Is Custom White Balance on the Canon T2i 550D Applied to RAW?

– July 14, 2010

Does anyone know the answer to this? My test indicate that it is.

I can’t find the answer to this in the T2i manual. I shoot in RAW almost all the time, unless I am shooting sports and I want it to crank out the images faster.

I want to know if I am wasting my time custom white balancing while shooting in RAW mode on my Canon T2i 550D.

I have heard people say that Custom White Balance, Highlight Tone Priority and Auto Light Optimizer settings are not used on RAW images. Is this true?

As you can see from my test, I sure think custom white balance is applied to RAW.

To me jpg and video on the T2i are very similar because of compression, whereas RAW is very different. The more I can learn about how my Canon handles the differences the better I am use the camera.

Some Answers I Have Received Since Posting This Video:

Gumzster from Vimeo add this answer which is a good one:

Yes and no. WB is applied to RAW in the sense that it’s what you see when you load the image, but you can change it all you like in post…unlike a JPG where the WB is baked into the image.
Picture style works the same way.

Edit: I answered before I saw the video.
I don’t think you fully understand the difference between JPEG and RAW.
JPEG is a 8 bit delivery codec, where as RAW captures all of the image sensor data.
(Learn more about RAW here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_image_format)

Think of RAW as negatives in the old film days and JPEG as the printed photos.

Here is an answer that came in from one of the comments from Dan Young:

“Like Gumzster said, RAW mode shoots the full image data.

Because of this, using the Canon Digital Photo Pro Software that came with the camera (I don’t know if you can do this in Aperture though i think i remember seeing a plug in???,) you can also go back to your RAW images and change your white balance afterwards to any one of the presets or I think even to a new custom.

You can also change the Picture Modes too. So if you shot something on Black and White, you can change it to Portrait, or Standard if you want and Viola – all your color data has returned.

(And now that I read a second time – this is pretty much what Gumzster already said anyway…)”

Another good answer from Jeremy Shockley:

“The preview you see on the LCD is in fact a JPEG which is a compressed and interpreted version from the raw image you shot. The interpretation is more important than the fact that the image is smaller. When the file is turned into a jpeg the processor and jpeg algorithm work together to determine what should stay or go in the image and what color temperature the image is. This is written into the file. For example, shoot in RAW but change your picture style between shots. The JPEG preview on the LCD will always match the picture style selected as the LCD does not display the RAW sensor data image.

The RAW image is a record of what was hitting the sensor at the moment of exposure. This RAW data has not been interpreted thereby giving the most flexibility in determining white balance in post processing as the white balance is an interpretation of what hit the sensor.

Video on the T21, is a compresses/interpreted format, not raw. So the same applies to video. When setting the white balance in video that interpretation of the light temperature is written to the compressed h.264 (T2i) movie file. This knowledge allowed clever people to use custom picture styles to flatten the image allowing for maximum dynamic range.

From PeterGregg on YouTube

All cameras shoot ONLY raw from the sensor. A jpg file then bakes the file to a completed form that is processed by the camera’s processor. A raw file captures the data from the sensor including all the setting of the camera but does not “bake” the file. You do that in a computer. Programs will use your settings as a starting point but you can change anything you want.

Different programs like Lightroom verses DPP will use the camera settings in different ways. LR allows you to set up your own custom settings so that when files come in from a T2i your own settings will be applied. But all the programs use the WB settings you set in the camera as a starting or reference point. After it is in the computer you are free to make any change you want.

The advantage of doing the WB in the camera for stills is the actual exposure can change by as much as a stop or more because different lights push different aspects of the spectrum. Tungsten will push red to the point of telling the meter the exposure is okay, but after you WB you may need another stop of light.

For video, I don’t know what is happening until I actually get a camera. A general rule though is it is best to have the correct WB when you can get it. I use a product called the Colorright Pro and it is excellent.

Thanks for everyone’s help answering this question!