a white or grey card. The cards are not expensive. Select "custom" from the white balance menu, point the camera at the white or grey card under the lighting conditions you'll be shooting in, filling the frame with the card, then press the shutter button.

Hi, I was quoting the replies I got when asking this question in a local group --- what I see as a problem there, is to use a gray card under star lights. "Wojo" obviously pointed the lens to the sky, to set the white ballance and I wonder if the chip would have reconised the gray card under those condisions )

About price, foto shops in my contry charge so much for a gray card, that very few "invest" in one. Personaly I find 40 Eur to much for a gray piece of plastic, but it indicate the profit shops ask in my contry.
Anyway when asking about the white ballance issue, I found out that many use a plain piece of cardboard. ---In my contry, and becaurse the price are silli.

I guess white ballance can be difficult to understand, and when you activate the white ballance set in Nex, you are asked to point the lens to the most typical area of the scene and then press the trigger. That is when you sometimes get the error messeage but at the same time a number that I guess is the color temperture ; please correct me if I am wrong, but fact is, that then the white ballance are set nomatter you are told there are an error. --- I guess my question concern that.