1. I have a Phantom 4 and I haven't tested it much yet, but I want to maintain as much detail in the footage as possible and make cinematic videos. I'm editing on a PC, so I guess most people would recommend MP4.. But are there any quality/information differences in the two codecs?

2. Also, to maintain as much detail and dynamic range as possible, what profile should I use? D-Cinelike, D-Log or Art?

3. Lastly, I've seen that if you turn the sharpness on the Mavic to a negative value, it starts to denoise and you get "muddy" shadows. Is this the case with the Phantom 4? Should I keep the sharpening on 0, or can I go negative?

Thanks for answers!

1. These are file formats, not codecs. The codec h.264 is within the file. Both MOV and MP4 do not have any real effect on the encoded video qualities. They just act like containers. The choice between MOV and MP4 is simple, provided you know the area of application. Based on the place where you need to play the resulting videos, you can choose between MOV and MP4. MOV Apple products. MP4 everything else.

2. Technically d-log is supposed to capture the most detail and dynamic range. It really comes down to personal preference and editing style though. I think the majority of people use one of the three you listed. Try some test shots and find what works best for you.

3. I think you will find varying answer here. My advice take some test shots at different values and find what works and looks best to you.

Won't get any varying answer from me.  I think Brian88 is spot on.

The only thing I would like to add is that few people have any knowledge, skill or experience in color grading the fancy styles. Unless I know a piece of material is going to be used for broadcast, I just opt for Vivid, it has punch and looks good on Youtube (which is where 95% of videos end up).

Brian88 Posted at 2018-3-14 14:52
1. These are file formats, not codecs. The codec h.264 is within the file. Both MOV and MP4 do not have any real effect on the encoded video qualities. They just act like containers. The choice between MOV and MP4 is simple, provided you know the area of application. Based on the place where you need to play the resulting videos, you can choose between MOV and MP4. MOV Apple products. MP4 everything else.

2. Technically d-log is supposed to capture the most detail and dynamic range. It really comes down to personal preference and editing style though. I think the majority of people use one of the three you listed. Try some test shots and find what works best for you.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm going to test a lot once I've built my new computer

Geebax Posted at 2018-3-14 15:57
The only thing I would like to add is that few people have any knowledge, skill or experience in color grading the fancy styles. Unless I know a piece of material is going to be used for broadcast, I just opt for Vivid, it has punch and looks good on Youtube (which is where 95% of videos end up).

Vivid is absolutely out of the question haha.. I've got some experience with grading, and once I've built my new computer I'm going to download DaVinci Resolve and start to grade with it! So I want to shoot as flat as possible

Geebax Posted at 2018-3-14 15:57
The only thing I would like to add is that few people have any knowledge, skill or experience in color grading the fancy styles. Unless I know a piece of material is going to be used for broadcast, I just opt for Vivid, it has punch and looks good on Youtube (which is where 95% of videos end up).

I am 100% with Geebax about using "Vivid". I am not a professional, but I have played with all of them and unless you want to have to post-process your work, this works very well. Yes D-Log captures probably the most data, but "out of the box" it looks  very dull & flat. You are forced to edit it to have even a decent photo.
If that is what you need, fine, but most of us will post to Facebook or YouTube, and vivid gives great results, and is ever very good for computer viewing. I do have my contrast, saturation, and sharpness toned down a bit too on the phantom. I also seem to default to shooting 1080P. I have a P3A so I have tried 2.7K and I know it is a better picture, but again, the file sizes are much larger and it takes a little more processing for editing............I have compared some of my work to some footage from a P4 in 4K, and can't really say I can see much difference. So, 1080P gives me very nice footage and a little easier to deal with.

I know some will totally disagree with me here, but bottom line is what do you want? If you need professinal style photos and have the experience and time to edit, go for it.

Alekzk Posted at 2018-3-15 00:29
Vivid is absolutely out of the question haha.. I've got some experience with grading, and once I've built my new computer I'm going to download DaVinci Resolve and start to grade with it!  So I want to shoot as flat as possible

I was a colorist before they were even called that, and I have been using Da Vinci since it was $200K per seat, but if you are posting to YouTube, you are wasting your time painstakingly grading the material, no-one will appreciate it or even care.

Geebax Posted at 2018-3-15 14:15
I was a colorist before they were even called that, and I have been using Da Vinci since it was $200K per seat, but if you are posting to YouTube, you are wasting your time painstakingly grading the material, no-one will appreciate it or even care.

I beg to differ, i prefer to watch a nice coloured opposed to flat, now, i would have thought that most of the time your work would need to be edited anyway to cut and stitch, surely youre not going to just take it from the SD and upload it, therefore just adding a little colour whilst doing that can go along way

Bashy Posted at 2018-3-15 21:16
I beg to differ, i prefer to watch a nice coloured opposed to flat, now, i would have thought that most of the time your work would need to be edited anyway to cut and stitch, surely youre not going to just take it from the SD and upload it, therefore just adding a little colour whilst doing that can go along way

I think you may be misreading my post, I do not use a flat profile, I use Vivid. It is far from flat.

Geebax Posted at 2018-3-15 21:47
I think you may be misreading my post, I do not use a flat profile, I use Vivid. It is far from flat.

Ah, yes, looks like i did misread, my apologies