Blue water filters?

[mz53480]

Hi all,

I use a slightly red filter for the green water here in the PNW, but what do those who dive tropical waters use to compensate for the blue water?

Thanks!

MZ

[Scuba Jon]

I do not use a filter in our green water. I rely on a lot of light to bring out the colors. Tropical I use a red filter for day dives and no filter for night dives. If you go down beyond 30 or 40 fsw then you will need to use your lights along with the red filter.

Randy P

[Sockmonkey]

Hmmm I sure wish I knew the answer to this question... being a major u/w photography noob. I've had minimal luck with my canon's u/w mode with getting better color.

The only way I've dealt with the blueosity is to provide the a bright light... or take pictures in shallow water.

If someone else has a suggestion I'd be psyched to try it.

-Eric

[Romer Treece]

Do your camera's have the "White Balance" function?

[defied]

The Red filter is used at depth because red is the first light filtered out by the water. It will work in varying tints, depending on the type of water you are in.

The underwater setting for a camera is made for tropical dive conditions, and doesn't lay out a red filter, as well as a green reducer that can handle the puget sounds special "coloring". It will work better than no filter though.

In the tropics, you can use a lighter filter, depending on what depth you go too (more red tint the deeper you shoot).

As far as using very bright lights while shooting at depth, the amount of red light depends on how much red light your light puts off.

Cheers,
D(B)

[dphershman]

Hi all,

I use a slightly red filter for the green water here in the PNW, but what do those who dive tropical waters use to compensate for the blue water?

Thanks!

MZ

Using a filter just blocks out light other than red. At depth your camera will become mostly inoperable because there's little to no red light. "Underwater" camera settings on point and shoots are for snorkelers who float around on the surface.

Don't mess with filters, get a strobe! Just my two cents.

[rcontrera]

Way back when I worked with Ikelite, we used UR Pro CY filters on ALL cameras ... still or video ... available light or with strobes. They did two things ... made the pictures a little nicer and protected the camera lens from scratches. I had one on the front of my wide angle lens and got beautiful colors both in the Northwest and in the tropical blue waters.

Just my $.02

[Sockmonkey]

Do your camera's have the "White Balance" function?

My still camera has some sort of white balance function I've never touched. It has been set to auto white balance ever since I purchased the camera.

I've got two related questions for those bored enough to answer...

First is for you photoshop jockeys... I managed to take a bunch of photos on land the other day and I hadn't realized that I turned underwater mode on. I'm not sure I have a good enough eye to correctly color correct. If I move the top slider away from red and toward cyan the photo looks more betterer. I don't have a feel to know how much to move that slider and if I should be adjusting shadows, midtones, or highlights (or even what they are). I have a photo that I took without u/w mode with similar subject matter but I'm still having a helluva time adjusting. Any advice would be appreciated.

Picture 14.png (31.44 KiB) Viewed 1867 times

My next related question is about setting white balance for video. I've been shooting a bunch of manta video and my stuff looks like total ass compared to folks with lesser cameras. I'm pretty sure the 50 divers with dive lights shining everywhere moving randomly is effecting the video. As well as the other video people with headlights shining in my face. Not to mention when a manta strafes it's white belly makes the auto white balance do weird things. If someone has some kind words on how to adjust the white balance or exposure (or any other video camera setting) for weird and varying conditions they'd be my hero.

Thanks much,

-Eric

[Dusty2]

Most people set the white balance using a slate other white surface at depth. Once set you should be ok until conditions change like going to greater depth or getting silted out. Having a big critter like a manta flash his big white belly at you in tropical waters is going to blow out just about any shot unless you are under him.

[Romer Treece]

Yeah like Dusty2 said, take a slate or even focus in on a bunch of white Metridium and push the "manual" white balance button, hold it down, the icon will flash then set the balance. (Your camera may be different in settings for the white bal-read the manual on how to set)
What that does is tell the camera that white objects are "white" and not blueish or greenish when you are down at depth.
Dan

[dphershman]

Do your camera's have the "White Balance" function?

First is for you photoshop jockeys... I managed to take a bunch of photos on land the other day and I hadn't realized that I turned underwater mode on. I'm not sure I have a good enough eye to correctly color correct. If I move the top slider away from red and toward cyan the photo looks more betterer. I don't have a feel to know how much to move that slider and if I should be adjusting shadows, midtones, or highlights (or even what they are). I have a photo that I took without u/w mode with similar subject matter but I'm still having a helluva time adjusting. Any advice would be appreciated.

Picture 14.png

-Eric

to adjust the white balance in photoshop go to Image>adjustments>Levels. then click on the gray eyedropper (between the white and black ones). Then find something in the picture that's kind of a nuetral gray (a tank maybe?) and click on it with the grey eyedropper. You may have to click around in several locations to find something almost right. There's some other tricks as well in levels that involve adjusting the histograms of the Red Green and Blue channels independently. The grey eyedropper is usually quicker.