Thoughts on housing for Canon G9x? I see Ikelite, Fantasea and Seafrog options. Trying to decide to use my old G9X and buy housing or get a GoPro 10 and housing. Looking to do UW video (not macro focused).
G9x as in mark I? Anything beats nothing, but depending on your budget & how serious you are I would maybe aim a bit higher. Housings costs about the same regardless of camera age, so maybe get something up to date
Wooow thank you for your awesome video 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 I have a question for GoPro. Which white balance you recommend for GoPro and at what depths 🙏🏼 I hope you have a simple answer to this question 😁 🙏🏼 thank you so much 🤙🏼 🤙🏼
Glad you liked it Mirkos! If you want the best possible color from your GoPro I recommend purchasing a red filter. The flip filter from Backscatter or the red filters from Polarpro are the best! GoPros just need a little help to get the colors right and there isn't much you can do in camera I'm afraid. Good luck!
Wow! What an eye opener! Thank you so much for this very valuable information! And despite what you may think, people do use Nikon for shooting video, like I do with my W300. :)
@@AquaticImages I was so traumatized that I had to call all of my 14 therapists for counseling. They all told me to crack open a beer and read my Bible, which I did. I read the Nikon W300 User Manual until I cried myself to sleep, but only after ordering some white balance cards online. May Nikon Bless you.
Hi I have been shooting without filters using a sony rx100 IV for years… good white balance is very achievable and I wonder why you suggest otherwise with this camera?
Hello I'm Sony α7s3 and fx3. Do you change the white balance at each depth? Right now, I'm setting the white balance in the underwater mode, but if it's deep, it will be covered in blue. Should I match it with Kelvin? please tell me. Diving always goes deep. Thank you for your cooperation.
Hey, yeah you wanna change the white balance at various depths. You might also need to change it if you experience changes in light output, for example if the sun goes behind dark clouds etc
Any experience with the Lumix G9? Have been using a magic filter but it has to go on the bayonet end of the 7-14mm lens. LOVE to be able to not use filters. Best wishes
None but the G9 is basically the same as my GH5. I think filters and/or lights is a necessary 'evil' for now 😅 It can definitely be a hassle, and it sucks loosing the light at depth.
Hi Edu Your lens choice depends on many factors. What kind of scenery & subjects you are shooting, what kind of housing brand & port system you wish to use and perhaps most of all, what your shooting style is like. If paired with the right system, a classic 16-35 is great for rectilinear wide angle, while a 24-70 makes sense for large to medium subjects.
I'll be taking my GH5 to Caribbean to shoot bull sharks at 80-90ft. I find trying to get a manual white balance difficult at depth deeper than 60 ft. Dive with be at 80-90ft. Can I use the kelvin temp to max out the red available instead of trying to manual white balance? Perhaps I can add more red in post. GH5 does not have RAW but what would you shoot to get the best post colour correction?
Consider a deep red filter, Keldan does one made for depth. But you'll need to pair it with a bright lens. Otherwise if you got fast cards shoot 4k 10 bit 4.2.2 400mbit for max data to work with later. I would try to manually white balance at depth as you get a better reading on the tint :)
🙏🏻 thank you so much for the detailed explanation! Love this channel. I usually shoot surf. Going to freedive for christmas with my trusty canon 5D4 and I was wondering about getting a filter or not. I have plenty of time to watch all your videos. 😂
Haha thanks man, glad you like the channel 😊 Whether to use a red filter or not depends on depth I'd say. If you shoot in 5-10 meters maybe go without, allows you to shoot stuff on surface as well :)
It helps change the colour spectrum over, compensating for the loss of colour due to depth. I explain more here; ruclips.net/video/qGf3ENGm7WM/видео.htmlsi=SskC3ancRXCBGjkt
I understood, what do you think about the sea frog RF-1? Can't find if it's for shallow water like 2 to 15 mts .. I can't get the keldan I'm in Indonesia 🥲 Thank you so much for your time, you helped me a lot 🙏🏾
I have no personal experience with sea frog, but I've heard mixed things about them from other users. Maybe look at ordering in from neighboring countries or the US if it's not available in Indo, that's what I have to do a lot of the time (I'm based in Thailand). Here the import tax on "small" value items isn't bad.
With video lights you'll want the lights on and white balance while aiming your lights at whatever surface you're white balancing off. That will ensure correct white balance for the temperature of your lights, so whatever's close enough to be illuminated by them will have correct colors. If your light supports it, you can also get ambient light filters (blue filters) for your lights that together with a red filter on your lens creates quite a unique look. I did a video about it here: ruclips.net/video/z-S0UELH_OQ/видео.html
Great video! Maybe I missed this but what about manual white balancing while using video lights. If you are to do this, I assume you would turn on your video lights first, then white balance rather than white balancing first, then turning on light? Thanks again!
Hi Dan, thanks for that! You are correct, lights on and white balance next. Make sure you are not clipping the highlights when doing it, watch your exposure 👍
Nice video, very interesting. Why do you think that you need a red filter for a Sonx RX 100 iii ? I use this camera with 2 video lights and and automatic underwater white balance for videos for example. But you can also set the white balance manually. In my opinion the setting depends on the distance of what you are filming because the lights are only good for up to 2 meters. So, why a red filter when you can manually set the white balance? In this case you can also switch the lights on, a red filter with lights on is a real bad idea. Any further ideas?
I think most cameras should use red filters, but just to be clear; In this video I'm mostly discussing how to use red filter + manual white balance to achieve good color WITHOUT lights. The advantages of which include having better color at distances greater than video lights can achieve. There's also the option of using manual white balance + red filter + lights with blue filters, but that's a different story 😅 I did do a review of a videolight that have this ability; ruclips.net/video/qGf3ENGm7WM/видео.html
Hello, I have an SJ8PRO, and used it to shoot my freedive sessions. Somehow, the color temperature changes erratically mid shot. does this have anything to do with white balance? I set it an auto.
If one owns a gopro I would not recommend any filters, filters also take away lights in general, which makes it bit harder to get nice shots, especially when you are deeper- thats at least my experience. Gopro users will have to go through post editing, I use Davinci Resolve. Gives you quite a few possibilities to adjust your footage. However, also would recommend to shoot in a very flat profile. And especially set the ISO values to low and same values. There is ISO min and ISO max, and to me it seems like you get a lot of nasty noise if you apply deviating values. I go with ISO 100 and ISO 200 or 300 if im in caverns/ wrecks. I am really considering getting a camcorder and UW housing which allows me to control the settings. But it is really a big invest. So if you have any recommendations you are welcome to share them.
I think my only recommendation would be don't get a camcorder 😅 If you're sinking any significant amount of money into underwater video equipment in 2023, I'd turn your attention towards mirrorless cameras. Canon, Panasonic, Sony etc take your pick 😊 You will end up with a camera that has far more features and will allow you to grow with filmmaking in a way that I don't believe a handycam can. I used to shoot the things way back when they had DV tapes 😂 I'm sure they've improved greatly since, but I wouldn't invest big money into a single lens camera. But that's just me
Hello, thank you so much for your video. On my next trip, I will record with a go pro 10 and 2X10000lumens video lights with blue ambient filter on it, do you advice me to use the red filter on the gopro ( but loose light and increase ISO ) or set the white balance manually ? Thank you
Hi Nicolas I would say experiment a bit. My first choice would be yes to both, put the red filter on then white balance. If that doesn't work try red filter on without white balance. Have fun!
Hi! Thanks for your video. It’s very useful for people like me that are starting in uw photo or video. Hope you can help me although it’s been 4 years since you posted this video. Al 11:10 you said that in order to have accurate underwater color, kelvin range should be in the high 50000 (fifty thousand). At the end of the video you also say that, for example, the Panasonic GH5 doesn’t need red filter although it’s kelvin range is 2500-10000k. I’m I’m missing something? I would like to ask you if you think that a Sony A6700, that has similar kelvin range as the Panasonic, needs red filter. Thank you!
Hi Andy. I have a Blue filter on my light and a Red filter on my camera (TG-6). What is the best approach with regards to WB. I usually dive around 15-20 Meters (50FT), or, should i just do away with the Red filter.
With your setup, white balance at depth with red filter on but lights off. Then let the lights work as fill lights. Also you can check for a relevant video tomorrow, gonna be about a similar setup
Given that you can't set your white balance in camera, this is likely not relevant to you but basically you will be restricted by the bitrate capture capabilities of your camera. Some pro cameras offer to shoot in raw, allowing you to set your white balance in post without losing image quality. I would still recommend being in the ballpark tho when it comes to white balance. Most cameras shoot in 8 or 10 bit, allowing for some adjustment of color in post but not necessarily drastic ones. Long story short, there's no substitute to getting it right in camera 👍
Just started underwater photography since moving to Guam. The aquatech housing i have doesnt really allow me to change my WB too easily underwater :( Ill have to practice practice practice!
Depends on the severity, but basically if there's no red, orange or yellows in the image to begin with there is nothing to recover. Using correct white balance, sometimes in combination with a red filter will help provide a somewhat accurate "base" for color grading 👍
@@lambattv3314 I'd to with the Keldan SF-4 blue or green depending on your needs. But you'll loose 4 stops of light, so very few cameras can handle that kind of light loss. You could also go with the SF-2, although it is optimised for shallower depths. I did a review of it here on the channel
Sony implemented better color science across their various camera lineups a few years back, and the mark 6 was the first one to receive the upgrade. Nothing wrong with the mark 5 ;) Just updated on later models
Is a red filter still needed for a GoPro 11? I’ve heard different answers to this questions. And regardless, what should one’s white balance be set to if you’re diving at around 50 to 60 ft depths on a sunny day?
Hi Allen As I somewhat touch on in this video, the need for white balancing depends on depth & lighting conditions. From my own experience with the Hero 10 I would generally say yes, you'll want a red filter for using it while scuba diving. Also to my knowledge you can't manually set your white balance with the Hero 11, the camera does it automatically.
@@AquaticImages Thank you. In the protune settings, the GoPro 11 allows you to set it to auto, native, or anywhere from 2300K to 6500K. I just wasn’t sure whether being able to set it in such a way precluded a red filter. I will be sure to use a red filter as you recommend. Thanks again!
@@allencrostic9128 setting the kelvin is great, but unless you can also adjust the tint it won't do you much good underwater (at least when shooting with ambient light). Make sure you go for a good quality filter, the Flip filter from Backscatter or the Polarpro filters are best
If you want to do manual Kelvin temperature, go higher than 5600 and experiment. But it won't take into account tint, which helps bring out reds & orange colours more. So if your camera is able to do manual wb, that generally is the most accurate way
Hi, thanks for the informative video! I tried freediving with an a7III and because my time is so limited underwater I thought I can get away with the underwater auto WB option and Slog... NO it turned out unsalvageable. Is there a depth guide that could get me in the ballpark? Your footages look great, do you record in log or a semi flat/cine picture profile?
Thanks for the comment 👍 My advice for freediving and white balance; If you are freediving somewhere shallow, do a dive first to the max depth you plan to shoot at and do a manual white balance there. Perhaps at a patch of sand or rock. If you end up shooting shallower it's easier to color correct a shot with too much red color than not enough. If you are doing freediving somewhere deeper where you won't reach the bottom, bring something white to color balance with. Set it up at your max depth. I actually use 'vibrant' color profile, helps a little with color. Log or flat tends to bring out banding in the blues when using 8-bit color
@@AquaticImages Thank you for the reply. I see, yea I have a cheap grey card that I can just attach to my wrist I'll try that next time. about the picture profile, I think I'm quite good at color grading and dealing with 8bit color and log but uw is a totally different story even with a very gentle manual grade no conversion luts it is banding very badly, no pp and vibrant is something I'd never use on the surface but now you've mentioned it, it actually makes sense underwater
@@kristofkollar4431 yeah it's just the shear amount of light variations looking into the water column. It's a great way to visualize how light gets diffused by water when you think about it. I've done a few test shots at 10 bit to get rid of the banding and it works quite well, but for 8 big I don't even try 😂
I would say it depends on your needs. The 80D is still a fine camera for photography, but probably starting to lag behind on video features. If video is your main concern I would consider upgrading
Hi, thanks for the interesting video, I have a Fujifilm xp140, probably is not the best, but when going down to 10m we cannot see colors at all but blue and green ( as you mentioned in the video) I think here we don’t have any white balance or red filter !
Hi Emiliano, Thanks for watching the video! I'm not personally familiar with the XP140, however from what I can gather from the specs sheets it looks like it doesn't have the ability to perform a manual white balance underwater. It does however have a white balance preset called 'Underwater' and if you're not already using it, this would be your best bet for getting the best color possible without investing in external lights. Hope that helps, let me know if this improves your underwater images 👌
No sorry, I usually just go with manual. You could try experimenting from 7000 up but the tint will be wrong, so don't expect accuracy like you get with manual 🙂
I don't have the camera and best settings depends on your workflow. If you like to do post processing to get the most out of your image, make sure the firmware is up to date and shoot in 10 bit. Shoot at whatever resolution & frame rate you want to work with. Make sure your computer and editing software can handle the images before shooting anything important. Happy shooting :)
Hi there. I’m using the Insta360 one r 1 inch lens currently since theoretically it would be good underwater but I’m so struggling on the white balance. First of all I can’t change the white balance setting underwater. So I use the auto mode. But the result was so bad. It was all green and seem blown out. I thought it would be a good departure from gopro. Help!
Hi Azrul I don't own the One R myself, but from what I can see doing a quick Google search the camera doesn't seem to offer any manual white balance features. That means your best option is to get a red filter, which will help balance the blues/greens & add some reds too. Hope that helps, best of luck 😊
Thank you very much for this well explanation of white balance under water. I have 2 underwater cameras. Nikon Coolpix that does a nice job shooting video. And my new Canon G7 XII that I will be testing this weekend in Cozumel. I really appreciate your video. Thanks again. 👍
They're not camera specific, but light brand specific. If you were to get these lights to use with a GoPro that would be fine, just need a red filter for the GoPro
Hi Isaac! Can't say that I have no. They're wet filters right? More designed for compact housings that don't require a dome and has m67 threads I think. Currently I use the Spectrum SF-2 red filter from Keldan. Very high quality! And very expensive 😂
@@AquaticImages You are correct..I have basic housing and a6500 for the beach but I would look forward to free diving this summer. Theoretically..it "clear" to red variable. My question is do you still perform WB "video" with filter at depth?. I really enjoy your videos. thanks
@@isaacsnowhite104 thanks man, appreciate that! Yeah with any camera capable of performing a manual white balance, it tends to give better results. It's an interesting concept, the variable red filter. Let me know how it works 😊
Just a tip for GoPro users. Iz bought red filters and results are pretty bad. Color is never perfect, bubbles get stuck between the camera and the filters etc. Ultimately the area where you're diving (visibility, colors, sun position) plays a huge role and you'd need multiple sets of filters to really get a nice white balance. I suggest shooting without filters, turning off all color corrections in the camera and applying color correction when editing (Lumetri color in Premiere Pro, as mentioned in previous comments)
@@AquaticImages haha nah I was going to say that too but I’m not sure is the Z6 was available. Anyways. Great camera and the fact that you can externally record 14 bit pro res and black magic raw 4k 60 is unveiled for the price point of this camera. I love mine for UW footage.
Doesn't this only apply to tropical areas? I dive in Norway, and (especially now in the winter) the visibility is good, but it is always dark at depth, so basically all colours get filtered out. In this situation a good strong white light is the best, I found, even with just a gopro.
There are underwater filters for green waters, Keldan has the best ones. I did a video on it, link it below. Basically you pull manual white balance with them on and get better colors. They do however cut down between 1.5 & 4 stops of light, so depending on available ambient light they can be too dark on their own. You can get video lights with ambient light filters however, I did a video on a pair of those too. Shot in the tropics but principles are the same. Where in Norway do you dive? I'm Norwegian 😄 ruclips.net/video/qGf3ENGm7WM/видео.html
Hi, sorry what's your question? 5500k refers to the Kelvin temperature range, where this value is roughly considered the "norm" for daylight conditions
@@AquaticImages - alright. I was having trouble with low light and now that is a bit sorted but color is far off. The issue with freediving and spearfishing is that the depths change every single dive. , Thank you for the input.
@@DepthWish true, it's challenging. I always do an average white balance. If you diving down to depths between 10-20 meters, white balance at 15. Correct in post :)
Thanks for checking out my videos 😁
Premier Pro is superb for adjusting white balance in post using Lumetri color. Thanks for your great tutorial!
Yeah it's great! I'm tempted to get into Davinci but perhaps in the future 😊
You have to be a teacher my friend, thx for your clear and precise explanations.
Thank you Delmar! Much appreciated
Great general and important content here! THX!
Thanks Peter
AMAZING videos 👏👏👏👏. Very cinematic.
Thank you!
Thoughts on housing for Canon G9x? I see Ikelite, Fantasea and Seafrog options. Trying to decide to use my old G9X and buy housing or get a GoPro 10 and housing. Looking to do UW video (not macro focused).
G9x as in mark I? Anything beats nothing, but depending on your budget & how serious you are I would maybe aim a bit higher. Housings costs about the same regardless of camera age, so maybe get something up to date
Thank you so much. Gopro hero 11 needs the red filter also for snorkeling? Or is it necessary only during diving?
I'd say not necessary for snorkeling. Unless you're free diving to 12-15m+ maybe
Wooow thank you for your awesome video 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 I have a question for GoPro. Which white balance you recommend for GoPro and at what depths 🙏🏼 I hope you have a simple answer to this question 😁 🙏🏼 thank you so much 🤙🏼 🤙🏼
Glad you liked it Mirkos! If you want the best possible color from your GoPro I recommend purchasing a red filter. The flip filter from Backscatter or the red filters from Polarpro are the best! GoPros just need a little help to get the colors right and there isn't much you can do in camera I'm afraid.
Good luck!
white balance really matters. thanks man
🤙🤙
Wow! What an eye opener! Thank you so much for this very valuable information! And despite what you may think, people do use Nikon for shooting video, like I do with my W300. :)
Haha sorry, was meant to be a bit of sarcastic humor there 😅 Nikon is alright!
@@AquaticImages I was so traumatized that I had to call all of my 14 therapists for counseling. They all told me to crack open a beer and read my Bible, which I did. I read the Nikon W300 User Manual until I cried myself to sleep, but only after ordering some white balance cards online. May Nikon Bless you.
@@nicodemuspapadopoulos4708 😆😆
Hi I have been shooting without filters using a sony rx100 IV for years… good white balance is very achievable and I wonder why you suggest otherwise with this camera?
They improved it in the later iterations :)
Thanks for the video, very useful.
Would you consider the Olympus EM1 Miii to be good for taking video underwater?
Hi Yazid! If you are looking at mft cameras I'd recommend the GH series from Panasonic as they are far more video focused cameras
Hello
I'm Sony α7s3 and fx3. Do you change the white balance at each depth? Right now, I'm setting the white balance in the underwater mode, but if it's deep, it will be covered in blue. Should I match it with Kelvin? please tell me. Diving always goes deep. Thank you for your cooperation.
Hey, yeah you wanna change the white balance at various depths.
You might also need to change it if you experience changes in light output, for example if the sun goes behind dark clouds etc
Very helpful tutorial. Thank you! 🙂
Glad you found it useful 👌
Awesome!!!! What do you think about the preset "subaquatic auto" white balance from Sony a6300? thanks a lot for this video!👏👏👏👏
It's better than auto white balance for sure, but never as accurate as doing it manually. Glad you enjoy the video! 😊
Any experience with the Lumix G9? Have been using a magic filter but it has to go on the bayonet end of the 7-14mm lens. LOVE to be able to not use filters. Best wishes
None but the G9 is basically the same as my GH5.
I think filters and/or lights is a necessary 'evil' for now 😅 It can definitely be a hassle, and it sucks loosing the light at depth.
Many thanks for the reply buddy@@AquaticImages
So that's why! i never figure out why my shot always looks murky greenish. Thanks for the info
Your welcome 😊
Hi, thanks for the video. Recently I bought a sony a7iii and I'm looking forward to buy a housing, which lens do you recommend me? regards from Chile
Hi Edu
Your lens choice depends on many factors. What kind of scenery & subjects you are shooting, what kind of housing brand & port system you wish to use and perhaps most of all, what your shooting style is like.
If paired with the right system, a classic 16-35 is great for rectilinear wide angle, while a 24-70 makes sense for large to medium subjects.
I'll be taking my GH5 to Caribbean to shoot bull sharks at 80-90ft. I find trying to get a manual white balance difficult at depth deeper than 60 ft. Dive with be at 80-90ft. Can I use the kelvin temp to max out the red available instead of trying to manual white balance? Perhaps I can add more red in post. GH5 does not have RAW but what would you shoot to get the best post colour correction?
Consider a deep red filter, Keldan does one made for depth. But you'll need to pair it with a bright lens. Otherwise if you got fast cards shoot 4k 10 bit 4.2.2 400mbit for max data to work with later.
I would try to manually white balance at depth as you get a better reading on the tint :)
Really appreciate the reply thank you!@@AquaticImages
🙏🏻 thank you so much for the detailed explanation! Love this channel. I usually shoot surf.
Going to freedive for christmas with my trusty canon 5D4 and I was wondering about getting a filter or not.
I have plenty of time to watch all your videos. 😂
Haha thanks man, glad you like the channel 😊 Whether to use a red filter or not depends on depth I'd say. If you shoot in 5-10 meters maybe go without, allows you to shoot stuff on surface as well :)
Hello, I got a TG-4 and I can do the with balance.. why suggest using a red filter?🙏🏾
It helps change the colour spectrum over, compensating for the loss of colour due to depth.
I explain more here;
ruclips.net/video/qGf3ENGm7WM/видео.htmlsi=SskC3ancRXCBGjkt
I understood, what do you think about the sea frog RF-1? Can't find if it's for shallow water like 2 to 15 mts ..
I can't get the keldan I'm in Indonesia 🥲
Thank you so much for your time, you helped me a lot 🙏🏾
I have no personal experience with sea frog, but I've heard mixed things about them from other users.
Maybe look at ordering in from neighboring countries or the US if it's not available in Indo, that's what I have to do a lot of the time (I'm based in Thailand). Here the import tax on "small" value items isn't bad.
I use a fuji xt20 still working out while balance on the go
Any improvements? 😊
I have just been correcting in lightroom, but wish I could get the histograms to stay on the screen
Wondering what you think of the Canon S110? I have the underwater housing for it and it has a slip ring which I have set up for the White Balance.
Always liked the S series from Canon! It's getting old tho, and with most cameras out of production it's quite dated. But it depends on your needs 🙂
Thanks for your valuable tips, love it.
Thank you! 🙏
Can you record video with sound while scuba diving? And if so, is it a microphone attached to the camera dive housing?
The only sound you'll get is the sound of your bubbles, and you could record that anywhere.
really nice video, thanks for the useful information. By the way, I love the Koh Tao Nudibranch book, i used it for work sometimes
Thank you! And yes, it's the best 😁
Do you set the white balance to match your video lights? Or set to a white card illuminated by the video lights?
With video lights you'll want the lights on and white balance while aiming your lights at whatever surface you're white balancing off.
That will ensure correct white balance for the temperature of your lights, so whatever's close enough to be illuminated by them will have correct colors.
If your light supports it, you can also get ambient light filters (blue filters) for your lights that together with a red filter on your lens creates quite a unique look. I did a video about it here: ruclips.net/video/z-S0UELH_OQ/видео.html
I have a Sealife micro 3.0, had a 2.0 which was much better. I will try your suggestions and let you know how it goes.
Yes please 😊
Great video! Maybe I missed this but what about manual white balancing while using video lights. If you are to do this, I assume you would turn on your video lights first, then white balance rather than white balancing first, then turning on light? Thanks again!
Hi Dan, thanks for that! You are correct, lights on and white balance next. Make sure you are not clipping the highlights when doing it, watch your exposure 👍
@@AquaticImages Thanks for the quick response!
Nice video, very interesting. Why do you think that you need a red filter for a Sonx RX 100 iii ? I use this camera with 2 video lights and and automatic underwater white balance for videos for example. But you can also set the white balance manually. In my opinion the setting depends on the distance of what you are filming because the lights are only good for up to 2 meters. So, why a red filter when you can manually set the white balance? In this case you can also switch the lights on, a red filter with lights on is a real bad idea. Any further ideas?
I think most cameras should use red filters, but just to be clear; In this video I'm mostly discussing how to use red filter + manual white balance to achieve good color WITHOUT lights.
The advantages of which include having better color at distances greater than video lights can achieve.
There's also the option of using manual white balance + red filter + lights with blue filters, but that's a different story 😅 I did do a review of a videolight that have this ability;
ruclips.net/video/qGf3ENGm7WM/видео.html
Hello, I have an SJ8PRO, and used it to shoot my freedive sessions. Somehow, the color temperature changes erratically mid shot. does this have anything to do with white balance? I set it an auto.
Hi. I'm not familiar with your specific camera, however this is how all other action cameras deal with white balance so I wouldn't be surprised
If one owns a gopro I would not recommend any filters, filters also take away lights in general, which makes it bit harder to get nice shots, especially when you are deeper- thats at least my experience.
Gopro users will have to go through post editing, I use Davinci Resolve. Gives you quite a few possibilities to adjust your footage. However, also would recommend to shoot in a very flat profile. And especially set the ISO values to low and same values. There is ISO min and ISO max, and to me it seems like you get a lot of nasty noise if you apply deviating values. I go with ISO 100 and ISO 200 or 300 if im in caverns/ wrecks.
I am really considering getting a camcorder and UW housing which allows me to control the settings. But it is really a big invest. So if you have any recommendations you are welcome to share them.
I think my only recommendation would be don't get a camcorder 😅 If you're sinking any significant amount of money into underwater video equipment in 2023, I'd turn your attention towards mirrorless cameras. Canon, Panasonic, Sony etc take your pick 😊 You will end up with a camera that has far more features and will allow you to grow with filmmaking in a way that I don't believe a handycam can.
I used to shoot the things way back when they had DV tapes 😂 I'm sure they've improved greatly since, but I wouldn't invest big money into a single lens camera.
But that's just me
I'm surprised you didn't mention sealife camera which is made for diving and has a manual wb setting. Have you looked at them? What do you think?
Never used them but from what I've seen their colors are not the best 🫤
Thanks for sharing!
🙏🙏
How can you see with your eyes vs what you see on the viewfinder be different? You are still using your eyes for both with no processing
What you seen through the viewfinder should match what you see with your eyes, that's how you know you got a good shot color-wise
Brilliant, thanks for the tips
Glad you found it useful 😊
Hello, thank you so much for your video. On my next trip, I will record with a go pro 10 and 2X10000lumens video lights with blue ambient filter on it, do you advice me to use the red filter on the gopro ( but loose light and increase ISO ) or set the white balance manually ? Thank you
Hi Nicolas
I would say experiment a bit. My first choice would be yes to both, put the red filter on then white balance. If that doesn't work try red filter on without white balance.
Have fun!
@@AquaticImages Thank you so much for your fast answer :) you got a new follower :D
@@nicolasstrataks7797 Welcome 😁
Hi!
Thanks for your video. It’s very useful for people like me that are starting in uw photo or video.
Hope you can help me although it’s been 4 years since you posted this video. Al 11:10 you said that in order to have accurate underwater color, kelvin range should be in the high 50000 (fifty thousand). At the end of the video you also say that, for example, the Panasonic GH5 doesn’t need red filter although it’s kelvin range is 2500-10000k. I’m I’m missing something? I would like to ask you if you think that a Sony A6700, that has similar kelvin range as the Panasonic, needs red filter.
Thank you!
2024 update: Red filters are alright 🤣 Especially this one: ruclips.net/video/qGf3ENGm7WM/видео.htmlsi=X6GqqGkOfc5p0rri
Hi Andy. I have a Blue filter on my light and a Red filter on my camera (TG-6). What is the best approach with regards to WB. I usually dive around 15-20 Meters (50FT), or, should i just do away with the Red filter.
With your setup, white balance at depth with red filter on but lights off. Then let the lights work as fill lights.
Also you can check for a relevant video tomorrow, gonna be about a similar setup
Great video, i kinda like his logic
Thanks 😅
What do you think about red filters vs color correction in post?
Funny you should ask, I'm working on a video about it right now 😂 Short answer; Both. Long answer; Give me a few weeks 😅
I got a GoPro11 with a red filter. Should i use the manuel white balance at the same time?
I could be mistaken but I don't believe the GoPro 11 can manually white balance? 🤔
@@AquaticImages You're right -.-
Would it be an option if the camera has no manual whitebalance, to adjust it in post? Or is it less good than wb set perfect inside the camera?
Given that you can't set your white balance in camera, this is likely not relevant to you but basically you will be restricted by the bitrate capture capabilities of your camera.
Some pro cameras offer to shoot in raw, allowing you to set your white balance in post without losing image quality. I would still recommend being in the ballpark tho when it comes to white balance.
Most cameras shoot in 8 or 10 bit, allowing for some adjustment of color in post but not necessarily drastic ones.
Long story short, there's no substitute to getting it right in camera 👍
@@AquaticImages thanks!
Just started underwater photography since moving to Guam. The aquatech housing i have doesnt really allow me to change my WB too easily underwater :( Ill have to practice practice practice!
It's a key feature for sure, make the button sequence second nature. Good luck diving in Guam! 😊
❤❤❤ thank you
Your welcome 😊
Is there a way to correct these blued-out videos post dive? Or am I stuck with it?
Depends on the severity, but basically if there's no red, orange or yellows in the image to begin with there is nothing to recover.
Using correct white balance, sometimes in combination with a red filter will help provide a somewhat accurate "base" for color grading 👍
@@AquaticImages Thanks!
Thank you this video helps me a lot in deep dive videography 👍🏻
Deep diving? How deep do you go?
@@AquaticImages about 15 to 20m
Do you have any sugestion what filter should i use in15 to 20m depth
@@lambattv3314 I'd to with the Keldan SF-4 blue or green depending on your needs. But you'll loose 4 stops of light, so very few cameras can handle that kind of light loss.
You could also go with the SF-2, although it is optimised for shallower depths. I did a review of it here on the channel
@@AquaticImages i only have GoPro hero 9
Why u say RX100 V need a red filter, while that camera have easy custom wb?
Sony implemented better color science across their various camera lineups a few years back, and the mark 6 was the first one to receive the upgrade.
Nothing wrong with the mark 5 ;) Just updated on later models
Is a red filter still needed for a GoPro 11? I’ve heard different answers to this questions. And regardless, what should one’s white balance be set to if you’re diving at around 50 to 60 ft depths on a sunny day?
Hi Allen
As I somewhat touch on in this video, the need for white balancing depends on depth & lighting conditions.
From my own experience with the Hero 10 I would generally say yes, you'll want a red filter for using it while scuba diving. Also to my knowledge you can't manually set your white balance with the Hero 11, the camera does it automatically.
@@AquaticImages Thank you. In the protune settings, the GoPro 11 allows you to set it to auto, native, or anywhere from 2300K to 6500K. I just wasn’t sure whether being able to set it in such a way precluded a red filter. I will be sure to use a red filter as you recommend. Thanks again!
@@allencrostic9128 setting the kelvin is great, but unless you can also adjust the tint it won't do you much good underwater (at least when shooting with ambient light).
Make sure you go for a good quality filter, the Flip filter from Backscatter or the Polarpro filters are best
@@AquaticImages Awesome! That’s great to know! Thank you!
how about canon s120? any tips for underwater photography on this. thanks.
Nothing specific for your camera, except that it has excellent colours 🙂
So any tips on wich temperature to use when snorkeling? Do i go lower or higher than 5600K?
If you want to do manual Kelvin temperature, go higher than 5600 and experiment. But it won't take into account tint, which helps bring out reds & orange colours more. So if your camera is able to do manual wb, that generally is the most accurate way
Hi, thanks for the informative video! I tried freediving with an a7III and because my time is so limited underwater I thought I can get away with the underwater auto WB option and Slog... NO it turned out unsalvageable. Is there a depth guide that could get me in the ballpark? Your footages look great, do you record in log or a semi flat/cine picture profile?
Thanks for the comment 👍
My advice for freediving and white balance; If you are freediving somewhere shallow, do a dive first to the max depth you plan to shoot at and do a manual white balance there. Perhaps at a patch of sand or rock. If you end up shooting shallower it's easier to color correct a shot with too much red color than not enough.
If you are doing freediving somewhere deeper where you won't reach the bottom, bring something white to color balance with. Set it up at your max depth.
I actually use 'vibrant' color profile, helps a little with color. Log or flat tends to bring out banding in the blues when using 8-bit color
@@AquaticImages Thank you for the reply. I see, yea I have a cheap grey card that I can just attach to my wrist I'll try that next time. about the picture profile, I think I'm quite good at color grading and dealing with 8bit color and log but uw is a totally different story even with a very gentle manual grade no conversion luts it is banding very badly, no pp and vibrant is something I'd never use on the surface but now you've mentioned it, it actually makes sense underwater
@@kristofkollar4431 yeah it's just the shear amount of light variations looking into the water column. It's a great way to visualize how light gets diffused by water when you think about it. I've done a few test shots at 10 bit to get rid of the banding and it works quite well, but for 8 big I don't even try 😂
Do you film with slog 3 ?
I don't use Sony
I own a Cannon 80D DSLR and I would like to buy a housing do you think I should ? Thank you
I would say it depends on your needs. The 80D is still a fine camera for photography, but probably starting to lag behind on video features. If video is your main concern I would consider upgrading
@@AquaticImages Thank you..
Hi, thanks for the interesting video, I have a Fujifilm xp140, probably is not the best, but when going down to 10m we cannot see colors at all but blue and green ( as you mentioned in the video) I think here we don’t have any white balance or red filter !
Hi Emiliano,
Thanks for watching the video!
I'm not personally familiar with the XP140, however from what I can gather from the specs sheets it looks like it doesn't have the ability to perform a manual white balance underwater.
It does however have a white balance preset called 'Underwater' and if you're not already using it, this would be your best bet for getting the best color possible without investing in external lights.
Hope that helps, let me know if this improves your underwater images 👌
Hi, any guideline for eg 5m white balance 5000, 10m wb 5500, something like that?
No sorry, I usually just go with manual. You could try experimenting from 7000 up but the tint will be wrong, so don't expect accuracy like you get with manual 🙂
Great man !
🙏🙏
i use action 3 what is best setting ? thk
I don't have the camera and best settings depends on your workflow. If you like to do post processing to get the most out of your image, make sure the firmware is up to date and shoot in 10 bit. Shoot at whatever resolution & frame rate you want to work with. Make sure your computer and editing software can handle the images before shooting anything important.
Happy shooting :)
What about sony zv-e1
I'd be cautious choosing any camera that is prone to overheating. Esp if you plan to dive in tropical temperatures
Hi there. I’m using the Insta360 one r 1 inch lens currently since theoretically it would be good underwater but I’m so struggling on the white balance. First of all I can’t change the white balance setting underwater. So I use the auto mode. But the result was so bad. It was all green and seem blown out. I thought it would be a good departure from gopro. Help!
Hi Azrul
I don't own the One R myself, but from what I can see doing a quick Google search the camera doesn't seem to offer any manual white balance features.
That means your best option is to get a red filter, which will help balance the blues/greens & add some reds too.
Hope that helps, best of luck 😊
What about the Sony Alpha 1?
In my later years I've come to the realization most cameras do better with red filters on than not for most situations where you wouldn't use lights
Thank you very much for this well explanation of white balance under water. I have 2 underwater cameras. Nikon Coolpix that does a nice job shooting video. And my new Canon G7 XII that I will be testing this weekend in Cozumel. I really appreciate your video. Thanks again. 👍
Thanks Ricardo, glad you enjoyed it! Cozumel sounds wonderful, have fun diving!
Hello. Will Blue Ambient Light Filters For Spotlights Work With GoPro?
They're not camera specific, but light brand specific. If you were to get these lights to use with a GoPro that would be fine, just need a red filter for the GoPro
@@AquaticImages Thanks very much
Have you used inon variable red filter?
Hi Isaac! Can't say that I have no. They're wet filters right? More designed for compact housings that don't require a dome and has m67 threads I think.
Currently I use the Spectrum SF-2 red filter from Keldan. Very high quality! And very expensive 😂
@@AquaticImages You are correct..I have basic housing and a6500 for the beach but I would look forward to free diving this summer. Theoretically..it "clear" to red variable. My question is do you still perform WB "video" with filter at depth?. I really enjoy your videos. thanks
@@isaacsnowhite104 thanks man, appreciate that! Yeah with any camera capable of performing a manual white balance, it tends to give better results. It's an interesting concept, the variable red filter. Let me know how it works 😊
pour ma part je fais la personnalisation de la balance des blancs sur mes palmes blanches en début d'immersion quand je suis entrain de descendre
Très bien, ça marche bien 😁
Just a tip for GoPro users. Iz bought red filters and results are pretty bad. Color is never perfect, bubbles get stuck between the camera and the filters etc. Ultimately the area where you're diving (visibility, colors, sun position) plays a huge role and you'd need multiple sets of filters to really get a nice white balance. I suggest shooting without filters, turning off all color corrections in the camera and applying color correction when editing (Lumetri color in Premiere Pro, as mentioned in previous comments)
Which filters you been using? I've had nice results with the Hero 10 + Backscatter flip filters down to like 20m at least
thank you for that, I shot underwater with my GoPro and wondered about why the color was so off.
Great video but I’m shooting video with nikon Z6ii actually coming from Sony and their annoying menu and color science
Nikon have stepped up their game since this video was made! 😁 Guess that comment didn't age so well hahah
@@AquaticImages haha nah I was going to say that too but I’m not sure is the Z6 was available. Anyways. Great camera and the fact that you can externally record 14 bit pro res and black magic raw 4k 60 is unveiled for the price point of this camera. I love mine for UW footage.
Doesn't this only apply to tropical areas? I dive in Norway, and (especially now in the winter) the visibility is good, but it is always dark at depth, so basically all colours get filtered out. In this situation a good strong white light is the best, I found, even with just a gopro.
There are underwater filters for green waters, Keldan has the best ones. I did a video on it, link it below.
Basically you pull manual white balance with them on and get better colors. They do however cut down between 1.5 & 4 stops of light, so depending on available ambient light they can be too dark on their own.
You can get video lights with ambient light filters however, I did a video on a pair of those too. Shot in the tropics but principles are the same.
Where in Norway do you dive? I'm Norwegian 😄
ruclips.net/video/qGf3ENGm7WM/видео.html
Chumphon Pinnacle?
Filmed a few different places, Chumphon too 🤙
Gh4...no filter?
Glad to see someone still rocking the classic cameras 🤙 Yeah, slap a filter on it 👌
New here :)
Welcome! :D
5:40: Thailand Koh Tao Twins??? :)
White Rock 😁 haha good guess!
5500k?
Hi, sorry what's your question? 5500k refers to the Kelvin temperature range, where this value is roughly considered the "norm" for daylight conditions
@@AquaticImages GoPro 8 5500k and I was spearfishing at 15-20 meters. It comes out really blue. The max setting is 6500k. Would you recommend that?
@@DepthWish your only real option with a GoPro is to get a red filter. The one made by backscatter is the best
@@AquaticImages - alright. I was having trouble with low light and now that is a bit sorted but color is far off. The issue with freediving and spearfishing is that the depths change every single dive. , Thank you for the input.
@@DepthWish true, it's challenging. I always do an average white balance. If you diving down to depths between 10-20 meters, white balance at 15. Correct in post :)
Can’t watch this. Too much talking about nothing.
Agreed.