White Balance and RAW

[Cheeze439]

Probably a silly question.

I've been pretty much ignoring the white balance settings and leaving it on auto when shooting as I shoot in raw and can easily correct the white balance in post production.

I am under the impression that there's nothing to be gained really by setting the white balance correctly when shooting RAW, other than maybe a few seconds saved when post processing... is this correct?

[teaking]

Yup theres no image degridation caused to a RAW file changing white balance as no gamma curves have been applied. Only when you export it to a JPEG.

The main reason to set your white balance is just to save time in PP one less click lol.

[Skyyton]

One suggestion. Do not use auto white balance. Pick a white balance setting and stick with it. That way, you can adjust the white balance on one photo in post processing and apply the adjustment in mass to all the other photos in the same light.

[niblik2]

Actually I couldn't disagree more. The WB still affects exposure and RAW files greatly in camera. The best technique would be -best ISO, custom WB, best Exposure, whether RAW or jpg. (RAW is kinda over hyped)
Set Everything as correctly as possible. The sensor is told what to read according to camera settings of ISO sensitivity, WB color temperature, and Exposure, resulting in a compilation of data –the file. This can be a full MB RAW file or become a processed and compressed JPEG (where further software adjustments are be made for better or worse according to your settings)
Bottom line: Have the best technique possible with ISO, WB and Exposure, whether shooting RAW or jpeg. That’s it.

[Skyyton]

Not true. If you shoot RAW, the camera creates a header file which contains all of the camera settings, including white balance. The RAW image is not affected by the camera's white balance setting, they are simply tagged onto the raw image data. The exposure and ISO are affected, but not the white balance. You can adjust the white balance in post processing with no effect on the RAW image.

[Jamie Hibbert]

I am of the opinion that you should try and get everything as best you can in camera. It save post processing time and increases your knowledge level.

[Skyyton]

Originally Posted by Jamie Hibbert

I am of the opinion that you should try and get everything as best you can in camera. It save post processing time and increases your knowledge level.

I agree. That's why when shooting under the same lighting conditions, you're better off picking a white balance close to what you're shooting in and sticking with it. That way if your white balance is slightly off, you can mass correct the images, saving a whole lot of processing time.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by niblik2

Actually I couldn't disagree more. The WB still affects exposure and RAW files greatly in camera. The best technique would be -best ISO, custom WB, best Exposure, whether RAW or jpg. (RAW is kinda over hyped)
Set Everything as correctly as possible. The sensor is told what to read according to camera settings of ISO sensitivity, WB color temperature, and Exposure, resulting in a compilation of data –the file. This can be a full MB RAW file or become a processed and compressed JPEG (where further software adjustments are be made for better or worse according to your settings)
Bottom line: Have the best technique possible with ISO, WB and Exposure, whether shooting RAW or jpeg. That’s it.

This might be true if you're talking about white balance that is insanely off. Like if you shot Tungsten outdoors and didnt check your screen the ENTIRE TIME. With the Auto WB, I generally only have to adjust by, at most, 1000 kelvin, which is nothing.