L&M Bluefin HC1 White Balance Hack...

[dougdrury]

OK. So, I finally did it. After much agonizing over housings, etc...I purchased and L&M Bluefin for my HC1. mainly because time was running out. We are going to Australia and PNG in a month and I needed to get on the ball, order a housing and start playing with it before getting to Australia and making an *** out of myself with a housing I had never touched.

I have heard rumblings of a mythical LANC Hack to allow me to do "one touch" white balance with the Bluefin HC1. I have seen posts on many sites talking vaguely about it..but can't find instructions anywhere on any forum. I am going to call L&M about it...but would rather just read the directions in a forum...since that is much less time waiting in a phone queue.

Could someone please point me in the right direction...if I am not on a wild goose chase?

Thank you,
Doug

 

[diversteve]

Are you talking about the "power off then power on the camera while pointing at a white card while underwater idea? I have yet to try it. Although I have an EVO, the theory should be the same.

I also vaguely remember someone mentioning a series of steps that might work. I thought it was near the back of a related thread on Wetpixel and was about to be tested by someone in England(not DeanB), but I never went back to see if his testing worked since I bought the EVO.

Wetpixel was just hacked so you can't look for it until after the 30th when Eric gets back from his trip. As I recall it was posted sometime around Jan-Mar. of this year, or even earlier, maybe it's even in the stickied HC1 thread at the top.

Without the assign button like on the HVR-A1U, there's no way to do it in one touch with an HC1 that I'm aware of, unless you do it with a control rod on the touchscreen like Gates, Ikelite and O/I do. I've read that Sony didn't build it into the electronics, so no amount of Lanc hacking is going to work - at least according to Warren at USVH - I think it was him, but don't quote me on that.

If it was possible, L&M would be highlighting that as a key differentiator between the Bluefin and the EVO Pro - which they're not. They do mention it in their HC3 Bluefin details so I think they would in the HC1 description also if it was possible.

Let me know how you like the Bluefin when you get back,