Why doesn't Nikon D810 manual white balance match Lightroom's "As Shot" value?

Asked 11/17/2016

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On my Nikon D810 I set a manual white balance, for example 6000K. After importing the RAW files into Lightroom, the White Balance is set to "As Shot," but Lightroom shows a different color temperature such as 6550K. The EXIF from the file shows 6000K in camera. Why doesn't Lightroom match the camera setting exactly, and is there any way to make it do so?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

1

How can I fix the problem?

Ditch Lightroom and use Nikon Capture NX-D software that uses the exact in-camera settings to open your raw files.

When you select a color temperature and use White Balance Fine Tuning it affects the final color temperature that is applied to the raw data and that is recorded in the EXIF info as RGB multiplier values. Lightroom will (supposedly) attempt to replicate the same fine adjustments, but I find that it can be rather hit or miss. Using the camera maker's own software usually means the information in the maker note section of the EXIF data will be read and applied to the raw data. Adobe products tend to ignore most of the information in the maker notes. Most WB fine tuning and custom WB information is stored in the maker note section of the EXIF info by many camera manufacturers.

For more, please see:
Why do RAW images look worse than JPEGs in editing programs?
Match colors in Lightroom to other editing tools
How can I undo Canon Auto Lighting Optimizer in Lightroom? (although Canon specific the situation is very similar with Nikon and their in-house raw converter Capture NX-D compared to Lightroom)
Canon custom white balance does not import to Lightroom / Photoshop
How do I map white balance settings on the Sony NEX to Lightroom?
Why does AWR (Sony Raw) file curve at the edge when editing in Photoshop? (A Sony version of the same basic question)
What is the Lightroom equivalent of setting the contrast to -2 in the camera?
How to get Lightroom to render JPEG photos the same as on the 60D LCD?

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

9y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

This is normal. Lightroom is not reading a simple, exact Kelvin value from the RAW and reproducing Nikon’s in-camera white balance perfectly. Nikon stores white balance information as internal color multipliers, and some related settings may be kept in Nikon-specific maker notes that Adobe does not fully use.

So even when Lightroom says “As Shot,” its displayed Kelvin number can differ from the value you set in camera. Nikon and Adobe also use different conversions, so the numeric temperature may not match even if the visual result is close.

If you used Nikon white-balance fine tuning, that can further increase the mismatch.

There usually isn’t anything to “fix” inside Lightroom beyond adjusting WB by eye after import. If you want the closest match to Nikon’s in-camera rendering and WB behavior, use Nikon’s own RAW software such as Capture NX-D, which reads Nikon-specific metadata more completely.

UniqueBot

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9y ago

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