I still don't understand how this works so forgive me. The expodisc fits in place of the ur filter. You bring it down in front of the lens and white balance. Okay, I think I got that. However, if you're using lights, the lights would not be able to be a part of the wb procedure, so how do you deal with that? One thing I have found difficulty with is, if holding a card or slate, in front of the lens, it is hard to aim the lights to completely fill out the card since my arms aren't the length of Wilt Chamberlains. Thus, I am white balancing on a less than fully lit card.
Steve B)
Why would the lights not be part of the WB procedure? At greater depths or limited visibility, they have to be since there often might be no other light available, and it is the WB with lights that will be on the footage. Am I missing something here?
Anders
I'm not sure, maybe its me who is missing something. This expodisc fits into the internal ur filter holder taking the place of the regular ur filter. It comes down in front of the lens for wb purposes. But your lights are external and the lens is focusing on the internal expodisc; thus, how are the lights lighting up anything? They're not. You white balance on the disc and bring it up, see a subject and put on your lights....but the cam was not WBed to reflect the light being generated.
At least, this is my understanding of it all, but perhaps I am envisioning it all wrong.
Steve B)
i think the disc is somewhat see thru?! i am not sure but i would think it has to be in order to get correct readings
Well, at least I know I'm not crazy. I thought there was a problem with this. While the expodisc sounds wonderful, to have something internally that is as easy to use as a ur filter, unless you can WB with the lights you will be using, it would negate any benefit other than if shooting without lights
Steve B)
Wags,
"take it if I get a 67 mm one it should pop straight into the flip arm once I take it out of the ring."
Not so easy. I thought the same way and bought the expodisc without checking the dimensions - big mistake. This thing is so wide (as Dan just said - 6mm), I don't think there is a chance in hell of it fitting in the Phenom - I guess it might work with the flat port, but we definitely need a custom made filter arm?
It does work like a champ topside in a dark room (simulating depth) - I was suprised. Couldn't get the camera to balance with a regular slate at all, but right away with the expodisc.
Really wish I could try this. Open to any suggestions if any Phenom users come up with something.....
Aloha
Bryce
I'm not sure, maybe its me who is missing something. This expodisc fits into the internal ur filter holder taking the place of the regular ur filter. It comes down in front of the lens for wb purposes. But your lights are external and the lens is focusing on the internal expodisc; thus, how are the lights lighting up anything? They're not. You white balance on the disc and bring it up, see a subject and put on your lights....but the cam was not WBed to reflect the light being generated.
At least, this is my understanding of it all, but perhaps I am envisioning it all wrong.
I believe the Expodisc is somewhat translucent, and the facets on the front of the filter spreads the light evenly to the flat part on the back of the filter closest to the lens. In this way the lights you use to illuminate an object will be part of the white balance procedure, and that is why it works for different types of light sources.
This is an excerpt from Expodiscs homepage:
"Each ExpoDisc is constructed of carefully selected and matched optical grade materials, then hand-calibrated to strict tolerances of color neutrality and light transmission."
Sincerely
Anders
Here's my first attempt at shooting through the Expodisc. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?
Nice shot there Nick...love the colours.
Bryce 6 mm thick..be abit hard to get it on the flip arm.
Can you post a image of it up close bryce?
Trouble is I want to keep my +2.
hahahahah Nick!
yer taking the piss
Love the colours, it looks like a shot of bikini bottoms through a thermal spring, hence the distorted picture..,
Or my distorted mind
Dive safe
DeanB
Hey, lay off him, Nick might have started a whole new trend in uw shooting... the psychodelic planet beneath the waves. It'll always keep you guessing. This just might be the first shot of a sperm whale fighting with a giant squid....and to think...Nick was there first. ;-)
Steve B)
No, Dean was right. I ran it through a couple of Vegas filters and it came up nicely.
Wags - here's a couple pics of the expodisc - 67mm. The first one is the expo side by side with one of the flip arms from the Phenom - the second is the two parts of the expodisc.
Nice butt, is that one of your customers
Byrce that is thick..well lets see if we can come up with some thinner ones. Maybe even some semi transparent white plastic would work abit the same way as well.
I have some white thin transparent diffusers here, will see if the camera can WB them..
I just wb the camera through this very thin semi plastic white diffuser I have in a dark place and indeed it WB the camera as well when it could not do it without.
So over the next few days I will make a small thin second flip arm and put this on and see how it goes.
Nice butt, is that one of your customers
Yeah, was sitting on the side of the pool and had no idea the camera was still recording ...... honest!
How about just putting the camera wildly out of focus?
Nick,
You must have the same mind as my mate 'stealthy Dave' he just got back from taking pics at a 'superbike' day (his passion) and a third of his photos were ladies in the audience in states of undress
You do not get that opportunity in freezing cold quarries
Dive safe
DeanB
Wagsy, they look like the same diffusers that come with the UK Cannon video lights
Steve
Do they, they come with the Darkbuters HID lights.
