How to fix wrong White Balance from MiniDV camera?

[Mtz]

Using a DV camera and setting a wrong balance can result in this:

http://i11.tinypic.com/53j2x6o.jpg

Can it be fixed using some filters in avisynth? If yes, can somebody post a script?

Small sample. (http://www.mytempdir.com/2025828)

enjoy,
Mtz

[scharfis_brain]

Nope.
This is just overexposed.
White balance seems okay!

The only thing you could do is this:
levels(0,0.8,255,10,250,coring=false)

it will restore about 5 to 8 steps of lumiosity in the overexposed areas and lower gamma a bit.

[rfmmars]

I just got back from Alaska and I had used a "Sony Mini DVD Camcoder" and a lot of my video was like yours. The reason for my problem is that Sony had screwed up where if you turned on the backlight for the LCD display on, it really ups the camera gain with alot of white burn outs.

Nothing can be done with to bring the blown hi-lites back but you can make some improvment.

If you look at my AVSp script which I use with movie film, I added an invert video at the begining and at the end. This makes the HDRagc plugin work in reverse taking the bright areas and reducing the the over exposure part and making the video much better.

Send me a e-mail and I will attach the new script plus show you a AB comparasion of the results.

rfmmars@cox.net

Richard
photorecall.net

[JohnnyMalaria]

The reason for my problem is that Sony had screwed up where if you turned on the backlight for the LCD display on, it really ups the camera gain with alot of white burn outs.

That's not a screw up - it's what backlight is supposed to do. It's got nothing to do with the LCD. It's for the video itself. Bright backgrounds cause the automatic exposure to make the subject too dark. The backlight function deliberately increases the exposure so the subject is correct. Consequently, the bright background saturates.

Most consumer camcorders also tend to record the color with too much saturation and should be reduced when editing.

[rfmmars]

That's not a screw up - it's what backlight is supposed to do. It's got nothing to do with the LCD. .

The wording on the camera below "LCD BACKLIGHT", is not gain up or night vision Any other brand, backlight the LCD means not increase the video gain but make the display brighter..

This Sony model is so bad you can't see nothing with the LCD display outside, and doesn't have not an optical view finder.

Also this button can be turned on so easly by bumping durning filming, since you can't see anything, you don't know it until you review the clip.

Sad product with many other flaws.

Richard

[JohnnyMalaria]

That's an oddball. What model is it?

(I have a number of Sony camcorders with backlight and also LCDs. The LCDs are backlit all the time anyway).

[rfmmars]

This is it

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-DCR-DVD7-Handycam-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B0007LZGDI/ref=sr_1_1/102-6924681-5044931?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1190663545&sr=8-1

Richard

[JohnnyMalaria]

That's a small camcorder!

I came across this review, complete with the camcorder in a box of donuts.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-DCR-DVD7-Camcorder-Review.htm

Unfortunately, the "BACK LIGHT" button does control the camera's backlight feature rather than the LCD.

It's certainly a very confusing place to put it. I don't think I've ever used backlighting (except by accident) and usually the button is somewhat out of the way. Given the location on your model, no wonder some people will press it thinking it will make the LCD display brighter.

Quite uncharacteristic for Sony - they're usually good at the ergonomics and intuitive operation.

[rfmmars]

Here's the problem, today, nobody sure if its really a Sony, who knows. One other problem is its easy to put your finger over the lens or hit that button by just holding it. Its my son's camcorder and he handed it to me with no instuctions as I got to the airport, so I am filling the burned out shots with digital pics. A little epoxy on the button and a hood on the viewfinder, now you have a fairly good camera.

Richard

[2Bdecided]

That review is so funny!

FWIW, even on my HV20, the LCD is so poor in bright light that sometimes I have pressed "Backlight" (I know what it really does!) thinking that I need it, when in fact I don't.

If something is bleached out, there is no information there left to recover, though you can make the result look less harsh, as suggested above.

Cheers,
David.

[Mtz]

The backlight button wasn't pressed and I used "one push White Balance" setting and I was thinking this operation "burned" my video. The camera is Sony DCR-HC96.

enjoy,
Mtz

[rfmmars]

The backlight button wasn't pressed and I used "one push White Balance" setting and I was thinking this operation "burned" my video. The camera is Sony DCR-HC96.

enjoy,
Mtz

I don't know, in my case turning on the backlite screwed evrything up. It looks just like yours.

Richard

[2Bdecided]

The backlight button wasn't pressed and I used "one push White Balance" setting and I was thinking this operation "burned" my video. The camera is Sony DCR-HC96.Manual exposure set too high? Exposure locked and then ambient light increased? Broken camcorder?

Cheers,
David.