Photo / Video News & Reviews
A Guide to Underwater Wildlife Video & Editing: Part 8

Read Part 7 here.
A part serialisation of a book by Jeff Goodman
PART 8: Colour Bars and Monitor Setup
It may be that the picture in your camera monitor is looking pretty good but looks quite different when you get it back onto your PC. This may simply be because your camera monitor and PC monitor are set up differently. To help standardise this we use a reference picture called Bars.
Have a think about exactly what your camera monitor is showing you. It may be that the monitor brightness, contrast and colour are set incorrectly and if they are, then the resulting video image that looked OK to you at the time of filming may look awful on another machine, i.e. your computer.
‘Bars’ is a reference chart that will help you calibrate your camera monitor as well as your computer. If your camera has this option then a reference colour and exposure chart can be viewed in the monitor. Adjust the monitor levels until the reference bars look correct.
There are a few different bar types so please read your manual to see how to set up yours correctly. Record say 30 seconds of these bars on the camera and play it back onto your computer monitor, setting it up to match.
If your camera does not have this option you can download from the internet a standard bar chart for setting up your computer screen.
This will then ensure that your picture quality will be good when played on any monitor that is also set up correctly with the standardised bar chart.
Next time we look at White Balance.
News
INON announce SD Front Mask and M67 filter adapters for GoPro Hero 8 and Hero 9

The new SD Front Mask enables users to enjoy dedicated the semi-fisheye lens (the UFL-G140SD) which increases the underwater angle of view and minimises shooting distance. It also enables users to attach the dedicated wide close-up lens (the UCL-G165SD) which provides ideal coverage and shooting distance for taking video of marine life.
The M67 Filter Adapters allow underwater videographers to attach the INON UW Variable Red Filter to easily obtain natural colour without a blue/green colour cast. To learn more about these filters watch the video below.
No need to bring couple of filters underwater and swap them depending on depth. It is easy to adjust colour tone simply by turning the filter edge and stop turning when you see appropriate white balance on your screen.
For more information visit the INON UK website by clicking here.
News
NUPG Lockdown Best of…

Usually the January NUPG meeting involves a guest judge coming to Manchester to talk through the very best images members had taken in the previous 12 months. However, this year, due to COVID19 restriction many of the members had not had the chance to dive. The NUPG committee decided to change the rules a little. So this year members judged a series of Best of the Century images online and were also invited to take part in a lockdown underwater bath tub category.
There were five categories for members to enter. Here are the winners of each…
British and Irish Close Up
British and Irish Wide Angle
Overseas Close Up
Overseas Wide Angle
Under Bath Water
The next NUPG meeting will be held on Monday 8th February and the guest speaker is John Bantin.
For more information on the NUPG please visit their website by clicking here.
Header image: Lionfish hunting in the Red Sea by John Spencer
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