Underwater video setting / Video light

[UFOrb]

I plan on using my Canon G7X Mk II with the underwater setting for video, but I have a small 1000lm focus/video light for close up / macro etc.
I've tested the set up in my living room and, as expected, there's a red tinge to the video. Without the light the U/W setting should work ok, adding lost red, but I'm assuming adding light for close up work would negate that requirement so you'd have the red tinge.

How do others deal with this? I don't really want to mess with the camera settings every time I get into a range where the video light is effective (obviously it can be done but a nuisance underwater, esp as I'll be adjusting settings for stills too). Is the red tinge going to be very noticeable in the U/W video? or can you effectively adjust the hue to more natural colours using white balance settings within video editing software?

Thanks in advance!
Rob

 

[ronscuba]

Viewing through water will make things look less red.

Set the white balance to auto if you do not want to manually adjust.

 

[UFOrb]

Viewing through water will make things look less red.

Set the white balance to auto if you do not want to manually adjust.

Hi @ronscuba, thanks for your reply but I think you misunderstood my question. I do plan on using the auto u/w setting and I'm happy that this will work pretty well for wider angle shots, restoring reds lost with depth.

My question is about what to do when it comes to shooting close ups or under ledges / in crevices / inside wrecks with my 1000lm light. I'm guessing with the light on, the auto wb in u/w mode will make the video look red, as it does at the surface. I could turn off the cameras u/w mode for those times when the light is used, but I don't really want to because it's not that simple and it's an added faff.

Will I be able to restore the natural colours with editing software for those clips when I'm using the video light with cameras u/w mode on? I hope I'm explaining myself better this time!?
Cheers.

 

[ronscuba]

I think you will be fine in UW mode and the light. The red tinge you see topside should balance nicely underwater. Plus it is easier to balance out red in editing than to replace it.

At least try it this way for the 1st day. You can review your footage afterwards and adjust for day 2 if necessary.

 

[UFOrb]

I think you will be fine in UW mode and the light. The red tinge you see topside should balance nicely underwater. Plus it is easier to balance out red in editing than to replace it.

At least try it this way for the 1st day. You can review your footage afterwards and adjust for day 2 if necessary.

Thank you. That's what I was hoping to hear

 

[Madacub]

Hi UFOrb, you ask "How do others deal with this?"

I'm a big fan of using the manual white balance setting in ambient light, when I can. (I rarely use the u/w setting, almost never actually) But for closer subjects, whenever I am using a video light, I use the auto white balance setting. Same for night dives, inside wrecks etc. One 1000 lumen light is the minimum for good video lighting in daytime diving, unless you are very very close. I've never heard of anyone using the u/w setting with video lights or a strobe. I have heard of someone using a manual white balance plus good video lighting - but that's at a semi professional level, when he wanted to get it exactly exactly right. Hence the manual white balance, not u/w setting.

If your number of dives as stated is current, I appreciate you not wanting to muck about with changing camera settings underwater. But usually, this is not such a problem - I suspect you will manage fine with a little experience diving with the camera. For night diving, obviously just stay on auto white balance.

Personally, I find a red hue very objectionable in my own work. And the less video processing I have to do the better. Are you able to take the video editing computer with you on your trip? What do you use, by the way?

So my suggestion is the opposite of what you want to hear - sorry!

As for your question "or can you effectively adjust the hue to more natural colours using white balance settings within video editing software?", since you already have a test made in your living room, why not test edit it and see how easy/difficult it is for you to do and how you like the overall result, foreground and background. It is difficult to recreate the actual underwater environment, though, but at least you'll get practice with your video editor.

Hope this helps, and have fun!

 

[UFOrb]

I'm a big fan of using the manual white balance setting in ambient light, when I can. (I rarely use the u/w setting, almost never actually) But for closer subjects, whenever I am using a video light, I use the auto white balance setting. Same for night dives, inside wrecks etc. One 1000 lumen light is the minimum for good video lighting in daytime diving, unless you are very very close. I've never heard of anyone using the u/w setting with video lights or a strobe. I have heard of someone using a manual white balance plus good video lighting - but that's at a semi professional level, when he wanted to get it exactly exactly right. Hence the manual white balance, not u/w setting.

If your number of dives as stated is current, I appreciate you not wanting to muck about with changing camera settings underwater. But usually, this is not such a problem - I suspect you will manage fine with a little experience diving with the camera. For night diving, obviously just stay on auto white balance.

Hi @Madacub thanks for your advice. I have thought about using manual white balance but on the G7X Mk II its not an easy one-button process like it apparently was on the Mk I, unfortunately. I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible as I'm a holiday diver and don't get to dive very often. Although my buoyancy control is fairly good, with only 43 dives I'm not completely confident that I'll be able to maintain good buoyancy if I'm loading myself with other tasks. I've also got a new back inflate BC that I'll have to get used to on my up-coming trip. I'll look into manual wb a bit more following your suggestion but will probably just go with the u/w setting to start with and see how it goes.
I know my 1000lm (Fantasea Radiant 1000X) isn't great for video, but I'm thinking it'll be useful as a focus light for stills and for very close up video, or low light situations under overhangs etc. I now kinda wish I'd spent a bit more for a more powerful light.

Personally, I find a red hue very objectionable in my own work. And the less video processing I have to do the better. Are you able to take the video editing computer with you on your trip? What do you use, by the way?

So my suggestion is the opposite of what you want to hear - sorry!

As for your question "or can you effectively adjust the hue to more natural colours using white balance settings within video editing software?", since you already have a test made in your living room, why not test edit it and see how easy/difficult it is for you to do and how you like the overall result, foreground and background. It is difficult to recreate the actual underwater environment, though, but at least you'll get practice with your video editor.

No, I wont be taking my laptop with me. I currently use Power Director 9 but I'm thinking I may update it or try different software altogether, eg Premiere Elements. Have you got any advice on software (bearing in mind I have a fairly limited budget). I'll give your suggestion of playing with the living room clips a go.

Cheers.

 

[Madacub]

UFOrb, I think you are doing the right thing by not overloading yourself till you are comfortable. Once you do reach that comfort level, I think you will find manual WB better than u/w mode. U/W mode is just a single setting, which will be best at a given depth/light conditions, whatever the manufacturer has set it at. Whereas with manual w/b you can reset the setting every so often whenever you change depth or light conditions change.

I don't know how the G7X behaves, but I don't get good results with my Canon S100 (nor with my Canon G12 when I had that) with white balance or with u/w mode. Any slight increase in light results in a lot of red coming into the frame. Sometimes, the bottom portion of the frame will be fine but the top portion will be red. On the other hand my Panasonic ZS20 behaves perfectly with manual w/b. As you can see, my experience is with small compact cameras (and older ones at that).

I use PowerDirector 14. But I've been working mostly with macro the last little while, so I'm using my video light(s), and doing very little actual correction.

I may have been a little too harsh when I said that 1000 lumens was a minimum - I think you will be very happy with it.

 

[exposure]

Just my 2 cents from photo experience. Your WB should match your light source. It is the way you tell your camera how to interpret Colors. U/W will work fine in the shallow and ambient light. Once you'll switch to external lightning you will need to change the white balance. You most probably can define / memorise the setting once for all... And then switch from UW to the other underwater.