I did a few test shots this morning in my snowy garden with auto white balance on the P setting. There are various ways of creating a reference image for white (or rather grey) balancing. I am using a QP Card, which is a simple and accurate method.

I was impressed with the results of Nikon’s improved AWB (auto white balance). The original RAW image measured 5,750 in colour temperature with a tint, as it is called in Adobe Lightroom, of -9. The medium grey measured from the QP Card came out at 5,900 with a tint of -5. One simple test does not reveal all but the results are pretty close.

Nikon’s improved AWB does not eliminate the need for grey balancing completely but gives the photographer a fair chance to balance images, which were made without a reference shot or custom AWB.