Auto vs. Manual white balance comparison clip

[ronscuba]

Here is a clip showing a direct comparison between auto and manual white balance. Shot on the same camcorder, same dive, same scene. Then followed by other scenes shot with manual white balance.

Canon HV10 in an Ikelite housing.

[vimeo]12344222[/vimeo]

Setting MWB with this camcorder/housing combination is not easy. Multiple presses of buttons and the multi function dial.

The amount of improvement MWB provided on this system is not as great as on my Sony FX7. I think it's a factor of single vs 3 chip and the general limitations of a consumer cam vs. a prosumer cam. That being said, to my eyes, MWB is worth the extra steps and difficulties on this system.

 

[Misa]

Nice. Thanks for sharing, Ron!

 

[BDSC]

I use to read what you guys said about MWB and how the colors really popped and thought, "It's really not that big of a deal." Well, to tell the truth it must have been just sour grapes on my part because my first system didn't have that feature.

But it really is night and day when it comes to auto vs manual. I have the Sony CX520v camcorder in a L&M housing that has the true "one touch" MWB. A couple of years ago I was in Cayman Brac and shot some footage at the Russian wreck with my old system. Shot the same wreck again last month with my new system and there is really no comparison.

Even though a system/housing with the MWB feature will probably cost more initially, it is well worth spending the extra money for it.

 

[nadwidny]

Because pretty much all of my diving is done in dark water, I always use artificial lights so I just always went with AWB. It wasn't until I was in Coz a couple years ago that I shot with ambient only for the first time (on a Sony PD150). The first day I shot with AWB as per my usual operating standards and the footage was crap. Everything was muddy brown or muddy blue. 45 minutes of unusable footage. The next day I did a MWB on the sand and the difference in colour was astounding. I will never shoot again with ambient and not MWB. And I'm going to start to MWB with artificial as well and see how that compares to AWB.

 

[Misa]

Which housing for Sony HDR XR 500v has MWB and its the cheapest also ?

 

[diversteve]

Which housing for Sony HDR XR 500v has MWB and its the cheapest also ?

Ikelite Digital Video Housing #6039.21 ...... $1300

 

[mrivken]

I am very new in video and trying to find best/good work-flow.
I have Canon HF-200 with WP-V1 which does not have MWB, so I set WB on cloudy, use Sony Vegas+free Mike Crash auto-level plug-in for post processing and results have good colors and contrast, I also periodically shoot white plate and use it to adjust plug-in's parameters.
Is something wrong with this approach ? Can I improve my video if I switch to housing which support MWB ?

 

[BDSC]

Can I improve my video if I switch to housing which support MWB ?

I think so. I have always felt the less correcting you have to do in post the better. I know in my own experiences, if you have to start doing more than just a minor tweak to a video/clip, it starts to look like you have corrected it. By having MWB and learning to use it properly, you should have to do very little to correct the look of it if any at all. Since I have started using my new system with MWB, I seldom have to do anything to the clips when it's time to edit.

 

[ronscuba]

I am very new in video and trying to find best/good work-flow.
I have Canon HF-200 with WP-V1 which does not have MWB, so I set WB on cloudy, use Sony Vegas+free Mike Crash auto-level plug-in for post processing and results have good colors and contrast, I also periodically shoot white plate and use it to adjust plug-in's parameters.
Is something wrong with this approach ? Can I improve my video if I switch to housing which support MWB ?

If you don't already have one, get a filter. That is the easiest and cheapest way to improve color underwater. Not sure if the Canon housing comes with one. Should be able to get an Ikelite external filter that closely matches your Canon port size. I'd do that before switching housings.

 

[kayak]

Ron,
When you are adjusting the MWB are you using a white board or just looking at the object you are shooting?