For those who can't access their manual WB....

....I'm interested in who is using the "Outdoor" setting vs. "Auto".

I recently dove 2 days in Jamaica and used Outdoor the first day and AUTO the second. In both cases, I had to do some correction in post, but honestly the Outdoor setting seemed pretty good -- AND it's more reliable (consistent) than Auto. For shots using my light, I have a blue filter on the light to keep the redness down, so no worries there.

So who uses Outdoor and why? Or why not?

On a similar note, for those shooting in Auto, have you tried powering down and back up with a white card in the frame? Does this trick work for you?

Thanks for any input --

bk

(Sony HC3, Seatool HC3 DX housing)

....I'm interested in who is using the "Outdoor" setting vs. "Auto".

 

I recently dove 2 days in Jamaica and used Outdoor the first day and AUTO the second. In both cases, I had to do some correction in post, but honestly the Outdoor setting seemed pretty good -- AND it's more reliable (consistent) than Auto. For shots using my light, I have a blue filter on the light to keep the redness down, so no worries there.

 

So who uses Outdoor and why? Or why not?

 

On a similar note, for those shooting in Auto, have you tried powering down and back up with a white card in the frame? Does this trick work for you?

 

Thanks for any input --

 

bk

(Sony HC3, Seatool HC3 DX housing)

I have a HC-3 in a Gates. If you are not going to use MWB, Outdoor is the option to use for the reasons you mentioned - more consistent and overall better results than Auto. Auto will not work by powering down and up with a WB Card. When you move the card away it will change.

If you have a "cloudy" setting try using that. This works reasonably well with a lot of point and shoot cameras.

I have a HC-3 in a Gates. If you are not going to use MWB, Outdoor is the option to use for the reasons you mentioned - more consistent and overall better results than Auto. Auto will not work by powering down and up with a WB Card. When you move the card away it will change.

Ha ha...I haven't done a WB underwater for the last few hundred dives. Just set WB for "Daylight" (like using Film)...and use powerful daylight balanced lights (5000 - 6000K) to provide the necessary illumination in low light. Perfect results every time...and more consistent as you say.

Great to hear that the Outdoor/Daylight/5600K setting is working for others. I'm going to start using it more, instead of AUTO. Tomorrow, I'll see how it performs for somewhat greenish CA kelp diving.

Great to hear that the Outdoor/Daylight/5600K setting is working for others. I'm going to start using it more, instead of AUTO. Tomorrow, I'll see how it performs for somewhat greenish CA kelp diving.

Be careful not to confuse color temp of the illumination source (ie the sun or the lights) with ambient spectral/color characteristics of the water you're diving in.

If the water has a greenish tinge to it (as is where I live) you can use an additional mild CC filter (pinkish) to correct for color cast...or easily do it in post. Setting the WB for "Daylight" helps me to know exactly what is going on in terms of natural color acquisition.... or variation by extra filtration (depending on how green/blue the water is). I've recently tended to not use any filters at all. Since I always tweak Gamma in post, also tweaking color is simple.

On the other hand...buggering around with WB to "compensate" for poor colors in low light/deep water is another story. Good luck with that one...