Cozumel color correction experiment

[ROUS]

I spent three days with my LX10 experimenting with filters and light. I'd read up on the Keldan method and wanted to give it a shot. I'm a believer now. I shot video all week (85 gigs in 3 days!) and these were cut from that. The alternate footage captured using only white light/no filter/same white balance method could not match this look/feel. The only footage that disappointed was captured in cavern/swim through spots. In those enclosed environments, that blue light dominated everything and I don't think I'll be able to save any of that film. Those last three captures look a little over-exposed, so I probably need to tone them down some.

LX10, WWLC, BigBlue 4600s in blue mode, red filter, & 4K/30fps. S priority and manual white balance.

 

[Pearlman]

Curious - Why is the first image different in look? What mode was this?

 

[ROUS]

Curious - Why is the first image different in look? What mode was this?

I'm not sure. It was a different day and a different depth. Also, I may have also been fiddling with the video clip before cutting out this snapshot. The exposure is better on #1 I think. All were shot in S mode.

 

[Pearlman]

#1 is the best. I would adjust/increase contrast on the others as well as reduce saturation a bit - they look a bit hazy.

 

[ROUS]

#1 is the best. I would adjust/increase contrast on the others as well as reduce saturation a bit - they look a bit hazy.

Okay, thanks. Will do.

 

[Matan]

great stuff - #1 is definitely the best. this was shot ambient light and just the Keldan filter?

quick Q - I find that with my setup (similar to yours LX10 WWLC but I have x2 bigblue 10K) I'm having auto focus issues.

are you shooting with AFC or AFS?
also - why S priority and not full manual?

Thanks,
Matan.

 

[ROUS]

great stuff - #1 is definitely the best. this was shot ambient light and just the Keldan filter?

quick Q - I find that with my setup (similar to yours LX10 WWLC but I have x2 bigblue 10K) I'm having auto focus issues.

are you shooting with AFC or AFS?
also - why S priority and not full manual?

Thanks,
Matan.

Hello Matan

#1 was shot with a red (non-Keldan) filter and blue light. At that distance, I'm not sure that my 4600 lights affected this shot much. I find that my best footage shot with red filter and blue light are on sunny days in about 30 feet of water. Colors really pop there.

I set auto-focus to AFS. I exclusively shoot video and snap photos from within my video editor. Shutter speed is pretty critical for video and needs to be double the fps. If not, it produces a strange feel to the footage. But, there certainly are people that experiment with that effect. So, I'm conservative and just lock in the SS to 60 (shooting 4K 30fps). My video instructor is urging me to switch to M mode, but I suspect that I'd wreck every shot. I'm just too new at this to try it and risk ruining dive footage.

Auto focus. Yeah, the little LX10 struggles with that and I've heard the same complaint from GH5 owners. It may be a bigger problem with video than when shooting stills. The camera just seems to hunt and hunt. I've got focus set on the F1 button and focus lock on the F2 button. In busy environments, I just hold down the F2 button to keep it from looking around.

What are your experiences?

 

[Matan]

Thank you for the reply.

regarding AFS - I completely agree and I'm also changing to that - super frustrated from multiple videos ruined by LX10 AFC honestly

regarding SS to 60 during 4K 30fps I understand - just not sure why let the camera determine ISO for you.
Also I'm shooting CinelikeD (downloaded and installed manually).

My Fn1 button is what I use for focusing instead of half shutter press which is awesome of course. AF lock AFAIK isn't used when in full manual.

Can you clarify what you mean by blue light? in that case did you mean ambient light?
And yes sunny days with awesome vis are the best for any camera haha - wish I had those more frequently

Matan.

 

[ROUS]

Can you clarify what you mean by blue light? in that case did you mean ambient light?

Matan.

Keldan has come up with a color correction technique that I was experimenting with in Cozumel. This video explains it better than I can:

The Keldan technique

My BigBlue 4600s have an option to emit a blue light so that I don't need to add filters to them.

 

[1fspeed]

underwater white balance - such a pain but it looks to me like you have that part nailed down. The water is a nice blue, and consistent between shots.

The "blue mode" on the lights is probably far too blue to match the ambient light which your WB is set to. They are also don't illuminate anything beyond a few feet - I have a pair of 15k Krakens and even without the blue ambient filters they struggle to reach more than 6 feet. It's had to tell from the stills you posted, but I wonder if your lights had little to no effect on the posted shots, but in the dark swim though your suddenly very blue light over powered the ambient light causing the overly blue footage. There is a partial fix... B&W.

I shoot with a Sony A7c. It's far from a perfect video rig, but for AF I have it set to continuous but have a button customized allowing me to switch it to manual. Often use AF to achieve focus and then switch to manual so it's doesn't wander. May not be an option on the LX - it's a helpful solution for some shots.

85 gigs!!! Well maybe my Sony's inability to shoot 4k 60 is a blessing

Look forward to seeing the video