Auto WB or Custom or Both

[btscott]

Background... I'm getting back into underwater photography. To be honest, it wasn't a huge success for me back when I did shoot underwater. Came away with some good shots, but... Started with Canon G2 in Ikelite housing with D50 strobe then I shot a Canon 20D in Ikelite housing with a single DS125 strobe. I mostly used auto rather than manual and shot jpg. Since then I've spent a lot of time taking pictures on land and mostly use manual and sometime AV or TV using a Canon 70D. Wildlife, etc... I recently did a trip to Bali and just used a Nikon AW130 that I picked up cheap. Made me want to get back into underwater photography and video. Since then I upgraded to a Canon 80D and have been picking people brains about video lights, focus lights, etc... So my new rig will be Canon 80D with Ikelite housing, 2 D160 strobes, 2 Orcatorch D910v lights for video and Kraken sports hydra 1000+ wsr as a focus light. Ikelite was nice enough to give me some discounts for all my old gear. Lens to start will be Sigma 17-70mm (I know, but want the flexibility) and Tokina 10-17mm. I'll be using RAW and jpg for images. Using photoshop for post and learning Davinci Resolve right now for video.

So, my question... I've read so much conflicting advice regarding white balance underwater. From, always use custom white balance and carry a white card. To, you only need to use custom if you are shooting a compact camera. To, if you have strobes, use AWB and correct in photoshop at post. Always use custom for video shooting. I can keep going....

What are thoughts on AWB vs Custom.I know this is photo tips, but happy to hear any thoughts on video too.

Oh, next trip is GBR...

Thanks

 

[JohnnyC]

Shoot RAW and do it in post. You can set custom WB underwater but it’s a pain to do it constantly. Easier to take a photo of a white card when there’s a significant change in environment and just apply it to all the subsequent photos taken shortly after. It’s super easy to do in Lightroom, and doesn’t require screwing around in-camera.

No need to shoot in jpg at all, it’s a waste of space.

If you’re only ever going to be shooting up close wide angle stuff, don’t forget to take your strobes into consideration.

 

[btscott]

Have tons of card space and jpg makes it easy to share photos quickly. Can always delete if needed.

Thx for the advice.

 

[Chris Ross]

I use AWB with strobes and if I have enough strobe power (shooting manual) little correction normally required. Video is another story, If your lights are powerful enough maybe use AWB and ambient light use custom. Video you can colour grade, but a raw equivalent it is NOT. you have limited ability to make corrections, so getting it close in camera is something to aim for.

 

[btscott]

Thx. New to video. Orcatorch D910's are 5000 lumens each so should provide decent light for video (I think), but will see once I'm underwater. Gonna try and head to Monterey for a couple of dives before GBR.

For strobes, will use combination of TTL and manual.

 

[stepfen]

Strobes have a known color temperature. For macro most (if not all) of the light comes from strobes so choosing WB is very easy - even auto works very good most of the time. For wide angle things are a bit more complicated as depending on the conditions ambient light might be quite important. Usually though WB is near the temperature of your strobes and you need to balance the background's lighting (sun position, exposure time etc) to match with the strobes.
In anyway shoot in Raw so if needed, you can adjust WB (and other things) in post processing.

 

[btscott]

Thanks for the help. Sounds like AWB and dealing with WB in post is the way to go.

I'll still play around with custom a little, especially with video.

 

[Zachb13]

Thx. New to video. Orcatorch D910's are 5000 lumens each so should provide decent light for video (I think), but will see once I'm underwater. Gonna try and head to Monterey for a couple of dives before GBR.

For strobes, will use combination of TTL and manual.

They are great