Recovering Colors Underwater: GoPro Labs WARM put to the test
Anyone who has tried shooting underwater videos knows that water is a relentless natural filter. As you dive deeper, light is selectively absorbed, and the color red is the first to disappear, already beyond 5 meters of depth. The result? Footage that progressively turns bluer or greener, losing that brilliance and vibrancy that make our underwater encounters so special.
What is the WARM command?
Without the aid of external lights, the GoPro Labs firmware offers an internal solution to counteract this phenomenon: the WARM setting. This function is designed to digitally amplify the red channel, significantly improving the color rendition of underwater videos.
Positive values, such as WARM=50, “warm up” the image, helping to recover those red tones absorbed by the water and restoring more vivid and natural colors to videos. It is important to remember that, being a manual setting, it does not automatically adapt to changes in depth, so for optimal results it is advisable to calibrate it based on the dive depth.
The Field Test: Liveaboard in Egypt
I had the opportunity to put the WARM function to the test during last August’s liveaboard in Egypt. At first, I must admit, using just one GoPro, I didn’t seem to notice substantial differences between footage shot with WARM activated and without.
But I didn’t give up! In the second part of the trip, I decided to do a more objective comparison: I used two different GoPros, mounted on the same handle base, to record simultaneously. And the results were truly optimal!
Specifically, as can be seen from the photos derived from videos shot between 10 and 15 meters of depth, the white balance in WARM 30 mode is decidedly better, with more natural and less “washed-out” colors.
I also noticed that, by automatically white balancing with Final Cut in post-production, a similar result can be obtained from videos shot with WARM = 0. This suggests that WARM pre-applies a process that we would otherwise do in editing, saving time.
During the next liveaboard, also in Egypt, in November, I will conduct even more in-depth tests to fine-tune the settings, but I truly believe that my starting point for medium depth settings will be WARM 30.
Regarding footage taken at greater depths, those shot where everything is blue, however, I did not notice any noteworthy results with the WARM function. In these scenarios, where red light is almost entirely absent, the use of dedicated video lights remains the most effective solution for recovering the color palette.
And that’s not all! On this website, in the GoPro Labs section, a lot of detailed information on the functionalities of this firmware can be found. The options are endless, especially those dedicated to diving, and a truly new world of possibilities for underwater footage will open up.
