White balance and colour
Image: Using the cloudy white balance setting produces results that are much too warm and yellow for my liking, but the auto white balance is generally reliable
On the whole, the D3100’s white balance produces pleasing results with well-balanced and natural tones. In several cases the auto white balance produces better results than the specific settings. Having taken many photos in a shaded woodland on a dull and cloudy day, I found both the shade and cloudy white balance settings produced images that were much too warm and yellow. However, all the specific settings can be manually adjusted if the results are not as desired. Creating a custom white balance is also a simple and speedy process.
In the standard colour setting, the colour is generally punchy with natural tones, and images can be sent straight to the printer. Colour can be controlled both pre- and post-capture. The usual colour modes are present in the Set Picture Control folder of standard, vivid, neutral, monochrome (sepia, black & white and cyanotype), landscape and portrait. Post-capture options include colour balance, monochrome, D-Lighting and various filter effects such as warming and skylight effect.
