Why can you not adjust WB from a memory dial setting?

[rda]

This is very frustrating, but it seems like you can't change the White Balance after setting the memory dial. WB is something that needs to be changed every shoot, so I'm baffled as to why it's not possible. I knew it wasn't with the A7RIII but I hoped that it would be fixed in the later versions. I have the A7RV.

Otherwise, I have to stay in manual mode and change any number of settings every time I switch modes or shoots. Not sure what the point of the memory dial is if I have to stay in manual mode to change WB.

I'm hoping I'm wrong on this, but if not, is there a way around this?

Thanks!

 

[XKAES]

I'd check your manual.  On my SONY and MINOLTA camera -- NOT your model -- you can safe CUSTOM WB into memory.  This is in the CUSTOM menu, not the WB button.

[rda]

thanks... I can set a custom value and I can set it to auto, but i can't set it to the scene as I'm shooting. And I can't know what the value will be until I get to the location which could have lighting I can't control. I usually set the WB w/ a white card before every shoot, but that's not possible if I use a memory setting which has every other setting I want to start with.

[DenverSteve]

7 hours ago, rda said:

This is very frustrating, but it seems like you can't change the White Balance after setting the memory dial. WB is something that needs to be changed every shoot, so I'm baffled as to why it's not possible.

I'm hoping I'm wrong on this, but if not, is there a way around this?

Thanks!

 

Can’t isn’t in my vocabulary so let’s start with how you CAN adjust white balance.  If you’re doing shoots where the lighting is staying constant throughout in various lighting that you can’t control - to me - it’s easier, more accurate and faster to do it in post.  Simply do your shoot, upload your card to your post-processing program, set your white balance and apply it to the batch. 

Alternatively, have you tried this? I don’t have my A7r iv with me, as I’m on the road, so try it.

 

To set white balance manually, push C1, or Fn and navigate to white balance, scroll down and press 'Set. ' Follow instructions on the screen, press the center DISP button down when the camera is pointed at your white card. The camera will click. You will now register a custom white balance

Edited March 27, 2023 by DenverSteve

[rda]

Thanks @DenverSteve.... but for the video LUTs I'm using, the first and most important thing is to nail the WB, as described in the manual. The problem is that you cannot take a reading when in a memory mode. I can put it on auto or daylight or a preset, but I cannot take a reading unless I'm in manual mode. This is infuriating, as the whole point of a memory setting is that I don't have to go into 10 menus every time I want to switch from run & gun to interview to action, etc. It seems crazy to me that Sony would not make this possible as taking a white balance reading before a video shoot is one of the first things one has to do. I dont want to rely on guessing or spending an hour getting skin tones right in post if I can just take an accurate reading before my shoot. The only option I think is to shoot in manual mode, but that renders my memory settings useless for most things.

[rda]

WORKAROUND FOUND!

It's an extra step, but it works!

1. Switch from memory dial number setting to manual mode.

2. Take WB reading.

3. Switch back to memory dial number setting.

4. Navigate to the "C.Temp./Filter" WB option

5. Manually dial in the reading from step 2.

6. Done!

Thanks to Nolsen11 on Reddit for the solution.

Still don't know why Sony doesn't allow one to just take a reading in with a memory setting and only allows one to choose a preset. But no matter, this isn't too tedious to do and solves the problem!