I did a search for this in this formum but came up with nothing. I am assuming it is the inability of the searrch function in here as I can not belive this has not been discussed so I will bring it up again.


I am currently shootign in V-Log but my research has reealed that this format is better suited to HD and not UHD (4K). Not sure why resolution matters in this case but if so, I will blame on my lack of knowledge. So this brings me to the question, if not V-Log should I be using D-Cinelike?


I did a small test the other day as I noticed that I was not really able to bring back the detail in the sky that I wanted when shooting V-Log. Again, this could be my lack of knowlede in the workflow. I am coing from the photography world and have only been shooting video for about a year now but with the X5S for only a few months.


I am looking for the most dynamic range and the easists to color balance and grade. More so for the former than the latter.


Many thanks,
Houston

Hello,
For initiator, I would suggest to you try the following settings. It should get you a fairly good exposure in bright sunlight.

White Balance: Daylight (or 5500K)
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/2.0
Shutter Speed: 1/6400 sec (+/-)

Then it really depends on what you want to achieve:

* Stationary car and somewhat blurry background - use larger aperture value like f/1.7, you might need to use an ND filter as the shutter speed maxes out at 1/8000.

* Moving car and show motion - use slower shutter speed and smaller aperture value, say f/11 and 1/200 sec.

I hope helps it.
Thank you !!

rihana smith Posted at 2018-8-20 01:49
Hello,
For initiator, I would suggest to you try the following settings. It should get you a fairly good exposure in bright sunlight.

Rihana,
I was talking about video not stills, I should have clarified.

Hey Houston,

I'm guessing, (but you might want to clarify) that you are working with the H264/5 codecs and not ProRes?  D-Cinelike is a typical Wide DR Rec 709 gamma, meaning it has a softer curve than traditional Rec709 and thus gives a flatter result with less compression in the highlight and shadow areas. D-Log is a Log gamma which is designed to give a "raw-like" post experience (by raw like, I mean in the sense that Raw allows for exposure changes in post). Log Gammas have very little compression in the highlights and shadows, essentially the curve is a long flat "midsection" with a minimal toe and shoulder. This  allows for "exposure" adjustments in post processing, and lets you see more accurately where the highlights clip.

which is best? Well that really depends on your situation. They actually have similar DR, although D-cinelike will compress the highlights and shadows in a way that make it appear like it has less DR, Log will show you the full recorded range, but requires more correction to make the image look "normal" -- and most people end up correcting the Log image back to look something like the D-cinelike image (using a LUT, or color correction). That said, D-log gives you a little more flexibility for doing secondary corrections, and for adjusting exposure during grading.

But there is no free lunch with D-log, especially in the H264/65 version. As it's a highly compressed 8 bit codec (this may be why your research is suggesting that it's less useful in 4k, although I don't find that to be really true) -- at 8bit...a 12-13 stop log encoding is problematic...the compression and limited number of gradations tend to introduce banding as you try to push the image into shape. My experience with the two gamma's is that in 8 bit, I get a good result with d-cinelike, and that it grades well. If you're trying to hold bright skies, then you need to experiment with exposing a little darker in D-cinelike, at the expense of add'l noise in the shadow areas.  With D-Log, it's easier to judge the highlights, but if you are doing strong, saturated grades, you will likely see some banding and other color areas.

With the X5s, shooting D-log is best done with ProRes, or Cinema DNG, but you'll need the licenses for that. In the future we should be seeing a ProRes Raw update for your camera.

Barry,

Just the detailed answer I was looking for. Your time and effort in answering this question is much appreciated.


Although I do have the license for ProRes and Cinema DNG I don't use them as I do not have the SSD. (I purchased the drone used and it came with the licenses. ) For the work I do I am not sure I need to make the hardware investment but one day I am sure I will. AS a photographer who is used to working with RAW I certainly miss the ability to pull shadows and highlights back in with some detail but as you explained so well. There are limits to 8 bit and the H264/65 codecs.

The other settings I was looking for some guidance on, say for D-Cinelike, is the sharpening, contrast, and saturantion.

Many thanks,
Houston

Hi, I have done a lot of testing for this. If you don't like colograding for me the best setting are: truecollor / WB: 5600K / F 5.6 / contrast 0 / sharpness 0 / saturation -1.  If you wanna do colorgrading:  D-Cinelike WB 5600k / F5.6 / contrast 0 / sharpness -3 / saturation -3. I use LUT for Inspire 2.

Great Info!  Thanks to all