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Auto White Balance. Sounds intimidating for the everyday Point and Shooter. Today, we will push through the enigma of Auto White Balance. Essentially, Auto White Balance or AWB determines how whites show up in your photos. In the AWB setting, the G9 determines for you how it will process the whites in your photos. For the most part, I find the AWB feature on the G9 very serviceable. Keep in mind that the AWB setting is an automatic setting that the G9 is in charge of. If you would like more control over your photos, the G9 offers 8 presets for White Balance - Auto White Balance (AWB) being one of them. The following list will provide you with a basic guideline as to when you may want to consider deviating from the safety of AWB and moving into the custom world of White Balance.

Tip: The White Balance setting is very easy to get to. Simply, power on your G9. Press the Func. Set button which will bring you straight into your White Balance options. By default, your G9 is set for AWB.

Caveat: The White Balance Presets are named according to their intended use in certain lighting situations. For example - for the Daylight preset, one would assume that this setting should be used during Daylight - and it is a good White Balance setting for a bright day. However, I would suggest experimenting with all of the White Balance settings - especially those that are counter-intuitive for your lighting situation. And now, on with the lesson.

White Balance Presets for the G9:

• AWB - Auto White Balance - determined by the G9. This is the default White Balance setting for the G9.
• Daylight - This White Balance setting is used to mute or suppress some of the super intense brightness from the Sun. In my opinion, it ‘cools’ off the photo. The whites appear less ‘warm’ than they are in ‘reality’. I especially like this White Balance preset when shooting more serious subjects as it takes away the ‘warmth’.
• Cloudy - This White balance setting is great for ‘warming’ your photos. It gives cloudy days a brighter warmer feel. Initially, this was the White Balance preset that I fell in love with. It made my photos appear warmer than real life itself. At first, it gave me that Wow! factor but, I have since gained an appreciation for less ‘warm’ photos.
• Tungsten - I find the name of this preset pretty scientific. Basically, this White Balance setting is used Indoors when shooting under traditional light bulb conditions. Traditional light bulbs (Incandescent light bulbs) emit a different light frequency than flourescent lights and is quite noticeable on your G9 LCD Viewfinder. Use this preset when shooting Indoors under incandescent lighting. This setting ‘cools’ your photos.
• Fluorescent - The preset name of this setting says it all. For use under flourescent lighting conditions. This preset tends to ‘warm’ your photos by offsetting industrial vibe of flourescent lighting.
• Fluorescent H - This preset is obviously used for Flourescent H lighting. Fluorescent H bulbs get there name from the unique H shape of these bulbs. This setting adds more ‘warmth’ than the previous preset, Flourescent. Flourescent H gives human subjects more ‘life’ by compensating for the ‘coldness’ that flourescent lights can emit.
• Flash - This is an interesting preset since, I rarely use flash in my photography. I feel that flash in photography tends to give too much of an artificial feel. To tell you the truth, I just experimented with other White Balance settings while using flash and I found no discernable difference between the White Balance presets.
• Underwater - This preset reduces the bluish hues in your photos. While I cannot personally attest to its results in the water, out of the water, this preset does ‘warm’ your photos. For those of you interested in Underwater photography, WP-DC21 is the part number for the G9 Waterproof Case.

My hope is that through learning, we will be able to push past the wall/obstacle known as the unknown. I hope this provides you with the confidence to experiment with your G9.