Tips for Those Who Cannot Manually White Balance Underwater

[leebo92]

I've been shooting underwater video for a couple of years now, but I still consider myself fairly new to underwater video. I was hoping to get some tips and different way of getting the best color out of my videos. The main problem I feel is that I do not have the ability to manually white balance while underwater, I can only do so at the surface before getting into the water.

My Equipment:
-Top Dawg II Housing
-Sony HD-SR11
-Magic Filter(Red Filter)
-2x Bonica Video Lights

This is the process I've been using for my video:
-I adjust the camera from Auto-white balance to Outdoor
-I shoot with the red filter attached(i rarely use the video lights, usually only at night and never combined with the red filter)
-I edit the video in post using color correcting and white-balancing software and hope for the best.

The results are ok, in shallow water 30ft are above im usually happy with the results, but shooting at depth seems to be the most difficult. I was just looking for any different approachs or ideas of different way to do this. Any feedback would be great, thanks!

 

[Mark Derail]

Why not do the same trick I use on land? A piece of "perfect" gray cloth, as a way to calibrate. Bungee it on your arm, or around your ankle. Take a pic at desired depth, get the wb to your liking.

I had a friend design a scarf with both black & gray cloth, I have my models wear it around their neck and play with it, so I can get a few shots in. Even though I shoot raw, I like getting the WB nailed or as close as possible. Less post-processing work the better.

So, can't your camera do raw? Or raw+jpg?

 

[Interceptor121]

This is a video camera there is no such a thing as RAW

And there are no other things the op can do if his camera does not allow white balancing through the housing as you can't simulate all possible depth at the surface

So game over

Why not do the same trick I use on land? A piece of "perfect" gray cloth, as a way to calibrate. Bungee it on your arm, or around your ankle. Take a pic at desired depth, get the wb to your liking.

I had a friend design a scarf with both black & gray cloth, I have my models wear it around their neck and play with it, so I can get a few shots in. Even though I shoot raw, I like getting the WB nailed or as close as possible. Less post-processing work the better.

So, can't your camera do raw? Or raw+jpg?

 

[Interceptor121]

Actually there is something that could be tried. How about shooting some footage of a white slate at depth and then reconstruct the white balance in post processing using that memory of white???

Sounds exotic but could work

 

[ronscuba]

...
The results are ok, in shallow water 30ft are above im usually happy with the results, but shooting at depth seems to be the most difficult. I was just looking for any different approachs or ideas of different way to do this. Any feedback would be great, thanks!

Below 30 feet what happens to your footage ? Less color, darker, more video noise, all of the above ? Is video noise a problem at 40 feet or only on very deep dives ?

With the SR11 indoors, test which preset white balance mode makes the scene look red. I would use that WB mode for UW instead of auto WB. After that, you might want to try adjusting the WB shift to red, enable the auto slow shutter and adjust the AE shift to brighter. These settings will probably make your topside footage look horrible, so remember how to change them back.

 

[leebo92]

Actually there is something that could be tried. How about shooting some footage of a white slate at depth and then reconstruct the white balance in post processing using that memory of white???

Sounds exotic but could work

Hey Interceptor,

Thanks for the feedback! I wasnt expecting response so quick. I didnt mention this in the earlier post, but I do have a white slate that I bring along during the dive. Before I begin recording the subject, Ill shoot the card, and use it as reference later to white balance and edit in post production. It certainly does help, But I'll be honest my editing skills are not the best. Thanks again for your input.

 

[leebo92]

Below 30 feet what happens to your footage ? Less color, darker, more video noise, all of the above ? Is video noise a problem at 40 feet or only on very deep dives ?

With the SR11 indoors, test which preset white balance mode makes the scene look red. I would use that WB mode for UW instead of auto WB. After that, you might want to try adjusting the WB shift to red, enable the auto slow shutter and adjust the AE shift to brighter. These settings will probably make your topside footage look horrible, so remember how to change them back.

Hey Ron,

The main problems I run into below 30ft is a loss of color and it appears darker. When I get home later I'll attach a recent video so you can see for yourself. Cant really say much for the video noise as I edit it all out during post production and add music.

In regards to the preset white balance mode, I have brought it indoors and found that the preset outdoors WB mode gives me the most red, and this is what I've been using. I also do use the WB shift and have it set at +2(red). I have not adjusted the AE shift to a brighter setting however, nor have I tried using the auto slow shudder. I'm going to have to try those adjustments and get back to you. Thanks again for all your input/advice, I really appreciate the feedback!