White Balance with my video - HELP!!

[PeaceDog]

Hello, everyone.

There was a thread earlier this year about some folks having trouble with overexposed whites and light colors with their video setups, and I am having that exact same problem.

I suppose my question is, are the powerful strobes I'm using to put color back into my shots hurting me? Are they too bright?

My camera's nothing really amazing - it's a solid, reliable JVC DVL-120 that I'm very happy with. I have an Ikelite housing for it that I absolutely love.

For lighting, I bought 2 Ikelite 100w Pro Video Lites and I mount them on twin Ultralite Control Systems arms.

Am I using too much light? The specks of white or bright colors in a crab or shell come out very distorted and over-exposed, and God Forbid I try to light and shoot an anenome in New England waters. It will barely be distinguishable due to the overexposure.

Can anyone help me out? I'm very happy with my video work other than my battle with white balancing.

 

[ronrosa]

Is you camera exposure mode in auto or manual ?

If it's in auto, it sounds like the auto sensor is not working properly. Do you have the same over-exposure problems on land ?

If it's in manual, dial down the exposure.

 

[PeaceDog]

I have the ability to set it either way while I'm diving, which is a great feature of both the housing and the camera itself.

I can't really remember having any problems like this topside, although my subjects are never lit nearly this well.

Adjusting the light meter would mean dialing it down to more of a night-setting, correct? Would that mean it would readily suck up more of the strobes and cause less overburn?


Thanks for your help. This is great.