Here's My Fav Scene File/Camera Settings

[John Froton]

Hi all,

I just though I would share the scene file settings and such that I just tested out at the Columbus Zoo with nice results :)

This is for a clean and colorful filmlook that is pleasing to the eyes.

Operation Type: FILM CAM
Framerate: 24
Synchro Scan: 160 degrees (yes, not the default 180 or the sometimes suggested 200 - a little less blur works very well and even seems to smooth out the appearance of judder to my eye)
Detail Level: +1
Vertical Detail Level: 0
Detail Coring: +3
Chroma Level: +3
Chroma Phase: 0
Color Temp: 0
Master Ped: -3
A. Iris Level: 0
News Gamma: Off
Gamma: B Press (Looks brighter, more saturated, less noisey -- switch gamma settings while viewing subjects through the viewfinder and choose what you think looks best for you )
Knee: High
Matrix: Cinelike
Skin Tone Detail: Off

I used the Zebra exposure setting of 95% and typically dialed exposure to where very minimal zebras were showing up if any (along with judging the primary exposure subjects by eye). I aimed for shooting between f2.6 and f8 on the lens and switched on the ND filter settings as required to get optimal exposure in the mid f-stops.

This is just something I thought might be helpful for those who have't tried experimenting a lot on their own. Give the settings a try and see what you think.

Cheers

Edit - Another tip: Always make sure to white balance AND black balance (by holding longer) prior to shooting in new environments. Black balncing helps insure less noise.

[Rob]

John,

Thanks for taking the time to post these settings, Can't wait to try then I'll get back to you thanks.

Rob

[djgvinny]

im new to this , any info that i can use with my hvx im so greatfull , i tried your setting yhe only things that i couldnt change was - knee : high , its on normal and even if i press on it it wont open and zebra how do you chang it to 95 all i do pres zebra , is off , press is 80 press is 100 ....but i couldnt get it to 95 , sorry if im asking stupid question but theres a lot to learn with this baby

[John Froton]

im new to this , any info that i can use with my hvx im so greatfull , i tried your setting yhe only things that i couldnt change was - knee : high , its on normal and even if i press on it it wont open and zebra how do you chang it to 95 all i do pres zebra , is off , press is 80 press is 100 ....but i couldnt get it to 95 , sorry if im asking stupid question but theres a lot to learn with this baby

You might try changing the gamma and/or matrix settings until the knee becomes adjustable and then switch it back -- I remember the knee was locked when I was changing settings as well, but now I am unable to get it locked again. In any case, having the knee set at mid might be just as well as having it set to high --- it will just compress down the highly exposed areas a little bit more.

as for the Zebra setting, just go into the Display Setup from the main camera menu and the top two lines will be your "Zebra Detect" one and two.

[emiranda]

djgvinny

check this link: http://www.jkor.com/peter/hvx200.html

[Jim Carswell]

John,
Any chance of getting you to post some images where you used those scene file settings?
Jim

[djgvinny]

thanks emiranda , great site for beginers like me

[John Froton]

Here are a few pics straight from the footage. Sorry but did not take time to correct pixel aspect ratio :)

[John Froton]

Here's a few more ... footage was shot in 720 24p

[Jim Carswell]

John,
Thanks for posting the pix.
Jim

[djgvinny]

do you think the same setting would be good if i have a redrock m2 with nikon lenses , and do you have any indor shots. by the way nice footage

[John Froton]

do you think the same setting would be good if i have a redrock m2 with nikon lenses , and do you have any indor shots. by the way nice footage

Thanks.

I think the same settings would probably work in the same way with the Redrock M2 and lenses with the exception of having to raise the exposure a bit to compensate for the slight loss in sensitivity.

These settings provide somewhat of a clean look and the gamma looks to me like somewhere between video and film. Switching to one of the Cinelike gammas instead of B Press might make footage look more like film originated but will also be a bit flatter and noisier. Really the best thing to do is take a good starting point, like perhaps these settings, and start tweaking and viewing the differences in real time on a monitor or through the viewfinder and go with what looks good to you.

The only real indoor shot I took was in a dark area where I boosted the gain up a full 12db. It might look pretty harsh. Also here are a couple of other indoor shots at the aquarium and the one with the sea horses had the gain at 12db also.

[John Froton]

Please keep in mind that some of these shots are blurry in the details because I went through the zoo holding the HVX200 with mattebox and follow focus completely handheld - many shots were not as stable as they could have been.

I would like to have shot at 1080 24pa but needed the space that 720 24pn provides :(

[USLatin]

Hey John, what's up bro, I like these settings, they would work well in a very happy scene, a couple falling in love, or for news, or some documentaries... very vivid, works well in direct sunlight and low light

[mcvideo]

john. did anyone take a pic of the BHS? Id like to see how you looked with your HVX, FF etc.. I was shooting a wedd past weekend and pple were like "man, they higher $$ pple to come and shoot their wedd. Just curious if got attention with your cam set up as you shot footage.. thanks! I'll try your settings..

[CacheMoneyVideo]

John,

do you have to put frame rate at 24? Or can i just leave it at default? Why would it be necessary to put frame rate at 24 if I'm already shooting at 24p?

[John Froton]

John,

do you have to put frame rate at 24? Or can i just leave it at default? Why would it be necessary to put frame rate at 24 if I'm already shooting at 24p?

Leaving it at DEFAULT is totally fine. Mine says DEFAULT also. I just specified 24 to point out what the value of the default was :)

[John Froton]

john. did anyone take a pic of the BHS? Id like to see how you looked with your HVX, FF etc.. I was shooting a wedd past weekend and pple were like "man, they higher $$ pple to come and shoot their wedd. Just curious if got attention with your cam set up as you shot footage.. thanks! I'll try your settings..

I don't have a shot with me holding the camcorder but here is what it looks like with the matte box and follow focus ... and yes there were a few people who seemed to think they were going to be on TV as they passed in front of the camera :2vrolijk_08:

[Steve McClean]

would you recommend these settings for a outside shoot for a film?

I'm filming a short film this summer and not really sure about shooting outside yet.

does it have a good film look to it?

[John Froton]

would you recommend these settings for a outside shoot for a film?

I'm filming a short film this summer and not really sure about shooting outside yet.

does it have a good film look to it?

I think it works great for outdoors :) It basically gives some saturation to the colors, balances the detail settings to look more filmlike and deepens the darks and blacks to make for a more vivid picture overall.

I am wanting to try using these settings and just switching the gamma to Cinelike-D instead of B-Press and see if the Cinelike-D has more of a filmlike gamma look to it. Without comparing the two, I do think that these settings give a great film look that seems clean and sharp, like a high quality film stock.

[Steve McClean]

I think it works great for outdoors :) It basically gives some saturation to the colors, balances the detail settings to look more filmlike and deepens the darks and blacks to make for a more vivid picture overall.

I am wanting to try using these settings and just switching the gamma to Cinelike-D instead of B-Press and see if the Cinelike-D has more of a filmlike gamma look to it. Without comparing the two, I do think that these settings give a great film look that seems clean and sharp, like a high quality film stock.

Yea, Thanks man!

[John Froton]

would you recommend these settings for a outside shoot for a film?

I'm filming a short film this summer and not really sure about shooting outside yet.

does it have a good film look to it?

After doing a few more shoots, I can say that I still really like these settings, but when shooting people in bright daylight or having shots in bright daylight, or any well lit, brightly lit set, that have a considerable amount of skintones, switching the gamma from B-Press to Cinelike-D will give a more filmlike luminence value to skin tones. However, for low light and night shots, I think the B-Press really shines for giving a cleaner brighter grayscale.

Also, depending on the subject matter in the shots, such as vivid green grass .. etc, you might need to turn down the Chroma Level (color saturation) with any of these settings. You really need to be aware that as the subject matter changes, it can call for some tweaking to your scene file settings to continue to get optimal results. I am all for doing test shots on professional shoots and spending some time comparing results.

[marco0782]

It looks like the Knee kicked in on the flamingo's feathers. If you look at them you can see that there is barely any detail in the highlights. This is one of the dangers in using B. Press because Knee is mandatory. Even if you stop down to make the zebras go away you never know where the Knee might be in effect.


Marco

[John Froton]

It looks like the Knee kicked in on the flamingo's feathers.


I agree.

Cinelike-D probably would have preserved more of the detail on the flamingos. I've been finding some instances where I like Cinelike-D over B-Press because of a more true to life gamma curve with the compression in Cinelike-D. I like the Cinelike-D for human skin, but in moderate light it unfortunately introduces a lot more noise into the picture.

As much as it would be satisfying to feel I can have one great preset for everything I shoot, it's not the way to get the best shots every time. For any camera op, it's really important to allow ourselves to view and modify settings as the elements in the shot's composition change.

[anomaly_7]

Hey John,

Do you have any accessories on the camera itself. Like a mattebox especially? Or do you just use the camera as is?

Sean

[John Froton]

Hey John,

Do you have any accessories on the camera itself. Like a mattebox especially? Or do you just use the camera as is?

I have a mattebox and follow focus attatched to the camcorder most of the time. Also, in bright sunlight, i usually use a Schneider polarizer filter in the mattebox.

You can see a picture of my camcorder with the accessories on the previous page of this thread.

[anomaly_7]

Hey John,

Sorry to be a pest but I recently purchased an HVX200 (last year) and I am looking to pick up a couple accessories. I would like to get a mattebox as well as a follow focus. Can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks,
Sean

[John Froton]

No problem Sean,

I haven't done any searching around for products lately but I would recommend checking out the IndiFocus line of products here http://www.indifocus.com/products.htm (http://www.indifocus.com/products.htm)

The follow focus I have is an earlier model of IndiFocus that used a foam padded gear assembly. The new IndiFocus pro looks good and is the same price I paid. Their matte box and rails look good as well and are at a nice price.

[anomaly_7]

Thanks John!

[John Froton]

Thanks John!

You're welcome :)

[averan]

i find cine-v to be a good compromise, flat curve, but with less noise than cine-d.