Timeline for If shooting RAW, is the white balance selected in camera irrelevant for exposure?

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Jan 17, 2017 at 22:48	comment	added	Michael C		With DSLRs the exposure decision is made before the sensor collects any raw data. The raw data collected is of course affected by selected exposure. The WB decision in terms of metering is based on how the camera uses the WB setting selected by the user to calibrate/correct the reading from the exposure meter. Before RGB metering became more common, if the WB was set to "Auto" the camera would meter based on a setting of 5200 K. If any other WB setting was selected the camera would adjust the metering based on the known response of the meter to light centered on that particular temperature.
Nov 14, 2012 at 7:57	comment	added	Russell McMahon		@jrista Yes and ... :-). That overlaps with what I said but is not identical. Even if a scene is not of high dynamic range, if the colours are not equally saturated (even if there is lots of "headroom" at the black end) then if the WB is adjusted the system may move the white point up and down. That's where my comment about what the manufacturer does comes in. If they look at the raw sensor data before WB adjusment then WB changes do not affect exposure. If they make exposure decision after WB adjustment then the white level may shift - even if dynamic range is low. .
Nov 14, 2012 at 4:39	comment	added	jrista		See my comment to the question above. Once the exposure is taken and piped into a RAW file, you're done, and you can tweak WB to taste in post as much as you like. But because metering affects white balance, it is indeed possible for it to affect the "exposure" as you configure it in-camera, especially if you ETTR, or encounter a high dynamic range scene and are forced to reduce exposure to avoid clipping a single channel.
Nov 14, 2012 at 4:35	history	answered	Russell McMahon	CC BY-SA 3.0