Red filters and white balance

Thrawn777 wrote:

No lights on either video.

Vis on 1st one is 25m at least.... probably the best vis conditions I've ever seen in Australia. Shot with Sigma 19mm which is quite sensitive to flares when pointed towards light.

Upgraded to the salted Seafrogs with Sigma 16mm f/1.4 now, much better.

What do you think the visibility on this video is?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6kQJ4RowXA

I am trying to figure out why it is so sharp.

Looks like Caribbean sort of 40m+ type visibility..

Also.. youtube tends to screw with the sharpness of the videos I upload. The 4K RAW looks just fine, sharpness wise.

I really need to sort my footage from Raja Ampat and Komodo and upload..  hopefully I can get it done this weekend.

Thrawn777 wrote:

Looks like Caribbean sort of 40m+ type visibility..

Also.. youtube tends to screw with the sharpness of the videos I upload. The 4K RAW looks just fine, sharpness wise.

I really need to sort my footage from Raja Ampat and Komodo and upload.. hopefully I can get it done this weekend.

I would love to see some of the 4k. Please upload it and link it here.

Raja Ampat was on the list, but I don't want to go to Indonesia and I read about quite bad down currents. I was going to go to Polynesia this summer, but I spent £6000 on a trip back to the UK last summer, so it got kicked into the long grass till next year.

Roadrunner123 wrote:

Raja Ampat was on the list, but I don't want to go to Indonesia and I read about quite bad down currents. I was going to go to Polynesia this summer, but I spent £6000 on a trip back to the UK last summer, so it got kicked into the long grass till next year.

my wife shares the concern.   But Indonesia is a giant string of islands and the political and safety concerns on some don't really apply on others.   Certainly Bali is alright, but it's not really where we want to end up.   I need to examine Raja as well.   Skipping western destinations as Aceh has gone sour.

Thrawn777 wrote:

Looks like Caribbean sort of 40m+ type visibility..

Also.. youtube tends to screw with the sharpness of the videos I upload. The 4K RAW looks just fine, sharpness wise.

I really need to sort my footage from Raja Ampat and Komodo and upload.. hopefully I can get it done this weekend.

Did you get a chance to upload it? I would really love to see it.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4yHiQRMXquAsgukwLh8XvLy-Cd-kHeiF

Adding clips slowly..  again, no lights.  Raw video uploaded to Youtube

Thrawn777 wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4yHiQRMXquAsgukwLh8XvLy-Cd-kHeiF

Adding clips slowly.. again, no lights. Raw video uploaded to Youtube

Thanks for that. You were getting much better material in Australia by the looks of things.

Thats material from only 2.5 dives

Another 15.5 to go.  Plus Raja and previous Komodo trips

Vis was pretty poor anyway..  around 10m generally.  Lots of mantas though.  Don't always nail the white balance..  But its generally quite good or at least close.  You can see one of the close in manta shots, theres corals in the foreground and the colours are perfect.

Also the new seafrogs salted case is much more buoyant, especially in the front.  It tilts up majorly.   Makes it more difficult to make stable videos.  I am gonna add some weights attached to the bottom of the hood.

Overall would say its very good result for literally the first dive with a new case.  Another guy on the trip brought a brand new Ikelite A7RII with strobes.   He had various issues including non-working shutter button during the dives.

Cheers for all the info, it is most appreciated.

Are you using a Seafrogs' filter? They are quite cheap on Aliexpress.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hight-Quality-67mm-Circular-Polarizer-Camera-Red-Filter-Color-Light-Remedy-Underwater-Diving-Lens-Conversion-With/32918389682.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.15.5b5e5fddxB0ZeV&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_2_10065_10068_319_317_10548_10696_453_10084_454_10083_433_10618_431_10307_10135_537_536_10133_10059_10884_10887_100031_321_322_10103,searchweb201603_50,ppcSwitch_0&algo_expid=f6d4ba97-5697-4def-a5a3-f30d67c6ec66-2&algo_pvid=f6d4ba97-5697-4def-a5a3-f30d67c6ec66

Here's another even cheaper, but if you recommend the Seafrogs I will buy it. I know how cheap filters make images soft.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/67-58-52-Waterproof-Red-Filter-for-Diving-Underwater-Photography-Camera-Housing-Gopro-Xiaomi-Yi-Color/32860562450.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.685d2e0et6h1Zs

Have you tested the filter to check its sharpness above water?

I've been using GoPro SRP (Snake River Prototyping) Blurfix filter for a couple of years now. It uses URPRO filter. I tape it to the front of the lense inside the housing.

Previously I used a Camdive filter that I purchased from the Camdive shop (it has Camdive label). Then I accidentally broke it in the middle of a trip and had to buy the SRP filter in emergency ($100 filter !). But I think the SRP is actually a little bit better !

The trick about these filters is that it isn't actually red... its more a light orange colour. One of the big problems I had with buying filters off eBay/Aliexpress is that you usually end up with a true red filter (way too red). I even bought a Meikon wet dome + Camdive filter bundle off eBay and the seller put in another brand filter that is actually red (Bubblescuba, as I recall).

I have no idea what colour the Seafrogs one is.. or even if you'd actually get a Seafrogs one with that seller.

With the filter I'm using.. at 25m depth, white balance on camera ends up about 9000K. At 10m, around 4500K mark.

Another thing is if you don't mind experimenting, you can buy a filter sampler swatch very cheaply. I bought one on my last US trip but haven't actually tried it yet.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/45189-REG/Rosco_950SBLUX0103_Roscolux_Swatchbook.html

At this point I own quite a collection of filters:

- SRP GoPro Blurfix (I bought an extra secondhand one off eBay cheaply as well for spare)

- Magic Filter (Automagic)

- URPRO originals

- Various FL-D filters

- Rosco swatch filter sampler

- Sandmarc GoPro 4 filter pack

- Eelvision GoPro filters

- Lots of filters way too red

I have a GoPro 5 and Sony X3000 as well and experiment with filters on those. Sometimes I mount it on top of the Seafrogs/Meikon case as a backup camera.

Also, sharpness have never been an issue with underwater filters. Getting the right colour is.

Thrawn777 wrote:

I've been using GoPro SRP (Snake River Prototyping) Blurfix filter for a couple of years now. It uses URPRO filter. I tape it to the front of the lense inside the housing.

Previously I used a Camdive filter that I purchased from the Camdive shop (it has Camdive label). Then I accidentally broke it in the middle of a trip and had to buy the SRP filter in emergency ($100 filter !). But I think the SRP is actually a little bit better !

The trick about these filters is that it isn't actually red... its more a light orange colour. One of the big problems I had with buying filters off eBay/Aliexpress is that you usually end up with a true red filter (way too red). I even bought a Meikon wet dome + Camdive filter bundle off eBay and the seller put in another brand filter that is actually red (Bubblescuba, as I recall).

I have no idea what colour the Seafrogs one is.. or even if you'd actually get a Seafrogs one with that seller.

With the filter I'm using.. at 25m depth, white balance on camera ends up about 9000K. At 10m, around 4500K mark.

Another thing is if you don't mind experimenting, you can buy a filter sampler swatch very cheaply. I bought one on my last US trip but haven't actually tried it yet.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/45189-REG/Rosco_950SBLUX0103_Roscolux_Swatchbook.html

At this point I own quite a collection of filters:

- SRP GoPro Blurfix (I bought an extra secondhand one off eBay cheaply as well for spare)

- Magic Filter (Automagic)

- URPRO originals

- Various FL-D filters

- Rosco swatch filter sampler

- Sandmarc GoPro 4 filter pack

- Eelvision GoPro filters

- Lots of filters way too red

I have a GoPro 5 and Sony X3000 as well and experiment with filters on those. Sometimes I mount it on top of the Seafrogs/Meikon case as a backup camera.

Also, sharpness have never been an issue with underwater filters. Getting the right colour is.

Wow!! That's a lot of filters.

You'd have thought that companies making UW cases would know a thing or two about making UW filters and getting them somewhat right.

I am flying back to the UK in May for two weeks via HK. The original idea was to buy a Fantasea housing in HK for $450 but I got a new Sony case, from ebay in Germany for £216.

I can buy the Meikon filter direct from them in HK for $20

I don't think sticking the filter on the inside of the RX100V case (brilliant idea BTW) is going to work, as I suspect there won't be the space

How is the Meikon dome?

A couple of really stupid questions:

If I buy the 67mm filter and the dome do I fit the filter between the dome and case on land?

Does the filter flood too? Is it better to fit the dome before I dive and flood it with clean fresh water? I see on the youtube that the newer domes come with flood holes.

You are a wealth of information, thank you!

Red filters kinda needs to be tuned to each camera model.  So its not that simple...

I know that the curved plastic filter off the SRP Blurfix won't fit inside a Meikon Sony RX100 mkI case.  Its too thick .   The 67mm filters won't fit inside an RX100 case for sure because its too wide..   unless you trim the glass out.   The film type filters like Magic Filter would definitely fit.   The thing with RX100 is that the small sensor means its more noise sensitive at depth (low light).   Not sure if filters would work well with it .

The Meikon wet dome is pretty good.  You can get a bit of glare with it at certain angles.  I have had heaps of decent footage with it over the years.  It scratches pretty easily and i tried to buff one out with a Micro Mesh kit and it ended up ruining the whole dome.  The replacement dome section is pretty cheap anyway.   I do think the new 6" dry dome is noticeably better.

Back when i used the wet dome and Camdive 67mm filter, I jump in the water with everything attached..  Then have to remove them underwater individually and put it back together.   The problem with this is that pressure differential can easily make the filter get stuck, particularly against the camera case.   Thats how I broke the Camdive filter mid-trip.. it got completely stuck (half filled with water).  And when I tried to puncture a hole in it to relieve pressure.. I ended up breaking the whole glass.

Thrawn777 wrote:

Red filters kinda needs to be tuned to each camera model. So its not that simple...

I know that the curved plastic filter off the SRP Blurfix won't fit inside a Meikon Sony RX100 mkI case. Its too thick . The 67mm filters won't fit inside an RX100 case for sure because its too wide.. unless you trim the glass out. The film type filters like Magic Filter would definitely fit. The thing with RX100 is that the small sensor means its more noise sensitive at depth (low light). Not sure if filters would work well with it .

The Meikon wet dome is pretty good. You can get a bit of glare with it at certain angles. I have had heaps of decent footage with it over the years. It scratches pretty easily and i tried to buff one out with a Micro Mesh kit and it ended up ruining the whole dome. The replacement dome section is pretty cheap anyway. I do think the new 6" dry dome is noticeably better.

Back when i used the wet dome and Camdive 67mm filter, I jump in the water with everything attached.. Then have to remove them underwater individually and put it back together. The problem with this is that pressure differential can easily make the filter get stuck, particularly against the camera case. Thats how I broke the Camdive filter mid-trip.. it got completely stuck (half filled with water). And when I tried to puncture a hole in it to relieve pressure.. I ended up breaking the whole glass.

More brilliant advice, thank you.

What also concerns me is, if I put a filter internally and it turns out to be crap I am stuffed till the end of the dive as there is no way to swap it out. I suppose that's the importance of going on some test dives before going on dives where I definitely want to film.

Roadrunner123 wrote:

What also concerns me is, if I put a filter internally and it turns out to be crap I am stuffed till the end of the dive as there is no way to swap it out. I suppose that's the importance of going on some test dives before going on dives where I definitely want to film.

that's the nature of the beast, same with the decisions around wide or macro, strobe(s) vs lights, so forth.

You may find my article helpful.

It covers the use of camera/video and lighting filters (ambient).

The article is aimed more towards video, however it all applies to strobe photography also.

http://underwaterwillett.com/ambient%20filters.html

Regards

Andy