Color temperature for DSLR

[hovis]

Hi

If you're shooting raw, take an extra shot of a piece of white paper and set the colour temp from that, either as a custom white balance in-camera or when you convert the file on your pc.

Hope this is helpful.

[J_Begley]

Hi

I recently purchased a Canon 20D with an 18-55 lens...I know that color temperature varies with lighting conditions, but I was curious if there is a good Kelvin number to start out with.  Canon automatically sets theirs to 5200K, but I've heard that 5400 and 5600 are good natural light temperatures as well.  Is this all matter of opinion and if so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...I normally shoot early in the morning and later in the afternoon.  overcast, mostly sunny, no clouds, night time...etc

[Tim Gray]

This is kind of cool...

but by all means shoot raw - you don't necessarily need to set the white balance against something white - it just needs to be neutral.  18% gray is ideal.  Actually I find that for landscapes, auto whitebalance is OK - it's mostly for people and skin tones that I try be be more careful.