An aspect of the present invention reduces computational complexity in determining a illuminant of a scene of interest by selecting only a subset of illuminants from several more potential illuminants, and searching for a current illuminant for a present image frame in only the subset of illuminants. Computational complexity may be reduced due to the searching in fewer illuminants. The subset of illuminants are selected according to various aspects to enhance the probability that the closest matching potential illuminant is accurately determined. The features can be used in image capture devices (ICDs) such as video cameras.