Sony HC7 Settings

I am recently new to the site, and definitely new to underwater video. I wanted to start shooting some video on all of the trips we have been taking since the other members of my dive group already do digital photos. I thought it would be a nice complementary way to document our experiences.

I purchased a Sony HC7, wide angle lens, and red filters for wide and and without from URPRO. As my first venture I went with a simple housing option to keep the cost down as well as complexity. While I realized it would limit my capabilities somewhat, I figured it would be a good start.

I went with the Top Dawg 2 housing with the lights from Light and Motion. Our group went to Roatan last week and I got to use it for the first time. For simplicity I went with the filters and did not use the lights, and spent most of my time focusing on camera control and framing. Except for changing the setting pertaining to the video out for the monitor back, I left the settings alone (i.e. auto).

The questions I have are:

1. The video was decent for a first go. However, I think that I probably need to make an adjustment to the white balance etc. The housing controls do not give me the option to do this in water, so I am looking for some recommendations on what to set before closing up the housing prior to the dive.

2. The housing set up as it is now is slightly positive which impacts camera control in water. Any ideas on how best to add ballast to bring it to neutral bouyancy?

Thanks

Mike

Hi Mike

Welcome to the wonderful world of underwater video.

Probably a good idea to start with the basics as you have done.

By far the most important aspect of underwater video is getting a nice steady shot that doesn't make viewers seasick when they watch it. An important step in acheiving that is to get the balance right in the housing. The easiest way to get the bouyancy right is to attach a bag to your housing (tied or zip tied) and add shot weights (from an ankle wieght or soft weight pouch) until you have the bouyancy perfect. Then try moving the wieght around until you get the center of gravity positioned so that the housing hovers horizontally. Once you have figured out the position and amount of weight, duct tape it into position and you are set. Of course you can make it look nicer if you want to but dont make any permanent modifications to the housing - you may buy a bigger battery or different lights and then the bouyancy and balance characteristics will change.

It is a shame you don't have manual white balance but I shot for two years before I figured out what white balance did and I still got plenty of nice shots. I recommend you stick with auto white balance rather than any of the presets (though others will disagree). That will give you the most latitude in your shooting. Once you figure out how your camera reacts to different lighting conditions, you can work within its limitations and get close to perfect white balance. For example, you will probably find that dark conditions(including night dives) with lights and no red filter will give excellent auto WB, likewise, around 15-40 feet depth during daylight and using the red filter will also do a good job in AWB, shallower than 15 ft will be too red with the filter and too blue without it. I would shoot it too red and correct in your editing software. Deeper than 40 feet will probably be too blue - but what is wrong with blue?

Good luck and keep posting.

Cheers

Josh

Thanks for the answer. I will definitely be working on the weighting issue to get true neutral. Hopefully with a little more practice I can get some better video. It just seems that I am getting an overall greenish tint to all the video I have shot.

Thanks for the answer. I will definitely be working on the weighting issue to get true neutral. Hopefully with a little more practice I can get some better video. It just seems that I am getting an overall greenish tint to all the video I have shot.

You might be using the wrong filter - there are blue water filters and green water filters. Check shich you are using and try the other one. If all else fails, it is an easy fix in your editing software - what are you using for that?

You might be using the wrong filter - there are blue water filters and green water filters. Check shich you are using and try the other one. If all else fails, it is an easy fix in your editing software - what are you using for that?

I will check the filters again to ensure that there was not a mix up. However, I do believe that I have the correct "blue water" filters by URPro. Worth taking the time to check.

As for the editing software I have the Adobe Suite using the Premier Elements 4. Again, as I stated earlier, I am totally new to this so I have played with it a little bit. You say it is an easy fix, so hopefully with some practice I will figure out how to do that. I have been looking for a good manual on editing with the software to help me figure it all out. Any recommendations for correcting in the software?

Thanks and Merry Christmas,

Mike