Nikon Coolpix 775 white balance

Howdy All,

I was curious to know if my simple little Nikon could compensate for the
poor CRI (Color Rendering Index) of a High-Pressure Sodium light source.
You've all seen these lights, as they're common in outdoor use, such as
streetlights and security lights. They are very efficient, but have an
unpleasant golden-white color, and poor color rendering ability.

I took some sample shots, and posted them on my web server. Click on
each image to advance to the next one:
http://birgenheier.com/drb/external/nikon/

The test target is a print from my ancient Epson EX Photo printer, and
the shots were taken hand-held.

The first image was taken under high-pressure sodium light, using auto
white balance

The second image was taken under high-pressure sodium light, using
manual white balance, set using a piece of white copy paper as the target

The third image was taken under incandescent light, using auto white
balance, I think

The fourth and final image compares the color chart portion of the test
target, with the HPS light source on top, and incandescent below


I'm quite impressed by the ability of the camera to mostly compensate
for the terrible color rendering of the high-pressure sodium light, at least
when setting white balance manually.

Darron R. Birgenheier
Brantingham, NY