DVX200 White Balance problems. Scene file preference for a natural look.

K

kre57

Member
We recently upgraded to the DVX200 from a Canon XA10 for better image quality in our b-roll footage. Most of what we produce are corporate how-to and product overview videos that involve a lot of outdoor run-and-gun style shooting. So far I am struggling with getting an accurate white balance using a WB card. The results are always too warm. I am not sure if this is a result of the scene file I have settled on (Barry's SCN 3 "Natural") or a WB problem. I also have issues at times with "glowing" highlights on skin depending on the scene file used. You can see a little of it on the hand of the guy in the image attached.

I have the latest firmware (1.65) and have gone thru all Panasonic's scene files as well as Barry Green's additions (with the original camera color setting) but can't seem to find something that looks right. We typically use a Canon 5D MKIII for our a-roll so I would like to to match that as closely as possible. So my questions are:

1. What scene file will get me closest to the look of the Canon 5D MKIII
2. What should I use for WB? A white card or 18% gray?

I never had so much trouble with the XA10 or the MKIII so I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Any help would be much appreciated.

DVX200-BG-SCN3-Natural.jpg
 
I noticed the same problem using different scenes (from 1.4 and "natural" color palettes) Always my picture was to warm, to yellowish, even after using proper white balance settings. So I decided to reduce yellow (YL) in COLOR CORRECTION SETTING to SAT -20 and PHASE +11 (previously 0 and +10) Now is much better. I think this is the way to correct a litthe color palette to meet your needs. In this setting are 16 different color palettes with probably milions of combinations.. so I changed only one color. Hope it will help you to get rid of this yellowish picture.
 
Janusz_Bla said:
I noticed the same problem using different scenes (from 1.4 and "natural" color palettes) Always my picture was to warm, to yellowish, even after using proper white balance settings. So I decided to reduce yellow (YL) in COLOR CORRECTION SETTING to SAT -20 and PHASE +11 (previously 0 and +10) Now is much better. I think this is the way to correct a litthe color palette to meet your needs. In this setting are 16 different color palettes with probably milions of combinations.. so I changed only one color. Hope it will help you to get rid of this yellowish picture.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I will give it a shot.
 
To give you my opinion on your questions I would suggest that you try the GH4 Still Like scene file. Using that scene file and balancing off of a real white balance card and not a piece of paper or white tee shirt should give you some very acceptable results. Regardless of your current color results I would have to say that using a 70 or 80% zebra would have helped you with the highlights in the skin tones. It's my opinion that using the 1.4 setting instead of the new Natural setting will give you the results that you are showing above. I feel that Barry did the best that he could with the scenes that he created a while back considering what he had to work with as far as how the camera was processing color. Going forward with the newer firmware, the camera seems to interpret color and exposure much better and going back to those old scenes and dumbing the camera down to it's previous look so to speak does not give very good results.
 
Last edited:
mapper65 said:
To give you my opinion on your questions I would suggest that you try the GH4 Still Like scene file. Using that scene file and balancing off of a real white balance card and not a piece of paper or white tee shirt should give you some very acceptable results. Regardless of your current color results I would have to say that using a 70 or 80% zebra would have helped you with the highlights in the skin tones. It's my opinion that using the 1.4 setting instead of the new Natural setting will give you the results that you are showing above. I feel that Barry did the best that he could with the scenes that he created a while back considering what he had to work with as far as how the camera was processing color. Going forward with the newer firmware, the camera seems to interpret color and exposure much better and going back to those old scenes and dumbing the camera down to it's previous look so to speak does not give very good results.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion Mapper65, I DO like the new GH4 scene file with the "natural" color setting! The weird skin tone is gone. I must have done something wrong on a previous test because it didn't stand out first time around.

The WB issue still persists though. Easily corrected in post but expected a better result from the camera. I have tried both an actual WB card as well as the white side of a collapsible calibration target (used in the image below). WB taken in same light as subject (no reflection into the lens). To my eye this is far too warm.

Panny-GH4-Still-Life-SN1-SF4.jpg
 
I think it looks fine but I'm a sucker for things being a little warm. Your scene is one of them where I would have to be there in person and look back and forth between reality and the monitor to see how close things are.

Ironically I had had a shoot today that the white balance proved to be a little too cold and sort of dull. I was shooting a sit down interview in an office that was mostly lit from the left by outdoor light with an overhead LED fixture of unknown color temperature and I was using a small Litepanel to the right of the talent for some fill. I completely disagreed with the white balance after balancing two times. I manually dialed in 4320 or 4230, can remember what the exact number was but I felt it was much better than what the camera calculated. I've learned never to trust your monitor but this was one case that I'm sure when I viewed it on my computer I would not have been happy with the camera's choice. I shot a few seconds with the camera's white balance and then about 25 minutes with my dialed in balance. I'm glad that I didn't trust the camera's white balance or there would have been some adjustments needed in post. It was fine right out of the camera with my dialed in setting. This is the first time that I've manually dialed in a white balance with this camera. So far, all other white balances via a white balance card have been fine.

I am by no means a color expert but your white balance may be fine but you may want to try dropping your Chroma Level down a little and see if that's more of what you are expecting to see. Maybe it's more of a saturation problem for you and not a white balance problem based of you saying that it's a little warm.

I think the GH4 Still Like file is just the first of many actual good scenes that we are going to see for the DVX200. Now that the firmware has made such a difference, someone that knows how to adjust all of the customs scene settings can probably work some real magic.
 
Did you manage to solve the issue?
I'm on the verge of ordering a dvx200, but coming from Canon (and doubting the xc10/15) this is exactly what I fear...
 
I still have occasional issues with WB but I think initially the problem was more with the early scene file I was using. The new "still like" scene file is much better but still too saturated for me. The blacks are a bit crushed as well. Both of these can be adjusted to suit your taste. I recommend downloading Barry Green's e-book before you buy to familiarize yourself with what you'll be getting into. If you are a novice with this caliber of camera like I was then prepare for some skoolin' :)
 
Those colors in the second example look fine. It's definitely part of the Panasonic "look" which favors skintones and tends to be slightly warmer than neutral.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top