What filter color do I need?

Yeah, a Newb,

I took my underwater DVC down to the ocean today and did a shorey in about

two meters. The clarity was good and there was planty of sunshine and

illumination but when I got home and played it on my TV the film looked

greenish. Can you tell me what color filter I need to correct the green for

shallow dives?

Tink

Edited by Moderator for subject clarity

Welcome Tink.

Are you diving in temperate cold/green water or warm tropical blue water?

URPro (not sure the website..) makes filters for both of these conditions. Basically an orange/red coloUr.

Also, i would contact the dealer you bought your housing from and ask them about a filter for your combination. It might not be able to take a flip filter and you may need to look for an external one.

Shouldn't need a filter in 2M of water. Can you manual white balance with your housing? If not, what was your white balance setting?

Dan

haha.... i didn't notice the 2m bit.. good point

Thanks for response,

That would be warm temperature water but not so much blue, just kinda clear and sunny like. There was a lot of green algea around on the bottom but it didn't affect clarity just looking at it. When I ran it on the screen straight off the camera it was like a green tinge and the depth/clarity/visibility seemed less.

I know there are computer programs but I really want to fix this at the source. My underwater housing is an old Jaques Cousteau type one and doesnt have many features but the camera I'm using inside is a high quality Canon.

So attaching a red or orange lense on the camera inside the housing will do it you reckon? Or adjust the white balance on the camera itself - which is better?

Danytink

at the depths you are working at i believe adjusting the WB is the way to go.

That would be warm temperature water but not so much blue, just kinda clear and sunny like. There was a lot of green algea around on the bottom but it didn't affect clarity just looking at it. When I ran it on the screen straight off the camera it was like a green tinge and the depth/clarity/visibility seemed less.

 

Danytink

Welcome to the world of underwater video!! Just make sure you get a nice padded head protector for when you want to bang your head against the wall and you're all set!!

In theory in tropical seas that have good visibility then you should get 'blue' water, but there's plenty of tropical locations where you can get 'green' water (particularly at certain times of year - algee blooms etc) which kind of throws a spanner in the works.

However if you were getting very green shots in 2m of water with good vis then I'd say something else is going wrong and attaching a colour correction filter at that depth is not the answer as that would just give you red footage.

I'd say it's almost impossibly rare to ever get a perfect shot without some kind of post dive editing. I'm sure it may happen to other people, but it certainly doesn't to me! You'd be amazed what you can do with even a half decent NLE software package though.

Hope this helps in some way!

Cheers, Simon

Tink,

Keep it simple and pick up a URPRO (http://www.urprofilters.com/) blue water filter. If you have manual white balance, read some great discussions here on the topic. other option is our own Alex Mustard's Magic Filters (http://www.magic-filters.com/). Eitherway, you will see some great results.

Shawn

Tink,

Keep it simple and pick up a URPRO (http://www.urprofilters.com/) blue water filter. If you have manual white balance, read some great discussions here on the topic. other option is our own Alex Mustard's Magic Filters (http://www.magic-filters.com/). Eitherway, you will see some great results.

Shawn

I'd just fix it in post. Even the inexpensive NLE's like Pinnacle Studio or Vegas Movie Studio have color correction tools.

Thankyew, thankyew,

I adjusted my white balance according to manual and it fixed the problem it seems - although I was at a different location. There was definite improvement in the visibility department. When I start diving deeper I no doubt will run into other lighting problems - strobes and colored lenses eh?

It depends alot on the monitor/tv you are doing your playback on as well it seems, I was in a motel and the tv was crap and the colors all over the place. When I ran it on a good tv, it was ok.

hi,

i am not sure about the website..... makes filters for both of these conditions. preferbly orange/red .

Also, i would contact the different persons and ask them about a filter for your combination. It might not be able to take a flip filter and you may need to look for an external one.

i have purchased aquasana water filter from watergiants.com and there i confirmed the things.

thanks

gelfey