camera help please!!!!

[supertackyman]

ok, I know this may seem lame but I cannot find my manual for my camera.
the question I have should relate to most modern dig.
most of my outdoor shots seem to have a grey/brownish cast to them
its not my camera because I just had it serviced.

what I am asking all of you who are experienced since I cant ref. from my users manual is this:

is that symptom a result of poor f-stop/apeture combinations,
or should I try using multi point metering. mostly now i use spot metering

I could probably work this out by trial and error but I dont have the luxury of free time.

The camera i have is the 5.0 mp Sony CD Mavics mvc500

I hate having to run auto levels b4 I print them but maybe everyone does this?

[Tamlin]

It could be that you need to calibrate (or recalibrate) your white balance setting. I'm not familiar with that particular make of camera, so I can't tell you exactly how you'd go about it. Have you tried downloading a copy of your camera's manual? I think you can find manuals for most pieces of equipment online somewhere. If all else fails, you could even buy one from eBay: eBay - sony mavica, Camera Manuals items on eBay.com

[notjustgraphics]

Well Tamlin is on the right track, it is also a possibility that your problem is a symptom of your display or your printer calibration...

If you posted an example of an image with the "color cast" we would be able to tell you whether it is a problem with your camera or not... The data tags attached to the image will also tell you what the camera settings are set to... Unless your camera has some kind of software imaging filter built in that is turned out, it is doubtful the color cast is being caused by your camera, unless, as Tamlin suggested, your White Balance is set low....

Mike.

[supertackyman]

thank you both.
I will try those ideas when I get home today and let you know how it worked out.
and if I still have problems after that I will post a b4 and after shot.

[supertackyman]

twas the white balance
gotta find or download my manual
thanx to all.

[supertackyman]

o.k. downloaded the manual. you were right tamlin. it was the white balance. I seems that i can set it (calibrate) it for specific shots manually. by aiming the camera at a piece of white paper and pressing a button. kinda seems like a pita (pain in the ass)
but if that is what it takes.....
my experimentation showed me that the auto was a bit on the cool side while outdoor was too warm (white degrees kelvin) Its just gonna take some time and practice.
until then theres allways auto levels or adjusting the levels manually in ps
(I pefer manually)

I used to have (back before I knew what it did) a light meter that had a simple needle gauge with the light intensity in degrees as well as the recomended f-stop and apeture settings. I looked like an old bakelite ww2 era gizmo. wish i had it now.