I should have asked ChatGPT first🤦♂️
"What you are seeing is normal and expected, and it comes from a combination of how white balance is stored in RAW files and how different RAW converters interpret it.
Below is the conceptual explanation, followed by a more technical breakdown.
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Short answer (the key idea)
The camera does not store “white balance” as absolute Temperature (K) and Tint values.
It stores multipliers for the red, green, and blue channels (WB gains), plus some metadata.
Each RAW processor converts those multipliers into its own Temperature/Tint scale, based on its own camera profiles, color matrices, and illuminant models.
Therefore, the same image can show different Kelvin and Tint numbers while producing a visually identical neutral result.
The numbers differ, but the white point is effectively the same.
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What the camera actually records
When you shoot RAW:
1. The sensor records linear RGB values (before white balance).
2. The camera measures the scene and computes channel gains, e.g.:
R × 2.01
G × 1.00
B × 1.62
3. These multipliers are written into the RAW metadata.
Crucially:
The camera does not record “5600 K, Tint +10” in any standardized way
Kelvin and Tint are UI conveniences, not physical measurements stored in RAW
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Why Capture One and DxO show different numbers
1. Kelvin and Tint are not absolute scales
“Temperature” is a model, not a measurement
“Tint” is an even looser concept (usually green–magenta correction along a non-physical axis)
Each software defines:
Where “5000 K” lies in RGB space
How many RGB units correspond to “+1 Tint”
So:
5600 K in Capture One ≠ 5600 K in DxO
Tint +10 in one app ≠ Tint +10 in another
A difference of:
~200 K
~10–20 Tint units
is very typical.
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2. Different camera profiles and color matrices
Each RAW processor uses its own:
Camera spectral sensitivity model
Color matrices (sensor → XYZ → working space)
Reference illuminants (D50, D65, proprietary hybrids)
Because WB is applied before the color transform:
A different transform means a different mapping of RGB gains → Kelvin/Tint
This alone can shift the numbers noticeably.
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3. “As Shot” is interpreted, not copied
When you choose As Shot WB:
Capture One reads the camera’s RGB multipliers
DxO reads the same multipliers
But each converts them into Kelvin/Tint using different math
They are honoring the same WB — just labeling it differently.
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4. Tint is especially software-dependent
Tint is not physical at all:
It compensates for:
Fluorescent spikes
LED spectral gaps
Sensor green bias
Different software compensates differently
That’s why Tint differences of ±15 are entirely normal.
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Important practical implication
The numbers don’t matter — the neutrality does
If you:
Sample the same neutral gray
In both programs
Using “As Shot” WB
You will usually find:
The neutral patch is equally neutral
Histograms align closely
Visual color balance matches
Even though the numbers differ.
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Why JPEGs don’t show this problem
If you open the camera JPEG:
WB is already baked in
The numbers are irrelevant
All software just displays pixels
RAW leaves WB open to interpretation — by design.
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Analogy (useful mental model)
Think of WB numbers like map coordinates:
Capture One uses one map projection
DxO uses another
Same physical location
Different numeric coordinates
The place is the same; the grid is different.
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When should you worry?
You should investigate if:
“As Shot” looks visually different between apps
Neutrals are not neutral in one program
Skin tones shift noticeably with identical WB intent
Otherwise:
A 200 K / 15 Tint difference is completely normal
It does not mean one program is “wrong”
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Bottom line
White balance in RAW is not stored as Kelvin/Tint
Those values are software-specific interpretations
Capture One and DxO use different color science
Identical WB can (and will) show different numbers."
End of quote.