A couple Hero 3 questions, some advice needed

[mayur]

Thanks for the feedback.
I do have the backscatter filter. I will set it to 1080p, 30fps, full auto, wide FOV.
Then on probably a second dive at the same spot, I'll do all protune. Since I have a battery pack, I should have enough juice to last me 2 dives.

 

[ronscuba]

I like to shoot with a filter, Protune on, camraw white balance. Then a little contrast boost in editing.

I posted a short video clip a few months ago. Original footage and after editing. I also posted a 4 minute video shot in Belize using the same settings and technique.

 

[irishtn]

I have a filter as well, and the SRP tray. I will experiment this weekend with the Protune. Thanks.

 

[ronscuba]

Protune and camraw WB will make your footage look a little flat. Don't worry though. A little adjustment to brightness and contrast in editing will make things look much better with consistent coloring.

Shooting in auto mode is not bad, sometimes the colors are good, but sometimes they are off. Protune with camraw is very consistent. If are picky about color and you don't mind making a little adjustment in editing, it is the way to go.

 

[irishtn]

Ron: What software do you use to edit? And is your process a pretty simple one as far as adding contrast and color? I'm going to shoot some topside video today of Protune plus RAW to play with, hopefully its a fairly simple process with my cheaper version of Vegas.

 

[TheTrickster]

Ron: What software do you use to edit? And is your process a pretty simple one as far as adding contrast and color? I'm going to shoot some topside video today of Protune plus RAW to play with, hopefully its a fairly simple process with my cheaper version of Vegas.

If you are using the RAW setting, you will have to adjust the WB with the GoPro CineForm program.

If using Protune without RAW, you will get the default Protune profile (flat) and you can grade (contrast, sharpen, colour) from within your desired editing app.

 

[ronscuba]

You don't have to use cineform. I used adobe to edit the GoPro raw files. GoPro raw is not the same thing as photo raw files. It's just a marketing label for flat, consistent, coloring that is intended to be adjusted in editing.

I used vegas for many years, it's a very capable sw package.

Adjusting contrast and brightness is easy in pretty much any program. You can get a little more control and possibly even better results playing with curves and 3 color wheel adjustments, but you might be surprised how contrast and brightness alone improves GoPro Protune camraw footage.

In the post I mentioned above, I did a real quick contrast only adjustment to a short clip. If you search a little you'll find it and you can see the before/after results.

 

[TheTrickster]

You don't have to use cineform. I used adobe to edit the GoPro raw files. GoPro raw is not the same thing as photo raw files. It's just a marketing label for flat, consistent, coloring that is intended to be adjusted in editing.

Ron, from my discussions with GoPro support, Protune RAW files, although not the same as DSLR type raw files, it shares similar features - mainly that there is No color space/profile applied to the video, so from with Cineform program you can change the WB without being destructive to the image. If you import a h264 file from a GoPro with CAMRAW enabled directly to an editing program (I was discussing FCPX) it will default (and apply) the WB which was recorded at the time and any changes you make will be to the image, not to the color space.

I have to be honest, they haven't been very clear with it all, except 'Use Cineform' which isn't useful!!

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Ron, from my discussions with GoPro support, Protune RAW files, although not the same as DSLR type raw files, it shares similar features - mainly that there is No color space/profile applied to the video, so from with Cineform program you can change the WB without being destructive to the image. If you import a h264 file from a GoPro with CAMRAW enabled directly to an editing program (I was discussing FCPX) it will default (and apply) the WB which was recorded at the time and any changes you make will be to the image, not to the color space.

I have to be honest, they haven't been very clear with it all, except 'Use Cineform' which isn't useful!!

That doesn't make total sense to me.
I use Cineform only to trim out the parts of the video (clips) I want to even consider for editing. I have Cineform output those clips into uncompressed avi's which does two things. One, it preserves the original video, untouched. Two, it converts the chosen clips into uncompressed format which allows the editing app to more easily handle the files.
Then I do all color tweaking and everything else within my editing app.

 

[ronscuba]

I use a PC. I have no idea how final cut pro handles gopro files.

On my pc, when I view the original camraw gopro files in cineform, adobe, and vlc media player, they all look the same.

I used to use cineform to convert DSLR files to uncompressed avi for easier editing on my 5 yr old PC. My current PC and adobe software has no problem editing raw gopro or DSLR files, so I totally skip cineform.