RE: "Calc White Balance" User Key on the REDMOTE - is there an assigned Key?

[M. FERGUSON]

RE: "Calc White Balance" User Key on the REDMOTE - is there an assigned Key?

Aloha,

I've got a question about using the REDMOTE to obtain a "Calc White Balance". I understand that white balance isn't "baked in" with RAW files and can be adjusted in post but I like to set a gray card white balance for viewing truer playback in camera and on a monitor prior to post correction. When using my Water Housing I control my EPIC's settings via my REDMOTE . My RED 5.0 Touchscreen is my view monitor set in the rear end of the housing. In the EPIC-X Operation Guide 3.3 Rev-B on page 80 it says "Calc White Balance isalso assigned to a User Key on the REDMOTE and Side Handle as a factory default setting". I use the User Key when using my Side Handle but when I've got my EPIC in it's Water Housing there's no Side Handle attached and I've not been able to find out which User Key on the REDMOTE is assigned to the "Calc White Balance function. Not knowing which User Key is assigned I can access the Kelvin Scale and select a setting but I'd rather set a custom white balance. How do you move to the next "advanced" WB level on the REDMOTE - as you can on the touch screen - to the "Calc White Balance" function/direct input option screen? I could use an "EXPODISC" for an incident reading but there may be a way to get to the "Calc White Balance function with just the REDMOTE and I'd like to find it. I'm sure I'm just missing something that can provide me with an easy answer but I'm not there yet and would appreciate a hand. Can anyone give me any input on how I can get there from here? Thank you in advance for any help and advice that may come my way in regards to this question.

I've attached a couple of shot of my EPIC's "Yellow Submarine" that will with me in the surf this winter:

All the best...

Aloha,
Mike

M. S. Ferguson

EPIC-X #01567 "PUEO" The Hawaiian Owl
North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

 

[Wey Wang]

You can assign a key to "Auto WB".

Settings > Key Mappings

 

[Ron Lagerlof]

Hey Mike,
Nice to see your housing! I also shoot underwater and here are a few things I can tell you from experience.

1. It's great to be able to white balance underwater and at various depths. The problem comes in if you get above !0,000K at depth and I notice a lot of red channel noise. You need to set your WB at various depths if you're diving.
(Note: and maybe someone can chime in on this - if you have done a WB calc and you're at say 15,000K or above and then want to drag the temp slider in RCX Pro, the highest value you can set manually is 9900K. Incidentally, I like it there better most of the time, but just curious why you can't drag the slider up higher, or to the in-camera WB setting...)
2. If you're doing surf stuff, get your nominal WB and exposure settings and you should be able to stick with that the entire shoot. No depth change, no color change.
3. And I found this most useful on my last dive trip: shoot your subject at a given depth, grade that in RCX Pro and load the look back into the camera, then shoot with that. It is amazing how great the images come out of the camera if you do this right.
Happy shooting.
Ron

 

[M. FERGUSON]

Aloha Wey,

Thank you very much for your suggestion in reply to my question.

I figured that I could program a Key but I first wanted to be sure I had not missed something since the EPIC Operation Guide had said that a User Key had been assigned to "Calc White Balance" as a factory default setting. I use the assigned Side Handle "Calc White Balance" button often when I'm working with the Side Handle on. I figured there must be an assigned User Key as mentioned in the Guide or there was a way to reach the advanced options part of the Kelvin settings that offers the Calc WB option as there is in the Touchscreen interface. If there is no assigned User Key or way to access the advanced WB options with the REDMOTE I'll go into assigning a REDMOTE Key via Key Mapping. I haven't set up any custom programed keys yet so I'm interested in giving that option a go. Mahalo.

All the best ...

Aloha,
Mike

 

[M. FERGUSON]

Aloha Ron,

Thanks very much for your input. 'Great to get some insight from someone with ocean filming experience. I film Ocean Sports - mostly surfing - on the surface and I don't take my EPIC any deeper than thirty feet or so (the housing's not made for depth) but even just shooting what the bottom looks like at some of the famous Surfing spots has me going for color adjustment in post. Even though I'm not scuba or free diving I learned early on that once you go below the surface any surface settings as far as lighting is concerned no longer apply. I gather there are serious changes in color temperature as you go quite a bit deeper. It's neat that you can adjust for that in digital post these days. I had friends some years ago who were Black Coral divers on Maui and always thought a film of their work at depth (and play-onshore) would have been really something! They lived a pretty wild lifestyle. To be able to film that kind of thing with these new cameras would be great! In those days I guess It would have taken a lot of extra lights to do the deep ocean filming. As far as this Custom White Balance setting goes it's just for viewing pre-post. I pretty much want to just do an initial Custom WB to a Gray Card as I get in the water but I have my REDMOTE with me when I shoot (in a clear pliable plastic waterproof case) so I could adjust WB as I change the other settings with my REDMOTE to adapt to the day's lighting changes. I'm not using cine lenses and through hull controls. Presently I'm using a Canon 14mm and a 24mm so everything is either auto or I over ride with the REDMOTE. I'll be filming Sport Fishing and Sailing as well with my Epic in it's housing so I will be using the REDMOTE a lot for all setting adjustments from outside the housing. I've just started using my EPIC in it's housing so there's a lot I'll be learning. In regards to your last point - I did save a "Look" in RCX Pro for the first time while checking out some footage of Pipeline I shot during the last swell that hit the North Shore. I loaded it back into the camera and there's another swell forecast for Friday that I can try the "LOOK" on. As you mention this method looks like the way to go - ' lookin' forward to it! I am still wondering if there was a default User Key assigned to "Calc White Balance" as mentioned in the EPIC Guide like it was on the Side Handle. 'Guess it was left off. Maybe it will happen in a future firmware update for the REDMOTE - it would be useful. For now I may just see If I can just program a key - to make it an easy move.

Thanks Ron.

All the best...

Aloha,
Mike

 

[M. FERGUSON]

Aloha Wey,

I just set a key to "Auto WB" as you recommended and It works perfect for what I need. That's the first key I've re-mapped. Now that I see how easy it is to do and how useful this could be there are a few other keys I think I re-assign. Thanks very much for the tip - this will be very useful.

All the best...

Aloha,
Mike