Are my settings wrong? Disappointed in quality

[SentinelAce]

I am using a Gopro Hero 5 Black. I am teaching pool DSD classes , max depth 10 feet. I have my gopro set to shoot video with a red lense, 60fps, wide at 1080p. See example shots. They are blurry, and not crisp. What am I doing wrong? The camera is in a scuba underwater housing.

 

[Chris Ross]

Looks like you are indoors as you have the pool lights on, so light will be low. The images all look underexposed. The ones with the light in the frame, the go-pro likely reduced the exposure because of that, but in general looks like not a lot of light available? You might be able to improve things by shooting a lower frame rates like 24 FPS. I found an article about using a go-pro in low light: The Absolute Best GoPro Low Light Settings [2018 Update] If you do this of course you need at be more careful of subject movement and be extra careful keeping the go-pro stable.

Also In the shallow water you may not need the red filter so try it without that - you may need to play with white balance settings a little. If you have the option to take photos rather than frame grab, you may find you can take the extra care to be stable for that one shot. What sort of housing do you have, does it use a dome or a flat port?

 

[Mike1967]

Also In the shallow water you may not need the red filter so try it without that

This ^^^

 

[SentinelAce]

Looks like you are indoors as you have the pool lights on, so light will be low. The images all look underexposed. The ones with the light in the frame, the go-pro likely reduced the exposure because of that, but in general looks like not a lot of light available? You might be able to improve things by shooting a lower frame rates like 24 FPS. I found an article about using a go-pro in low light: The Absolute Best GoPro Low Light Settings [2018 Update] If you do this of course you need at be more careful of subject movement and be extra careful keeping the go-pro stable.

Also In the shallow water you may not need the red filter so try it without that - you may need to play with white balance settings a little. If you have the option to take photos rather than frame grab, you may find you can take the extra care to be stable for that one shot. What sort of housing do you have, does it use a dome or a flat port?

I'm not sure what the housing is called but it allows up to 160 ft I believe. I'll try without the red filter

 

[tursiops]

I'll try without the red filter

Yes.
And try not to point the camera at the pool lights....it is like pointing at the sun. Try and get the lights behind you....or at least not in the frame.

 

[jgttrey]

For sure ditch the red filter in water that shallow. Don't need the color correction and remember those filters work by not by adding red, but by subtracting blue/green. So, you're actually reducing the amount of light hitting the sensor making the problem worse.

The biggest problem is that the indoor light is just insufficient, especially when you lose even more underwater.. I routinely shoot my mirrorless in the pool to capture pics of kids in classes. It is a perfect example of how much more adaptable your eye is than a digital sensor. The available light, though it doesn't seem it, is orders of magnitude less than outside. I forget exactly how I had to change settings for ambient conditions (and don't have access to the photos at the moment to check. But, it was many stops less less light, each stop representing 1/2 of the light level.

Even on an overcast day, you'd have 20x the the ambient light available. Your eye compensates much more effectively than the sensor.

 

[SentinelAce]

For sure ditch the red filter in water that shallow. Don't need the color correction and remember those filters work by not by adding red, but by subtracting blue/green. So, you're actually reducing the amount of light hitting the sensor making the problem worse.

The biggest problem is that the indoor light is just insufficient, especially when you lose even more underwater.. I routinely shoot my mirrorless in the pool to capture pics of kids in classes. It is a perfect example of how much more adaptable your eye is than a digital sensor. The available light, though it doesn't seem it, is orders of magnitude less than outside. I forget exactly how I had to change settings for ambient conditions (and don't have access to the photos at the moment to check. But, it was many stops less less light, each stop representing 1/2 of the light level.

Even on an overcast day, you'd have 20x the the ambient light available. Your eye compensates much more effectively than the sensor.

What do you mean by mirrorless?

 

[Storker]

What do you mean by mirrorless?

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera - Wikipedia

 

[jgttrey]

Sorry. It's a full blown camera/housing (not quite as big as a DSLR). Mine is a Sony A6500.

My only point is that with my camera, I'm manually controlling the exposure (shutter speed, aperture, and ISO), so I'm seeing the data about how much less light there is at an indoor pool as opposed to outside. LIke I said, i don't have the photos/metadata handy right now, so I can't be precise. I'll just tell you that it was many stops different, maybe 5 or 7, which translates to 1/32 to 1/128th of the light. Your eye compensates for that very well, almost imperceptibly. A camera sensor does not, particularly a small one like a GoPro.

Point is, nothing is wrong with your unit. Ditch the filter and lower the frame rate to 24 or 30 (which has the effect of lowering the shutter speed and letting in more light). If that doesn't get it, add fill lights or shoot outside. But, it is not a problem with your unit or, primarily, with your settings. It's just not enough light. You can probably improve situation a bit by losing the filter and changing the frame rate, but there's only so much you can do with indoor ambient light.