JVC GY-HM170 Camera

White Balancing


Simply put, the White Balance function tells the camera what is white under different colour temperatures. The light colour itself is measure in Kelvin degrees, which corresponds to what colour a chunk of iron glows when it’s heated at certain temperatures: about 3200 Kelvin the iron glows orange-red, but at 5600 Kelvin the iron will glow a blue-white. The camera sees light for what it is – an areas lit by sunshine, about 5600 Kelvin, will look blue-ish; indoor lighting is about 3200 Kelvin and will look to the camera as reddish. Therefore, it’s crucial to get proper white balance to the picture to get the most accurate colour rendition. 

The JVC GY-HM170 allows you to set the White Balance manually or automatically. Under the WHT BAL settings, you can toggle between A channel, B channel and the PRST (Preset). The PRST should be set to the Automatic White Balance mode, which will then let the camera select an appropriate white balance according to the colour temperature of the lighting on the subject. 



Pressing the FULL AUTO button will also allow to engage in Automatic White Balance mode, but in this case, the Iris, Shutter and Gain will also be in Auto mode forcibly. Additionally, in FULL AUTO, switching the WHT BAL switch is disabled.


Setting the White Balance Manually 

Under the WHT BAL settings, set to either A or B channel to execute the white balance manually.

  • Set the WHT BAL switch to A or B
  • Place a white card in front of the subject so that the card itself is under the same lighting as the subject (don’t place the card directly in front of the camera’s lens)

  • Zoom in on the white card and fill the frame with white completely
  • Press the AWB/9 button (located at the front of the camera below the lens)

After a white balance has been obtained, an estimated value of the colour temperature will be displayed in the monitor/viewfinder


White Balance Errors 

  • If you don’t have enough light, the camera will not do a white balance
  • If you have too much light, the camera will not do a white balance
  • If your lighting conditions change, then you need to set a new white balance.