Re-Programming Sony HD

Thats it.. I'm sick of MWB through 4 sub menus on my Cam. Sony HDRSR8. So here's my idea.

What I would like to do is take my cam somewhere to get some buttons re-assigned, so I can have a MWB button on the cam, not only through the touch screen menus.

What my cam does have at the moment is a scroll wheel and a button directly below the wheel right beside the lens on the side of the cam. By scrolling this wheel it automatically brings up an option to turn on a pre-selected manual function eg Exposure, Focus, AE Shift or WB Shift. Then you just press the button and scroll up or down to adjust. But what I would Like to happen is to assign the button to be a "One Touch WB" function.

Does anyone know if this can be done? Or has been done?

Or even better a contact in Sony or Tech Guy that I could speak to, to try and get this done?

One other little thing that I'm curious with to do with MWB is that it just hasnt seemed to be working on my cam. Well thats what I thought.

As most of, if not all of my footage when shallow 0-12m has just been green, and overexposed shooting with natual light. Once I get away from sunlight my lights perform great but in sunlit shots its terrible.

I've tried MWB against my slate even went and Velcro'ed an Ice Cream lid to my fins to make it easier but no change in colour. Until 10mins left of my last dive in Fiji Bligh Waters this week when I had the poops trying to film a clown fish in 7m of water and was just seeing over exposed green on the screen. I couldnt take it anymore. Frustrated I looked at the screen as I zoomed in really close on a apricot coloured soft coral to see what colour it looked in the screen. Which was also very green on cam. Then for some reason (and I still dont know why) I MWB on the apricot coral.

OMG I HAVE COLOUR IN SHALLOW WATER!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!

My Cameras WB settings are useless or non existent underwater. It doesnt seem to know true white. But apon giving it something with far more red in it, it has come quite close to real colour. The overexposure is gone as with the green.

Is this a common occurance with MWB or Sony or is it just mine. LOL. (mine im guessing)

I take it you're using a red filter?

Just asking.....

No. Shooting clean. With The Ike W-20 Wide angle lens

Many cams NEED the red filter in place to do MWB. Think of it like this. Camcorders have a limitation on how much it can color correct via MWB. The red filter helps the cam by making the scene closer to ideal and the amount of correction the camcorder needs to make is lessened.

Try an internal or external red filter. Before spending the money on a big external red filter to go over you W-20, try the regular port and external red filter that came with the housing.

So I'm going to ask the Gumby question Ron... Your saying I should dive/shoot with the red filter in place constantly down to say 12m/40ft and WB to a white slate through the filter til that depth?

Saying this works do you know if there is a red filter made for the W20. I'll look anyway.

Does anyone have any thoughts about the re-assigning buttons idea?

I rang Sony yesterday and they sort of fogged me off saynig that the factory settings are it. I just think that they dont want people changing their products. I also spoke to their authorised repairer and they wouldnt give me much info about the matter at all, bar saying that they could only reset the cam not make changes to the factory settings. Warrenty issues and the like. So I'm stuck at square 1 not knowing where to start.

Yes, I MWB through the filter and keep it in place unless I'm using my lights. You might as well try it.

You can pretty much get a red filter for any size lens. Just a matter of finding one pre-made or ordering a custom. They can get expensive as they get larger. I think someone suggested buying a Lee Filter gel sheet # 779 as an alternative and making your own. They are cheap at about $8 for a 21"x24" sheet. For $8 do a quick experiment. If you like the results, make something more permanent or go for a pre-made/custom.

Good luck getting Sony to re-program buttons beyond their factory settings.

Probie, the easiest route for one push MWB is getting an electronic housing which does it. There are a couple of manufacturers that have cracked the code. It's not instantaneous like on the camera but it does work.

For trivia's sake, there use to be a lanc tool that you could reprogram the EPROMs for the old PD/VXxk range for various functions including DV in/out which for a while was disabled in the EU. Quite a few people fried their eproms.

Cheers Drew,

But I'm sitting here laughing at myself while reading your last 2 lines at having no idea of what you are talking about. Sorry I've just no clue what EPROMs, the old randge of cams your describing, the DV in/out or the EU are. I do appoligise for my lack of knowledge regarding this and sincerly thank you for taking the time to reply with the info but I just dont understand.

Apon talking with sony I now realise that changing settings as I am describing above is a little more difficult than I first thought as the cams programming is based on algorithims and such but I still believe there must be someone out there that can make these changes. As the button is already there as an asignable button. I just want to use it as say a 'shortcut' to and existing function.