Adjusting Image Settings

Let's make sure the image looks great. This page covers the essential image settings you'll use in almost every setup: exposure, white balance, and focus. We'll start with the defaults and work from there.

tip

Before adjusting image settings, make sure the lighting in your space is set up the way you want it. The easiest lighting to work with is flat lighting, evenly dispersed light throughout the scene. Adjusting image settings before your lighting is finalized will likely require re-adjusting later.

Starting from Defaults

We recommend resetting all image settings to their factory defaults before making adjustments. This gives you a clean baseline to work from.

Using the On-Screen Display (OSD)

1. Press [Menu] on the IR remote to open the OSD.
2. Navigate to Restore Defaults using the arrow keys.
3. Press [Enter] to confirm.

Using the Web Interface

1. Log in to the web interface.
2. Navigate to Camera Settings > Advanced tab.
3. Click the Default button to revert all advanced settings to factory defaults.

You can also reset individual setting groups (Exposure, Color, Focus) from their respective tabs by clicking the Default button on each tab.

Optional: Establish Preset 0: (For Advanced Users to Meet Support Requests)

Preset 0 serves as a reference point for the camera and can provide a baseline for creating additional camera shots. A wide, centered view is recommended because it gives you a predictable starting point and makes it easier to locate subjects before moving to a tighter shot.

Using the Horizon Web UI (Recommended)

1. Open the Horizon Web UI and locate the live preview and PTZ controls.
2. Zoom out to a wide view of the room.
3. Pan and tilt the camera toward the center of the primary shooting area.
4. Adjust the exposure, white balance, focus, and other image settings until you are satisfied with the image.
5. Locate the Preset Control section and select Set.
6. Type 0 as the preset number and press Enter on your keyboard to confirm the selection.
7. Select Call, enter 0, and confirm that the camera returns to the expected position and image settings.

Using the IR Remote

If you do not have access to the Horizon Web UI, you can establish Preset 0 with the IR remote:

1. Use the arrow and zoom buttons to create a wide, centered view of the primary shooting area.
2. Adjust the camera's image settings through the on-screen display as needed.
3. Press [PRESET], followed by [0], to save the position and image settings.
4. Press [HOME] to recall Preset 0 and confirm that the camera returns to the expected position and image settings.

Auto Focus vs Manual Focus

Auto Focus (Default)

Auto Focus is enabled by default and works well in most situations. The camera continuously adjusts focus to keep the subject sharp as you pan, tilt, and zoom.

• AF Zone: Determines where the camera looks for focus. Options include Center (default), Top, Bottom, and Front.
• AF Sensitivity: Controls how quickly autofocus responds. Options are Low, Normal (default), and High.

tip

For most setups, the Center zone and Normal sensitivity work well. If the camera is hunting for focus in a low-contrast scene, try switching to Manual focus.

Manual Focus

Switch to Manual focus when you want to lock in a specific focus point and prevent the camera from adjusting automatically.

1. In the web interface, go to Camera Settings > Focus tab.
2. Change Focus Mode from Auto to Manual.
3. Use the Focus slider to adjust focus until the image is sharp.

The SNAP Button

The SNAP button performs a one-shot autofocus. The camera runs autofocus to find the sharpest focus point, then returns to manual mode. This is useful when you want to quickly lock focus without staying in full Auto Focus mode.

Focus Limit

If the camera keeps trying to focus on objects very close to the lens (like a table edge or podium), you can set a Focus Limit to prevent it from focusing closer than a certain distance.

1. Go to Camera Settings > Focus tab.
2. Enable the Focus Limit checkbox.
3. Set the Nearest Pos to the minimum distance you want the camera to focus on (e.g., 2 meters).

The ND Filter

The built-in Neutral Density (ND) filter reduces the amount of light entering the camera without changing color or image quality. This allows you to maintain proper exposure in bright environments while using camera settings that produce more natural-looking video.

For example, when filming outdoors in bright sunlight, an ND filter can help prevent overexposure without requiring an excessively fast shutter speed.

Choosing the Right ND Filter

📋Tuning

• If your image appears too bright even after adjusting the camera's exposure settings, increase the ND filter strength. If the image becomes too dark, select a lower setting or turn the ND filter off.
• Higher ND filter settings reduce more light entering the camera. This makes them better suited for brighter environments.

1. Open the On-Screen Display (OSD) menu.
2. Navigate to the SETUP Menu then Focus Settings.
3. Select ND Filter.
4. Choose one of the available settings that provides the desired exposure:

Setting	Best For
Off	Indoor environments or low-light conditions
1/4	Bright indoor lighting or lightly overcast outdoor conditions
1/16	Bright outdoor conditions
1/64	Very bright sunlight

5. Exit the menu and verify the image exposure.

Exposure Basics

Exposure controls how bright or dark the image appears. The Rise 4K offers several exposure modes, but for most setups, you'll want to start with Auto.

Exposure Modes

Mode	When to Use
Auto	Default. The camera automatically adjusts Iris, Shutter, and Gain. Best for most setups.
Manual	Full control over Iris, Shutter, and Gain. Use when you need precise, consistent exposure.
SAE (Shutter-Priority Auto Exposure)	You set the shutter, and the camera adjusts the iris. Useful when you need to control motion blur.
AAE (Aperture-Priority Auto Exposure)	You set the iris, and the camera adjusts the shutter. Useful when you need to control the depth of field.
Bright	Optimized for low-light conditions. The camera prioritizes brightness.
OnePush	Press a button to let the camera set exposure based on the current scene, then lock it.

Quick Exposure Adjustments

If Auto exposure is close but not quite right, try these adjustments without switching to Manual mode:

• Exp-Comp (Exposure Compensation): Adjusts the overall brightness up or down. Range: -7 to +7. Default is -3. Turn it up if the image is too dark, down if it's too bright.
• Backlight: Enables backlight compensation for scenes with a bright background (like a window behind the subject). Toggle On to brighten the foreground.
• Gain Limit: Sets the maximum gain the camera will apply in low light. Range: 0-15. Default is 5. Lower values reduce noise but may result in a darker image.
• Anti-Flicker: Reduces flicker caused by artificial lighting. Set to 50Hz or 60Hz to match your local power frequency. If you see banding or flickering in the image, try changing this setting. We recommend turning this feature off if shooting in sunlight.

Meter Region

The Meter Region determines which area of the frame the camera uses to calculate exposure:

• Average (default): Evaluates the entire image. Good for evenly lit scenes.
• Center: Prioritizes the center of the frame. Good when your subject is centered.
• Top: Prioritizes the top of the frame. Useful when the subject is in the upper portion.
• Smart: Analyzes the entire image and finds the best location for exposure calculation. We recommend turning this feature off if shooting in sunlight.

White Balance Basics

White balance ensures colors look natural under different lighting conditions. The wrong white balance can make your image look too warm (Red) or too cool (Blue).

White Balance Modes

Mode	When to Use
Auto	Default. The camera adjusts white balance automatically. Best for most setups.
Indoor	Optimized for indoor lighting (~3200K). Use under tungsten or warm LED lights.
Outdoor	Optimized for outdoor lighting (~5600K). Use in daylight or mixed outdoor/indoor scenes.
OnePush	Point the camera at a white surface, then press the OnePush button. The camera locks white balance based on what it sees.
Manual	Full control over Red Gain and Blue Gain. Use when you need precise color matching between cameras.
VAR	Set a specific color temperature (2500K-8000K) along with Red/Blue gain adjustments.

Quick White Balance Tips

• If the image looks too red/warm, try switching from Auto to Outdoor, or lower the Red Gain in Manual mode.
• If the image looks too blue/cool, try switching from Auto to Indoor, or lower the Blue Gain in Manual mode.
• For the most accurate white balance, use OnePush: point the camera at a white card or white wall that's lit the same way as your subject, then trigger OnePush.

Fine-Tuning the Image

Once exposure and white balance are dialed in, you can fine-tune the image with these settings:

Image Tab Settings

Setting	Range	Default	What It Does
Luminance	0-14	8	Overall brightness of the image.
Saturation	20%-200%	90%	Color intensity. Increase for more vivid colors, decrease for a more muted look.
Contrast	0-14	9	Difference between light and dark areas. Higher contrast makes shadows deeper and highlights brighter.
Sharpness	Auto, 0-11	9	Edge definition. Too high can introduce artifacts; too low can look soft.
Hue	0-14	8	Shifts the overall color hue. Usually best left at default.

Noise Reduction

In low-light situations, you may notice grain or noise in the image. 3D Noise Reduction helps smooth this out:

• Range: Off, 1-8, Auto
• Default: 7
• Higher values apply stronger noise reduction but can make the image look softer or introduce motion artifacts.
• Auto lets the camera adjust dynamically based on lighting conditions.

Matching Multiple Cameras with Color View

If you're using multiple cameras in the same space, you'll want their images to match so switching between them doesn't create a jarring change in exposure or color. The Color View workspace in Horizon gives you professional-grade analysis tools to match cameras precisely, not just by eye.

Step 1: Set All Cameras to the Same Baseline

Before you start matching, ensure all cameras are starting from the same settings:

1. Set all cameras to the same Exposure Mode (start with Auto).
2. Set all cameras to the same White Balance Mode (start with Indoor or Outdoor, depending on your lighting).
3. Set all image settings (Luminance, Saturation, Contrast, Sharpness, Hue) to their factory defaults.
4. Zoom all cameras out to the maximum and point them at the center of the scene.

tip

Place a white or neutral grey card in the center of the frame under your key lighting. This gives you a consistent reference point across all cameras.

Step 2: Open Color View in Horizon

1. For each camera, open the Horizon web interface in a browser tab.
2. Switch to the Color View workspace for each camera by clicking the Color tab at the top of the dashboard (between Basic and Studio).
3. Arrange the browser windows side by side so you can see all cameras at once.

Step 3: Match Color Using the Waveform

1. On each camera's Color View, select the Waveform analyzer from the dropdown.

2. Look at the waveform for each camera. The waveform displays luminance (brightness) across the frame:

• 0% = pure black
• 50-70% = well-exposed skin tones/subjects
• 100% = peak white (clipping)

3. Compare the red, green, and blue waveform traces. The goal is to bring them as close together as possible, particularly in areas that should appear neutral while keeping the signal below 100% to prevent clipping.

• Begin by adjusting Luminance and Exposure Mode to control the waveform's overall height.

• The example below shows a small exercise podcast space, with the waveform monitor on the left and the video preview on the right. The image, exposure, and color settings are all using their default automatic modes.

• The waveform traces overlap closely on the left side of the image. On the right, however, the warm lamp causes the signal to exceed 100%, indicating clipping in this area.

  

• To correct the image, we changed Exposure Mode to AAE (Aperture Auto Exposure) and changed the white balance mode to Manual.

• We then decreased Red Gain, increased Blue Gain, slightly increased Luminance, and reduced Contrast.

• In the corrected image below, the red, green, and blue traces are more closely balanced, and the exposure is more consistent across the frame. Most importantly, the lamp is no longer clipping, resulting in a more neutral and evenly exposed image.

4. Aim for the waveforms to look as similar as possible between cameras.

Step 4: Fine-Tune and Save

1. Use the Before Settings Snapshot analyzer mode on each camera to compare your adjusted signal against the original defaults.
2. Make final adjustments to Saturation, Contrast, and Sharpness to taste, watching the analyzers for consistency.
3. Click Apply at the bottom of the Color Settings panel to commit the changes.
4. Optionally, click the Save Changes (download) icon at the top of the Color Settings panel to export the settings as a profile file. You can later use the Upload button to import that profile to other cameras.

tip

Once you've dialed in a perfect look on your primary camera, click Save Changes (download icon) to export its profile. Then use the Upload button on the other cameras to import that profile as a starting point; you'll only need minor tweaks to finish matching.

Other Analyzers in Color View

The Horizon Web UI's Color View also includes the following analyzers to help you match cameras:

Analyzer	Use It To Match...	What to Look For
RGB Parade	White balance/color channels	R, G, B waveforms at similar levels for neutral scenes
Vectorscope	Saturation and hue accuracy	Traces overlapping in the same positions on the scope

To learn more about these tools check out our Knowledgebase article on Color Balancing