White Balance Question

[Mike Veitch]

actually, you will find that most video cameras can't MWB much past 10feet without the red filter in place as the colour shift is too great. The red filter helps negate some of the blue and green and allows the camera to get a better read..

Do the WB with filter in place..

 

[Empty V]

I shoot topside professional video for a living and to this day it's always impressive to see how much of a difference WB makes.

If you can bring down an oversized slate or maybe a laminated sheet of white cardstock, you might be able to reference it while at depth if you get a major color shift.

I haven't used a camera with auto WB so I'm not sure how it responds. Is there a time duration in which it maintains a color scheme? Are the filters(automatic image adjustments) in the camera always looking for something white in the frame to calibrate to? Remember what these cameras are ultimately doing is capturing light. So with that in mind, do the cameras see the objects with the greatest light output as white?

Billy

 

[Mike Edmonston]

Thanks a bunch guys,

I will do some tests this weekend. It seems that in the caves, using my own halogen light sources, my footage comes out well balanced. (color and whites). But the problem for me seems to be in OW where the depth change with ambient sunlight color shifts my footage. At what point do you re-white balance the camera when doing a depth change, and is bringing lighting recommended as it turns your objects red when you are within 2 to 3 feet?

thanks guys

Cheers

Mike