Auto White Balance Question?

[BDSC]

My current housing set-up does not allow for MWB so the camera is set to AWB. I thought I remember reading somewhere that if you hold a white slate at depth in front of the camera that is set to AWB.......cut the camera off and then back on, it would white balance at that depth. So it would sort of be like doing a MWB.

So my question is, would this work or does AWB not really work that way? I have no idea at all.

Thanks,

BDSC

 

[crpntr133]

Some will say that it will work some will say it won't. If I am thinking right this way of MWB was only doable on certain models of cameras. I might be wrong since it was too long ago since I read that.
Don't worry too much about it since you can adjust in your editing software.

 

[mobula]

I tried this and it never worked. Is it a Sony camcorder? You change from automatic to indoor or outdoor. indoor bring blue in, outdoor brings red in. for underwater mostly outdoor is a good thing to try.

 

[BDSC]

Yes. It's an older Sony model. I have read some other things about AWB and it appears my original idea about doing AWB at depth on a white slate wouldn't work all that well.

I hope in the near future to perhaps upgrade my entire set-up with all the bells and whistles and go HD. I'm waiting for all the reviews by the folks here on the new Sony 520.

 

[mobula]

The FX7 recently had a relounge to close the gap between the HC9-like cams and the FX1000. I am using the FX7. The price dropped dramatically. Maybe this is an option for you. White balance is then possible. There are 2 presets for manual wb and additionally indoor and outdoor. The white balance is happening pretty fast, just press the button and 1 s later it is done. With my HC1 was around 20 to 30 sec.

 

[BDSC]

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind.

 

[ronscuba]

If this startup WB procedure worked, and the cam is on AWB mode won't it re-AWB after you take the slate away ?

 

[BDSC]

If this startup WB procedure worked, and the cam is on AWB mode won't it re-AWB after you take the slate away ?

That is exactly what a couple of other people have said to me and honestly, I think that is what is going to happen. I can see it WB on the slate and then WB again right when you move the slate like you said. I don't think you can "trick" the camera for more than a moment. I'll probably give it a try when I'm in Little Cayman the first week of May but I don't expect any real difference.

Gotta bite the bullet, spend some bucks, and get a much nicer system.

 

[diversteve]

That was my experience with my HC1. I bought an Expodisc and powered on the camera with it held in front of the port. Which seemed to work. But as soon as I removed it, the camera re-white balanced. It was most noticeable when it was overcast. In the end, I sold the Expodisc and just use AWB.

 

[Daanvanwijk]

I have tried switching on/off with 2 diff Sony camera's and indeed this doesn't work. What you can do in tropical water is switch to outdoor so it will remove the blue's a bit. For close shots use lights and do color correction in post-production in general. You can correct a lot while editing but still of course need to get the best out of your camera, lights and conditions.