I don’t actually use this much these days, but it’s a handy option to have, especially in difficult to gauge situations.  Setting white balance is easy; it’s as easy as taking a snapshot.  Using it appropriately is tougher.

the custom options for white balance

Setting white balance: go into the menu, like we did yesterday.  This time, go to the far-right option (looks like a couple of triangles and a dot).  Immediately, you’ll start seeing funny things going on, like in the pic to the right.  That’s the custom white balance screen evaluating the balance based on… a black piece of paper. To set this as the white balance point, do what it says: press the MENU button.

So yeah, it’s easy to set white balance.  but what should you use?  Well, something white.  Or non-tinted, at least – grey technically works pretty well, so long as it’s a dead gray.  Snow works, so long as it isn’t yellow (and for us in Anchorage, so long as it isn’t break-up).  Walls sometimes work – I’ve found decent results using grey construction blocks and the interior walls of my house (we painted it an almost flat white).  Shoot, after a long winter in Alaska, I’m so pasty I can even use the back of my hand and get decent results.

These are all techniques that work in a pinch, but it’s better to use a real white balance card or something similar to get it right.  When travelling, I usually carry a card with me.  Running around town? Not at all.  That’s why I rely on presets with the sd500.
What about my SLR?  I usually use kelvin. That’s not an option on the sd500.