Consideration of the image acquisition result according to the camera white balance setting and the color temperature of the external light source

Sung, Kun-Hwa; Jih, Myeong-Kwan; Jo, Hyoung-Hoon; Min, Jeong-Bum; Hwang, Ho-Keel; Park, Tae-Young

J Korean Dent Assoc > Volume 59(2); 2021 > Article

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The Journal of The Korean Dental Association 2021;59(2):86-94.
Published online January 31, 2021.

카메라 화이트밸런스 설정과 외부 광원의 색온도에 따른 이미지 획득 결과에 대한 고찰

성건화¹

^¹조선대학교 치과대학 치과보존학 교실
^²조선대학교 치과대학 소아치과학 교실

Consideration of the image acquisition result according to the camera white balance setting and the color temperature of the external light source

Kun-Hwa Sung¹

¹Department of Conservative Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Chosun University, Gwang-ju, Korea
²Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Chosun University, Gwang-ju, Korea

Correspondence: Tae-Young Park, Tel: +82-62-220-3845, Fax: +82-62-220-3845,
Email: conschosun@chosun.ac.kr

Received: 11 September 2020 • Revised: 22 September 2020 • Accepted: 5 November 2020

Abstract

Digital photography is a very useful recording and communication method for both dentists and dental technicians. Intraoral photography can be influenced by a variety of factors. Among them, the digital camera’s white balance setting and interference of external lighting can greatly affect the intraoral photography. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of color temperature of ambient light and white balance of digital camera on intraoral digital photography. The maxillary central incisor made of composite resin was used as an intraoral photographic model. In the first experiment, color measurement was performed by changing the ambient light color temperature to 3500°K, 4000°K, 4500°K, 5000°K, 5500°K, and 6000°K. The white balance of the camera was set to 3570°K, 4550°K, and 5500°K, respectively. CIE L*a*b* values of buccal surface region were recorded. ΔE values were obtained by comparing the CIE L*a*b* values obtained in each group. In the second experiment, CIE L*a*b* values were obtained by changing the white balance to 4000°K, 4550°K, 5000°K, and 5500°K in the intraoral photography model. At this time, the color temperature of the ambient light was fixed at 5500°K. ΔE values between each group were obtained in the same way. As a result of the experiment, digital photographs did not show visually perceptible ΔE values for the changing in ambient light color temperature. This was the same for all white balance groups. When the camera’s white balance setting was changed, the ΔE value was more than 3.7, which is a visually perceptible change. In conclusion, digital photographs were more affected by digital camera’s white balance setting than the color temperature of ambient light.

Key Words: Digital photography; White balance; Color temperature