My first time out with the M2P I used the HLG color profile.  When I look at the output file on my Mac & click “Get Info”, I can see it’s 2020 & 422, HEVC.  Second time out I used DLOG-M & “Get Info” only shows it’s resolution & HEVC.  No expanded details.  Same results in Final Cut Pro X.  However, the HLG only looked “right” in a Wide Color Gambit Library in FCPX.  In a standard library or previews it looked washed out & over exposed.  The Dlog-M looked the same in standard & WCG.  It may be because I don’t yet have filters, but the footage is pretty bright & washed out. But I can grade & get decent results.  

My questions are ....
1) Why doesn’t DLOG-M show its HDR/2020?  Also it’s suppose to be 10 bit but are their limitations?  Like only 24fps but not 30fps?
2) What is best work around without filters? I have the DJI & Polar Pro sets on back/pre order (whichever comes first wins!)
3) What is the difference between DLOG-M & HLG?  Pro/Cons?

I can screen shot some samples if it helps or post it.... I just don’t know if Vimeo affects it too much to be of help.

Thanks in advance.  

This is an old post, but I will answer anyway.

You are mixing up bit depth and color gamut, these are not the same. Allow me to explain.

Bit depth is the number of gradients of Red, Green, or Blue (and everything in between) in an image. The higher the bit depth, the more shades there are. You do not necessarily need an HDR monitor to watch a 10-bit depth video.  If you put an 8-bit depth and a 10-bit depth video on an 8-bit depth monitor, you can still see the difference! You will see how the 10-bit depth video blends the colors more smoothly, and generally, you will find that 10-bit video looks more natural than 8-bit. Sure, you cannot see all the colors that 10-bit provides, but you can still see more gradients in between the colors supported for 8-bit. This is where the support of wide color gamut comes in.

Color gamut is different, however, and this is where HDR comes in. HDR is a combination of higher bit depth AND color gamut. Color gamut is the RANGE of colors that can be recorded and seen. Rec.2020 is considered an HDR color gamut as well as DCI-P3 (somewhat). Rec.709 is considered an SDR color gamut.

Now that you have distinguished the difference between color gamut and bit depth (bit depth is # of gradients, color gamut is the range of colors), back to your question.

Why doesn't DLOG-M record in Rec.2020?

It's because DLOG-M records in a 10-bit color depth (so it has more gradients) but not Rec.2020 color GAMUT (the wider range of color). HLG, however, has 10-bit color depth AND Rec.2020 color. As for your 2nd question, I am not educated on this matter and as such cannot answer it accurately.

Pros and Cons between HLG and DLOG-M? Technically, HLG is better than DLOG-M because it has that extra edge with the Rec.2020 color, but if you don't have the display for that color gamut, the colors could look a little off because your display cannot display those colors. DLOG-M gives you that color grading flexibility.

alk Posted at 4-16 09:09
This is an old post, but I will answer anyway.

You are mixing up bit depth and color gamut, these are not the same. Allow me to explain.

Just for interest I have been shooting in HLG for over a year now and always grade in rec 709 simply because I CAN'T grade in 2020 as I don't have a monitor for it. I can tell you though, that if you play any file straight from camera on an HLG capable TV  it is amazing ungraded!  Don't be afraid of the apparent overexposure of HLG on a Rec 709 timeline, it's a quirky FCPX thing... just bring highlights down first until it starts to look better. A blue sky is a great help, initially it will look aqua, but as you pull the highlights down it will turn to sky blue, then just do minor tweaks after that. These have all been graded in Rec 709 in FCP X.
https://vimeo.com/showcase/6761301

christangey Posted at 4-16 23:18
Just for interest I have been shooting in HLG for over a year now and always grade in rec 709 simply because I CAN'T grade in 2020 as I don't have a monitor for it. I can tell you though, that if you play any file straight from camera on an HLG capable TV  it is amazing ungraded!  Don't be afraid of the apparent overexposure of HLG on a Rec 709 timeline, it's a quirky FCPX thing... just bring highlights down first until it starts to look better. A blue sky is a great help, initially it will look aqua, but as you pull the highlights down it will turn to sky blue, then just do minor tweaks after that. These have all been graded in Rec 709 in FCP X.
https://vimeo.com/showcase/6761301

Cool! Nice to hear this!