JasonBoone

Oh and by the way, here is a pic of my setup if you were wondering.

It's a Canon T2i in an Ikelite housing with an 8" dome port. I am using a Tokina 10-16mm lens with a redfilter. You can also see my nifty tripod setup, which I did not use at all while shooting the Duane.

I had my second dive on the Duane in Key Largo last month, and success! My focus was pretty sharp. I used the red filter once again, and I must say that the red color in my mid tones, especially in the blue water and on the edges is really bothering me. I am going to experiment without the red filter on this wreck next time and see what kind of results I get. I did once again white balance on a large dive slate. I will also experiment with balancing on the hand and sand. My hand is pretty small though, and I can't see filling the entire screen with my hand.

So... instead of posting more screen shots from my second dive, I figured I would post the video! This is a rough cut and I would really love to hear all opinions and suggestions on how to make it better. To put this in context, let me first explain that I am a grad student and I am creating a video travel guide website for scuba spots in Key Largo, and this is one of the short-form documentary videos that I just finished and will be included in my travel guide.

I am interested to hear if my colors are acceptable for the underwater footage. I also would like to hear how you liked the video as a whole. If it provided useful information, if it inspires you to dive this spot, etc. Also, is there any information missing that you would like me to include? Please give me feedback!!

The USCG Duane

password: dive
The video is password protected, and the password is dive.

- Jason

Wow thanks for all of the info Nick. It is REALLY helpful. That Underwater Realm color grade was extremely cool. I especially loved how they made the light rays pop in the background. Way cool.

And its good to hear that I am in the ballpark with my colors. I assumed that if this footage was properly in focus that I could've salvaged it with a color grade.

Anyways, I've concluded that I just need more time underwater with my new camera setup to get experience and practice. On the next dive I am going to try some experimentation with white balancing on the sun. It looked to provide good results from your tests. I am a little curious if this will be possible at 100ft with low visibility.

Thanks again Nick. And by the way, I love Bubble Vision! Big fan.

OK!

So......epic fail for me last month. Haha. I even had two dives on the Duane, and I blew it!

I used the red filter that is recommended to only 70ft, and white balanced on a large white card at 100ft, which is where most of the shooting took place. The only problem was...my focus was off the entire time! Oops. My eyes are so bad that I didn't even notice on my tiny LCD screen. Take a look at some screen shots from both dives:












Nevertheless, I still have some questions. I notice on almost all of my video that I occasionally get red fringing around the edges. Usually on the top edges of the screen. It is like red vignetting. The second photo that I posted above is REALLY bad in the upper left hand corner. Any way to avoid this aside from totally ditching the red filter? I get this even in shallower waters, such as the 30-40ft range.

I am also not very happy with the lack of blues in the water. I want my blues to POP!

So to conclude, do my colors even look accurate? Am I at least in the ballpark and (if the footage was in focus) would I be able to salvage this footage with some color correction? I think that the colors are accurate, I just need to figure out the issue with the red fringing and the lack of blues.

Any and all suggestions/advice are welcome. I am heading back to the Duane next week, and I am going to get some nice footage, come hell or high Key Largo water. Should I use the same red filter setup with a white balance at 100ft? But only this time get the focus correct....haha

Thanks for any help guys and gals.

Wow thanks for all of the great info guys. Looks like I will go with the filter and start saving for some lights!

I am diving the Duane (100ft) this Monday, so I will for sure post some screen grabs from the video so you can take a look. I am also diving the Benwood, which is a WWII wreck sitting in about 25ft - 45ft of water, and I am sure the red filter will rock and roll on that dive. I am really excited!

Thanks again.

- Jason