Nando Diver

On the left WBLK On the right WBLK + WBDV

Like i mention yesterday the preset WBDV dive gives boost in red 4X, and was to excessive. Also Yesterday the water has some kind of Broulliard/Fog in the water, meaning theres was less penetration of light at 18m, maybe 10m visibility (everything was darker) I erase that preset and create the WBLK + WBDV and i had nice improvement, but there a few points i should considerer. The water today was unusual blue, like 20m visibility at depth 22m (better light penetration than yesterday) Certain situations/distance i prefer to turn of the dive light if i see too much reddish If im filming with dive lights with preset WBLK and another diver point their torch to the subject the torch light is lightly visible. if im filming with dive lights with preset WBLK + WBDV, and another diver point their torch point to the subject the torch light became strong orange/reddish, the image is completly ruined (heres 2 examples) Ps: the dive location is a wreck.

Today ive tried the Gopro labs preset with WBDV=1 Depth was maximum 18m and with 2x dive lights at minimum about 2500 Lumes each, there was too much red with gain 4X WBDV is more automatic – as the scene get more blue, the more the red channel is gain up 4x. Currently $WBDV=1 is uses =2.33,4.0 Its seems like with WBDV i was using a strong red filter, it can be a good feature if you dont use Dive Lights with Gopro, it works better for closed objects or Macro, but for ambient it needs further testing with different values. At least the AWB dont change drastically. Small video grading using Davinci Resolve with WB locked.. (learning in progress) Has usual lot of debris in the Water and some current. No stabilisation correction was used because it creates a weird effect. ISO was set to 800 EV Comp -05 Color Natural The Gopro Histogram is very handy we can see if the colors are clipping. Ive delete the WBDV preset and create a new one named WBDV WBLK to test tomorrow.

@Bio free dropbox limit is 1080p you can use https://wetransfer.com limit is 2GB per file

Looks really distort to me..

For macro play with settings to remove that distortion and use 4K Its really difficult to get good stabilisation and focus without tripod in any action camera

Use wide FOV settings, dont use Standard (Dewarp) its valid for AO4 but it should be the same for AO5 see this article https://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/dji-osmo-action-4-for-snorkeling/

Too me the image looks like it speeds up and then slowdown.

Horizonbalancing gives a distortion effect on the sides/corners Rocksteady the video doesnt seem very smooth, looks like the camera is skipping some frames.

@shokwaav the WBDV had a bug that was fixed on this version. i forget that ive used $pres for WBLK in the past and i though it was a bug. im testing next weekend WBDV, but the water is not blue has i would like. im also very curious about WBDV, at the moment ive configure separate presets for WBDV & WBLK. Ive also put histogram to avoid clipping while using dive lights

Heres some Tips from Gopro labs forum to apply in specific Presets, this way we just need to change preset underwater and is not necessary to scan or laminate the printed QRCODE for underwater use. Ive choose settings for camera mode + resolution + protune + preferences manually in Gopro etc etc Named 4 presets, VIDEO, WBLK, WBDV, GPLOG The codes create with QRCODE are unique and simple to avoid metadata errors. Video im using with AutoWB *BITR=150 this will be available in all 4 presets even if you reboot (higher bitrate ) $PRES="0,WBLK" and create a preset named WBLK this will lock the white balance 1 second after recording start, only for the preset WBLK even if you reboot $PRES="0,WBDV" and create a preset named WBDV this is a semi-automatic white balance, has the scene get more blue and the red gaining will be 4X QRcode start by $ will be disable after reboot except if you use $PRES + preset name QRcode start by * will be permanent too all presets even after reboot

New firmware Gopro Labs 1.30.72 - December 13, 2024 Added variable $f to determine how full the SD Card is. Returns -1 if the SD card is ejected, or storage remaining in GBytes. Use $f:U for storage used in GBytes. e.g. $PMSG="$f GB"!R Added support for printing the contents of fourCCs directly "bitrate $BITR" and "Owner $OWNR"are now supported. Fixed range time conditional in form >time<time(TRUE)~(FALSE) the else wasn’t be processed. Fixed for scripts Photo follow by a sleep. Fixed WBDV red channel clipping (overflow). PS: in every new firmware update, is always good to test the video metadata from all pre-defined presets, to make sure they are working correctly For exemple: in my preset B the metadata showing WBLK=1 is active, WBLK=0 not active in my preset A the metadata showing DIVE=1 is active, Dive=0 not active

The Iphone 16 pro MAX + blackmagic camera app is also something to considerer... This image is from iPhone 15 + divevolk from Guys from my dive center https://www.instagram.com/filomenasapinto_oficial/ Iphone 16 pro max VS 30.000$ red cinema 4K

I can speak for the Gopro 13 + Gopro labs to maximize the potencial. Im filming in: 8:7 4K 150mbps bitrate (gopro labs) lock white balance preset (gopro labs) WBDV white balance for diving, more RED Gain 4x, when the scene get more blue (gopro labs) Davinci resolve I also have the AOI wide lens.. Ive being following the insta360 & ace pro 2 discussions in their forums and they dont have a mature and stable firmware, lots of bugs mostly image artifacts.

Has being reported so many bugs/issues unsolved with Osmo action 5 in dji forum (not really diving related) but DJI has the Osmo 6 coming in February. Looks like customers are beta testers.

Very good Really like the introduction of the sea life in the windows.

I also dont use AUTO ISO, but i use a mixed of AutoWB and LockWB with different presets. Backscatter opinion about Auto ISO and Auto WB from 23m18s can be seen here

Complete guide review for underwater video & Photo settings by Backscatter source: Backscatter.com The backscatter should have included in their Guide the Gopro labs FW

The times ive used Flat color Profile trying to match the Natural Color profile , i never manage to get the colors right in Davinci. I just came across this article about Gopro Natural Color VS Flat color, its worth to read it : A note about Flat Color vs Natural Color LTM/GTM not Present in Flat Color Flat color profile doesn’t have any of GoPro’s LTM or GTM applied. LTM being Local Tone Mapping, which is a process that enhances the contrast between objects across the whole image (think clarity filter in Lightroom). GTM is Global Tone Mapping, which is a means of boosting shadows and bringing down highlights. The picture in Natural Color has been redesigned from the ground up and actually starts with a very underexposed image so that it can do a very good job retaining highlights once GTM is applied under the hood. If you compare Natural against Flat, you likely won’t be able to get the same amount of highlight saving even after rigorous color correction. This brings me to my second note: Dynamic Range With Flat Color Profile After extensive testing, I haven’t been able to reproduce quite the same amount of dynamic range when shooting Flat Color as I’m able to get with Natural Color. This is due to the GTM process in the image pipeline that happens under the hood as a sort of faux HDR process. This isn’t to say you can’t shoot in Flat Profile, but a watch-out if you want to get the most range out of the box. It’s also a testament to the advanced algorithms found in HERO11. Custom Log Curves with Labs For those interested in digging a little deeper, HERO11 and Mini offer the ability to load custom log curves when shooting Flat Color using GoPro Labs. Flat Color is in-fact a type of log curve, but if you wish to match log curves from other camera sources, you can load those onto the camera. Something to note is that loading a flatter log profile won’t get you more dynamic range out of the camera, it will just change around how the shadows and highlights are displayed. Good news is that 10-Bit color helps quite a bit when shooting in Flat color since the gradations in colors are so similar. Source: https://abekislevitz.com/hero11-video-settings-guide/

Im back to the Green Waters and ive start using Full Sensor 8:7 aspect ratio on GP13 Theres a small vignette in the corners using the 8:7 with AOI UWL-03 lens, the lens adapter is from INON. But since im cropping the image to 16:9 and also to 9:16 its a non issue because the 8:7 has enough resolution to work in post production without losing quality. I also notice using the full sensor theres a better distribution of colors Red, Green, Blue using AutoWB, might be coincidence or related to the new Gopro labs software V1.30.70

New firmware for Gopro Labs V1.30.70 According to the FW release notes, now there a "new WBDV" white balance for diving, a semi-automatic WB has the scenery get more blue, the more the red channel is Gain up. In my opinion In terms of FW the Gopro is years ahead of the competition. 1.30.70 - November 21, 2024 Added WBDV - White Balance DiVe improvements. Rather than WARM for improving diving white balance, which effects WB the same at all depths, WBDV is more automatic – as the scene get more blue, the more the red channel is gain up. Currently $WBDV=1 is uses =2.33,4.0 internally (gaining red 4x after red gain hits 2.33), so you can try tuning this yourself e.g. $WBDV=2.4,5.0 Added SHEL - Using $SHEL=1 enables a command shell for Labs over a USB serial port. Every experimental, and looking for feedback. Connect to COM at 115200 8N1. All QR code command work, just type them. Used $ commands will report their data back to the shell, e.g. $BITR or $A or $p:T to read variables. Added OPNW - Open Network (allows of faster non-secure http:// vs https:// to be used with Open GoPro) Fixed supporting numbers in FourCC codes in Presets (e.g. preset named “DIVE 24HZ”) Fixed d1 and d10 for 10-bit selection Fixed voice control enabling in Labs

@Nick I have 2x divevolk dive lights LS50 , they are rebranded from SUPE SCUBALAMP For the price/quality you can't go wrong, CRI96 and 120 Beam Angle, excellent for video. With 5000 lumens each im using them in medium settings, about 3000 lumens each, but they weight 295g underwater. But beware, the more powerful they are the heavier they become due their large battery. Ive seen myself adding buoyancy float arms to my rig to compensate the AOI lens + dive lights. Also a "bigger" system will slow you down underwater, meaning more air consumption and more restrict in movements. If was today probably i would go with Sea Dragon Dive light, max 2500/3000 lumens each. For example the Sea dragon 3000F Auto weights 110g/3.9oz in salt water, 120 Beam and CRI 90

Final thoughts My first liveaboard at Red Sea was positive, i confess that i had my expectations a bit too high. If you go with a Local Liveaboard Dive Guide you are limited in time of what you can film, Our Group was divided in 4 groups, i was in Non-Dive Guide group, that gave me some extra time for filming some particular scenery. Ambient and shallow waters in Marine Parks are the best scenery for getting nice colors. The wrecks was nice, but the overcrowded amount of divers keep the marine life away. Unfortunaltey no Large Pelagic was spotted this week. Im returning in the end of February 2025 for part2.

Day 3 Diving My first Turtle filming was not the best timing, we were at the end of the dive, get ready to go back to the boat and the Turtle showed of nowhere. The area had lots of bleach corals, and the water has some kind of mistiness/Haze/Gaze that prevent correct light penetration. Also had another Diver on my tale also using video lights sometimes creating excess of red in picture. Haven't totally understand why the Gopro couldn't pop out nice colours on Jackson Reef.

@Elvandar Use 16:9 format for youtube and 9:16 for social media