S100 - white balance for video

[Mark Derail]

Good points Interceptor.

My breakdown was a generalization. Yes, MOV is a container like MKV, I'm thinking back in the 2003-5 era where all P&S cameras were either .MPG .AVI or .MOV format. Easy to mixup codec with file extension.

A Kodak 8MP P&S (2006), made beautiful .MOV files, say 30-ish seconds a 26MB file. To be able to put on a DVD or USB stick to play back on the TV, I had to convert. 400-500MB files for the same video, and it looked like crap.
I had to buy expensive software to get the "codec" necessary to properly export.

Was cheaper to get a non-Kodak camera.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

A "true" video camera has larger pixels than a camera sensor (if you measure with a ruler and determine DPI) and needs less lumens, also most vid cams can only take 1.x or 2mp stills. However its sensor and electronics are maximized for video, better focus & zoom.

On a P&S like a S100, only certain parts of the sensor is used, and there are way more pixels available. The software of the camera (dedicated hardware chips have software flashed onto them or burned) still has to make a compromise.

I was disappointed years ago that a 8MP camera could not do better video than 640x480 often with a lousy framerate, compared to dedicated video cams. Even my Nikon D90 just does 1280x720 max with a non-impressive framerate, which was considered "high end" back in 2008.

FWIW, at 60 fps, fast moving/tracking UW isn't that bad. As the newer cams phase out the older ones, say 5 more years, I can imagine crystal clear videos designed for 1080p 120Hz TV's to look amazing and cost under 500$.

 

[Interceptor121]

Mark
it takes a lot of processing to save a 30 fps X264 video at 1920x1080. From a camera point of view there is no need of more than 2 megapixels for 1080p however frankly it could not do more anyway because of hardware limitations. The size of the sensor used is the same.
Compact cameras still lack some basic functionality to take good video. Recently I bought some 2nd hand equipment on ebay more specifically a Sanyo Xacti HD2000 that I use in an epoque housing with a filter and a little led for macro.
Have a look at the Sharm el Sheikh and philippine videos in my you tube channel and compare by yourself to some videos taken with S100/S95. The Cmos sensor on the xacti is only 1/2.5" however the camera has got good video functionality and so even with that tiny sensor it takes decent video

I am planning to stay with this set up for video until I run out of spare parts and I see no reason to replace it with a go pro or a compact camera video shooting as I can operate the xacti in manual mode and also I have full 60 fps...


I do appreciate that people want to make the most of their S100 for video though and I believe that if you know how to do those things (exposure lock, using filters, etc etc) you can produce some decent video

 

[Madacub]

Rob and Mozaik, thanks for your answers. That's what I was hoping to hear, looks like the manual could be better written.

Mozaik, could I ask you: For the S100, Suppose you are in manual mode or program or aperture priority etc, ie, not in video mode. Now when you white balance, does that same WB setting hold for stills as well as video with the one touch button? Or do you have to switch the dial to video mode, then WB again and then shoot video?

Thanks for taking the trouble, I appreciate it.

 

[chat2joe]

Hi Madacub - I've the S100 in front of me here too and can answer any questions you've got.

[-]With the dial turned to Movie Mode you can not set custom white balance, it's greyed out as AWB (Automatic White Balance) on the menu. This is obviously what the user guide is referring to.

Strangly though, if you're in other modes (M, Tv, Av, P...) you can set the custom white balance, and when you press the one-touch record button it records video with that custom white balance setting. :cool2:

So I have no idea why they don't allow setting the white balance directly in Movie mode!![/-]

EDIT: I was set for Super Slow Motion video in the Movie Movie mode - custom white balance can't be set for slow motion video, but can be set for normal video! Oops!

 

[Madacub]

Thanks chat2joe, that sounds perfect. This will work very well for me.

But then the question has to be asked, what good does the movie position in the dial do? In the Panasonic zs series that I am used to, on their models with a one touch movie button, they do not have a movie mode on the dial...

 

[chat2joe]

When in the movie mode you have three shooting options;

1. "Standard"
2. "iFrame Movie" (see bottom of this page)
3. "Super Slow Motion Movie" for shooting at 120 or 240 fps.

---------- Post added May 23rd, 2012 at 03:43 PM ----------

Made a mistake on the post above, see the edit. You can set custom white balance in Movie mode! Just not when shooting slow motion.

 

[Madacub]

Thanks chat2joe!

I just saw your correction to your post # 14. If you would be so kind, could you please advise:

1. You are in M, Tv, Av, P, ie some non-movie mode. You set WB. You take stills. You then press the one touch movie button and take video. Does the movie accept the WB you set? (My guess is yes)

2. You then proceed to another depth. You then move the dial to movie mode. You then WB again. You take video using the one touch button. You then change the dial to P and take a still. Does the still honor the new WB or is it still on the old WB?

Essentially, I am trying to nail down whether the camera has just one WB regardless of dial position, or whether the WB is dependent on dial position.

Hope you can help and sorry for asking for so much from you! I'm finding it difficult to get my hands on one right now.

(BTW, instead of actually going diving to perform the little experiment, what you can do is WB on a red piece of paper. Then when you take a photo of that (without flash) it should look white. Then do same with another color. During daylight is best)

 

[Interceptor121]

Not sure what is that you are getting at however the white balance stays between the still modes but when you change to movie it is different.
So if you move between P-A-T-M it stays if you go to movie it goes to whatever is in that setting likewise the way back

However the question is why the hell would you stay with the same white balance? Shooting videos and still is different and it is unlikely you will be in the same situation to reuse the WB? You should WB before each clip you start

Thanks chat2joe!

I just saw your correction to your post # 14. If you would be so kind, could you please advise:

1. You are in M, Tv, Av, P, ie some non-movie mode. You set WB. You take stills. You then press the one touch movie button and take video. Does the movie accept the WB you set? (My guess is yes)

2. You then proceed to another depth. You then move the dial to movie mode. You then WB again. You take video using the one touch button. You then change the dial to P and take a still. Does the still honor the new WB or is it still on the old WB?

Essentially, I am trying to nail down whether the camera has just one WB regardless of dial position, or whether the WB is dependent on dial position.

Hope you can help and sorry for asking for so much from you! I'm finding it difficult to get my hands on one right now.

(BTW, instead of actually going diving to perform the little experiment, what you can do is WB on a red piece of paper. Then when you take a photo of that (without flash) it should look white. Then do same with another color. During daylight is best)

 

[dogface79]

Not sure what is that you are getting at however the white balance stays between the still modes but when you change to movie it is different.
So if you move between P-A-T-M it stays if you go to movie it goes to whatever is in that setting likewise the way back

However the question is why the hell would you stay with the same white balance? Shooting videos and still is different and it is unlikely you will be in the same situation to reuse the WB? You should WB before each clip you start

I understand that you should WB at the start of every clip. However, my question is....what is the procedure for doing this? It is my understanding that you set the camera (in my case S95) to Auto WB. Then zoom in (I have a WA lens) to a white slate. How long do you hold it there? I assume the camera should only see white...if it sees blue will there be a problem?

 

[ivakdiver]

Thanks Interceptor, great comments.

One thing I noticed also when using the S100 for videos is the continual chattering noise one hears, supposedly from the focusing mechanism being too closely located near the external microphone. I didn't really pick up on what it was till I got home and went on line to see if others had noticed this. I guess one would just need to turn off the external microphone when being used underwater. All you can hear are the sound of ones breathing anyway.
Also does anyone actually use the underwater scene mode when shooting video. Would that not compensate somewhat for white balance?