It is not a mystery that even the new Mark IV version has issues with custom white balance.
The ergonomics have not changed and you need to go into photo mode to set custom white balance but generally underwater results are poor. Using filters is therefore a necessity also on the new 4K version.
RX100 Mark IV Video Behavior
The RX100 offers now a 4K 100 mbps mode and can use picture profiles.
I have used a modified version of PP6 that use the cine2 gamma curve, I have however changed the colour to the Pro mode and changed a number of other settings in my last video in Puerto Galera.
The water was green and murky but this gives you an idea of what you can get.
Filter Options and Wide Angle
Although the Nauticam WWL-1 is the best lens for the RX100 it does not take filters and therefore is not adequate for video.
In this review clip you can see the options available on the market.
In terms of wide angle you have two options for 4K:
Inon UWL-H100
Inon UWL-100
Both lenses work fine in 4K however the older UWL-100 achromat does vignette in photo mode.
The UWL-H100 offers a very wide field of view also in HD mode with no vignette and accepts the mangrove/deeproof filter.
This filters is loaded with magenta so I suggest adjusting the tint in the auto white balance mode to +2 green.
The UWL-100 works fine in 4K and is wider than the UWL-H100 however has only the M67 mount. If you have one of those lenses you can use the Ikelite 6442 filter. This filter required you to remove the rubber ring on the lens and does work quite well except has a yellow cast to it you can reduce by changing the tint to +2 blue and increasing also magenta to +1.
For flexibility purposes probably the UWL-H100 is better as it takes the bayonet but the UWL-100 is really wide and has a little less fringing. Some people do like the UR/PRO filters better.
I hope you find this post useful and good luck with getting the best colours from your Sony RX100 Mark IV
I have done some further research on the picture profiles and found out quite a bit of information.
In this post I will focus on the luminance and black gamma.
Luminance
Luminance determines the range of black and white that are in the footage. People familiar with the Panasonic GH4 will know that you can set luminance fundamentally in two ranges: 0-255 and 16-235.
What this means that you have in the first case 256 grades of grey and the in the second 220. Some people confuse luminance with dynamic range but they are not the same thing.
You will somewhere find the definition of limited for 16-235 and full for 0-255 this is what it means.
In particular video broadcasting legal luminance is 16-235 so if you use a clip produced at 0-255 the extremes will be clipped this is anyway resolved as the levels are mediated when clips are produced for compatibility.
On the other hand if you use a clip with range 16-235 on a computer that has 0-255 luminance range it will look as lacking deep blacks or whites.
Ultimately you need to decide what is that you are shooting for and if your clips are going to be played on a computer that works in RGB or on a Tv that has YUV.
Profile Name
Description
Luminance Range
Dynamic Range
PP1
Movie
0-255
< 7 stops
PP2
Still
0-255
< 7 stops
PP3
Video Natural
0-255
7 stops
PP4
Video Vivid
0-255
7 stops
PP5
Cine1 109%
0-255
10 stops
PP6
Cine2 100%
16-235
10 stops
PP7
S-log
0-255
13 stops
So the only profile that is broadcast compatible before editing is PP6 or the Cine2 gamma curve.
You can see that the dynamic range is the same for PP5 and PP6 so the fact that the camera records more grey levels does not really change things as the cine2 curve is smoother so it can accept higher input signals.
Black Gamma
In order to increase depth of blacks it is possible to use the black gamma setting. This has 2 controls, one is the Range Narrow, Medium, Wide and the other is the level that goes from -7 to +7
If you are going to grade your footage of and if you are going to use the video gammas PP1-PP4 you should not touch the black gammas otherwise you risk crushing the blacks.
However if you intend to use the cine profiles straight out of the camera you can tweak the black gammas accordingly.
The range determines where the setting will be effective.
Broadly speaking Narrow works on the first 10% of the signal, medium around 20% and wide around 30-35%.
What it means is that Narrow really works on the deeper blacks as you move to Wide you are altering also the grey and effectively changing the balance of the whole image.
For what concerns the level a positive value will move black towards grey and a negative value shift grey towards black.
There are two main uses of the black gamma: get deeper blacks without altering the overall contrast this is obtained using the Narrow setting and a value between -3 and -7 or use the Wide setting with negative values to give the whole image a darker tone.
A setting of Wide with level around -3 gives an overall darker tone to a Cinegamma if you don’t want to change the blacks in post and remains overall balanced.
Which leads to my current favorite profile that is a customised PP6 setting the parameters that I have changed are:
I have tested the various Gamma with backlight situation and I found that Cinema2 performs best on my Tv where I watch my clips.
I prefer Cine2 even on the computer to be frank but it is true that the blacks are a bit light.
Color mode: I have tried Cinema and Pro am now on Pro with Saturation +8
Black Gamma: Range Wide Level -7 as the cine2 mode is quite dull I like to push the blacks a little overall.
As the Sony RX100 Mark IV records at 8 bit my opinion is that using S-gamut is not worth without an external recorder. And to be honest the amount of grading possible is quite limited so my approach is to get the video as good as possible out of the camera.
Nauticam entered the wet lenses market with their SMC close up wet lens that was optimized for DSLR.
Then it released the CMC compact macro converter for compact cameras and micro four thirds and finally the Wet Wide Angle Lens I that is compatible with compacts, micro four thirds and also full frame cameras with 28mm equivalent lens.
Up to now all lenses were using the traditional M67 mount as most of the lenses, even the close up ones, are pretty heavy this means going for the dive with the same lens. Nauticam has developed the flip diopter adapter for flat ports to overcome this issue.
Flip Diopter on Nauticam RX100 IV
The flip diopter is a good solution for micro four thirds and DSLR but looks rather cumbersome on compacts as the image shows.
I asked Nauticam for a bayonet adapter and specifically if they could develop something for the Inon LD bayonet system that so far has been the reference for wet lenses for compacts and micro four thirds cameras.
LD mount converter on RX100 IV
Edward told me that due to the fact that the WWL-1 lens rear element is so large the Inon LD system was not an option so they went off and developed their own system.
M67 bayonet mount converter
I would like to thank Nauticam again for making those parts available before general availability.
Looking a bit closer to it you can see that due to the specific construction with two concentric rings you need a special tool to apply the adapter on the port.
M67 bayonet mount converter The large item is to attache the mount to the port
Obviously as the Nauticam lenses use an M67 thread new adapter needed to be developed.
Mount converter for CMC/SMC
Nauticam does not use ABS plastic and uses aluminum for all their parts.
Now that the items have a bayonet adapter there is a need for a lens holder to put on the arms.
Lens holder looks too big for a 5″ arm segment
The lens holder is too big for a standard 5″ segment but looks in proportion with a longer segment.
Lens holder on 8″ arm segment
The adapter is larger than the LD mount and a bit big for compacts to the point that even with a tray the adapter tips the rig back.
Another challenge is that this system is designed for Nauticam lens that have protruding rear element so when used with standard lenses there is a gap between the port and the wet lens that can be counter productive, not the end of the world and frankly the Inon system has the same problem. This however means that if you wanted to use this system with a different wide angle wet lens this would be suboptimal.
I am waiting for Nauticam to ship me back the WWL-1 so I can show how that lens performs on this system.
Another observation of course is that if you use this system for wide angle the super heavy WWL-1 and the fact that the adapter only works on a normal segment means your rig will be very heavy in water. I am going to discuss with Nauticam the possibility to have the adapter on a float arm however their carbon arms do not have any mounting point to be used.
Stay tuned for a full review of this adapter with the new 29 macro port that looks very promising for video.
The new cameras in the RX100 and A7 series can record 4K video internally but what is more important come with significant enhancements for video shooters.
Probably the most important feature is the availability of picture profiles that have a number of presets that can be further customized by the user.
There are many forums on the internet with custom setting to try to extract cine like look from Panasonic GH4 clips but all in all we can say that the controls in a still camera have been quite limited so far.
The new software that comes with the RX100 and A7 is a real step forward in this respect and contains all characteristics and functionality previously only present on Sony professional and semi professional video cameras.
The Seven Presets
The starting point of using a picture profile is to find one that we like as a starting point for further customization; the new Sony cameras have 7 profiles already loaded with example settings. The profiles have many characteristics that can be configured but probably the most important is the shape of the gamma curve because it also determines the minimum ISO and the availability of other features.
Profile Name
Description
Minimum ISO
Knee Mode
PP1
Movie
125
Auto/Manual
PP2
Still
125
Manual Only
PP3
Video Natural
200
Auto/Manual
PP4
Video Vivid
200
Auto/Manual
PP5
Cine1 109%
200
Manual Only
PP6
Cine2 100%
200
Manual Only
PP7
S-log
1600
Manual Only
The descriptions above are my personal short description as the user guide is quite confusing.
Profiles PP1 to PP5 are usable straight from the camera, PP6 is optimized for editing and PP7 can’t be used without editing.
Standard Profiles
The profile PP1 and PP2 emulate the camera behavior in movie and still mode in terms of contrast and saturation. The main difference between the two is that the Still mode has stronger contrast and saturation than movie. Both use a minimum ISO of 125 and they allow customization of the standard camera modes.
PP1 Movie
Within a profile you have access to controls for color and sharpness at much granular detail that you have with the camera in normal mode. For example the saturation slider goes from -32 to +32 and the sharpness can be completely controlled manually. Colour depth is available in the range -7 to +7 for the whole RGCCYM palette. The customization of those controls lets you have the colours you want off the camera this can be particularly important to people looking for a specific look of certain colors typically red and blue.
Another feature that is incremental to the normal movie mode is the knee setting. The knee is particularly useful with highlights and with back lit shots. What it does it to compress the highlights within the usable signal range.
Knee Point and Slope
The knee is a way for those who like video look footage to capture more highlights and avoid hard clipping of back lit images.
Video Profiles
The profiles PP3 and PP4 use the ITU709 gamma curve that is the standard for high definition video television. The gamma curve has a low light gain of 4.5 dB and for this reason the minimum ISO is 200.
The video profiles bring substantial increase in both shadows and highlights to the image compared to the standard profiles.
PP3 Video Natural
The difference between those two profiles is the selection of the color mode. The PP3 profile has a Pro colour mode that the manual says ‘it is similar to professional Sony broadcast cameras’ the PP4 instead has an ITU709 Matrix colour mode.
PP4 Video Vivid
What it means is that the Pro colour is slightly below the standard saturation whilst the ITU709 Matrix is extremely saturated looking like the Tv program that go these days. Both settings allow usage of the knee setting in auto and manual mode. The idea is to restore the highlights and make the footage look less harsh. The issue is of course that this has only effect on the highlights and not on the shadows.
Cine Profiles
The profiles PP5 and PP6 use the two different Cine gamma curves one is limited at 109% and the other at 100%.
Gamma curves
Those are the official descriptions:
Cine1: Softens the contrast in darker image areas and emphasizes gradation changes in lighter image areas, producing a subdued tone overall (equivalent to HG4609G33). Gamma curve that obtains a dynamic range of 460% when the exposure is adjusted to 33% video output with 18% reflectance gray. The maximum value of video output is 109%.
Images shot with this gamma can be used without grading, but since the images have smooth gradation characteristics, this can be used to grade and finalize the viewed image in the post-production process.
PP5 Cine1 109%
Cine 2: Similar results to [Cine1] but optimized for editing with up to 100% video signal (equivalent to HG4600G30). Gamma curve that obtains a dynamic range of 460% when the exposure is adjusted to 30% video output with 18% reflectance gray. The maximum value of video output is 100%.
PP2 Cine2 100%
Both curves are cine like and therefore do not use the knee function by default this is because a cine gamma curve is already clipping at much higher signal levels. The Cine2 curve has less contrast than Cine1 and is limited to 100% as opposed to the standard 109% so it is optimized for editing and the footage will lack whites and look fairly grey.
Practically the cine profile achieve a higher dynamic range using a smoother curve, this compares to the video profiles where the curve is pretty much the same until the highlights get compressed using the knee function.
S-log2
The PP7 profile is for S-log2, this has the highest dynamic range but the minimum ISO is 1600, the footage looks really bland out of the camera but this can be really enhanced through editing to bring out all the details.
PP7 s-log2
My Take on the Picture Profiles
I think the whole cinema like video is a very overrated subject for underwater use. An acid test to understand where you stand is your own TV. If you use the picture settings Vivid or Standard then you are a video like person, waste no time pursuing cinema like look as in the editing you will effectively bring it back and eliminate all the detail you capture by increasing contrast and saturation.
If instead your TV is set to Cinema or is even calibrated then you are a Cine like person.
Personally I think S-log2 for underwater use at 100 mbps is a total waste of time and it is only worth with external recorders. The bitrate is too low to capture that amount of detail and resist extensive grading and actually shooting at 1600 is pretty difficult and requires ND filters (that the RX100 has) to perform decently.
You can take still shots with the picture profile so the first thing to do is to take a few pictures and see what image you like the most, then you can start tweaking.
I found myself to like the cine settings in terms of contrast but I find then too bland in color so I have settled for +20 saturation right now.
Between Cine1 and Cine2 is quite difficult to choose because although Cine2 is in theory optimized for editing actually it looks pretty good straight from the camera for my liking. I particularly like the fact that the highlights almost never clip with this setting even in harsh conditions. It is possible to mix the Cine profiles with the Pro color mode but I found that using saturation was giving the same result.
PP5 Saturation +20PP6 Saturation +20
Detail setting (aka Sharpness)
The last feature of the RX100 and A7 new controls is the fine tuning of the sharpness setting. I find that the default works pretty well except at high ISO where you want to start adjusting slightly the behavior.
But it takes a bit of time to understand the settings.
The starting point for me is the crispening setting that in perfect Sony tradition means exactly the opposite of what you would think. So a setting of +7 means actually limit the sharpening on speckles and noise where a clear shape can’t be detected. Once you set crispening to the max and you shoot at high ISO you see how it reduces the noise. However the issue is that now the sharpness has also reduced so in order to restore the effect you go back to the total level of detail and set it to 7. Once you do that you find out that now the sharpening applied correctly is actually excessive so the limit setting effectively clips the amount of sharpening applied to the edges I use this at 3, as this results in a reduction of highlights sharpening (glass reflecting objects look dull) I then set the highlight detail to +2. After I did all of that the end result was very similar to the standard setting and a bit softer on the edges, practically it was only better at very high ISO so I went back to the original setting.
The yearly refresh of the Sony RX100 brings us the mark IV and with it comes 4K video.
The sensor of the camera is still the same 1″ size of the RX100 but Sony has now added an XAVC codec at 100 mbps with 4K resolution as well as a lower 60 mbps mode that adds to the 50 mbps HD modes of the mark III.
So now we have two compact cameras that can record 4K video and the Panasonic DMC-LX100 is not alone.
Frankie Fok has a nice clip from Socorro with the LX100 as shown here
There is to date one only example with the Sony RX100 Mark IV and is not in the best environment but it gives an idea
So if you want to shoot 4K with a compact camera underwater which one should you choose, if any?
Panasonic DMC-LX100
The LX100 has some interesting characteristics, although the sensor is in fact the same of the GX7. The camera has a good sharp lens and as all Panasonic the video implementation includes an IPB codec for video that makes compression very efficient.
However the LX100 has a number of issues and challenges as well :
No Auto ISO in manual mode
No ND filter
Short zoom range 24-75mm with multi-aspect sensor (26-81mm in 4K video mode)
The most serious problem of the LX100 is certainly its lens.
Nauticam released the housing early and for the first time it featured a port system.
Nauticam LX100
To my horror the default port is rectangular, this creates a host of issues including the fact that you can’t easily add a close up lens in front without an expensive adapter.
The camera weights around 400 grams with battery and you need to add another 1.2 Kg for the housing for a total of 1.6 Kg more than some mirroless cameras such as the Panasonic GX7 or the Sony A5000.
You need around $2,000 to get the camera and the housing which is not exactly cheap for a camera that can’t do wide angle and you need something like the Nauticam CMC to achieve 32mm width in the frame however the diopter holder is $220 and other $320 for the CMC.
The port system has challenges too, for example the mini dome only allows for limited use of the zoom range and the short port locks the zoom completely.
Update: Nauticam has told me that the dome should work on the entire zoom range am waiting confirmation
The Sony RX100 mark IV has similar issues:
A short lens 24-70mm that becomes 28-81mm in video
The video codec has only predictive frames (as all Sony) and is less efficient than Panasonic
4K video is limited to 5 minutes before the camera auto shuts down
The RX100 has several other attractive features that the LX100 does not have:
ND filter
Auto ISO in manual
Allows for external recorders
Image profiles for video similar to professional equipment
The housing does not have a port system
Nauticam RX100 IV
The issues at close range are the same of the LX100 and the RX100 requires similar solutions, but at least you have an M67 thread, what’s more important at 28mm you can use a normal Inon lens UWL-H100 to achieve a wide and rectilinear field of view and also a push on filter. Most likely filters are still a must due to Sony well known issue with custom white balance.
The smaller Sony sensor does mean worse performance at low ISO but having seen the LX100 results this seems to be an issue there as well.
The RX100 mark IV + Nauticam housing comes at similar cost but does not require additional ports. The rig is truly portable at around 1.1 Kg in total.
The 5 minutes limit is not an issue for underwater use although it is a limitation on land for sure.
I am not convinced that any of those two compacts are actually worth investing as both use the H264 video codec that is not designed for 4K. This generates all sorts of issues at low ISO as well as being really processor intensive to the point of over heating the sensor like it happens on the Sony.
If you really want to invest in a small rig for 4K underwater video my preference would be the RX100 mark IV but is very likely that personally I am going to stay on HD for another year
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