Do you RAW?

N

North Utsira

New member
(apologies for thread title)

There are now some really interesting options at the $700 or less mark: super detailed AVCHD/H.264 from the Nikon D5200 and Panasonic G6 (ok, maybe body only to hit $700), but also thanks to magic lantern, raw video on the Canon 50D ($400+ 2nd hand?).

Of course raw video is a much more involved work flow, and there's no onboard sound on the 50D, so it's not a like-for-like comparison. But leaving those issues aside and just looking at the quality of the image and the motion, which excites you more? Raw, or one of the recent top-notch AVCHD/H.264 cams?
 
I take RAW over sharpness, unless sharpness comes with a 10-bit codec or much wider DR. Painful workflow, though.
 
I haven't been impressed by the noise and artifacting of the 50D RAW footage. So far the only RAW DSLR I would consider is the 5D Mk3, but you have to be willing to live with it's RAW workflow. ( which seems to be getting better by the day )

Shooting RAW with the Blackmagic Pocket Cine camera should be interesting, when the RAW update becomes available later this year.
 
I've played with it, liked it, and shot some green screen with it. Unfortunately, the workflow is too cumbersome for me to use it for a bigger project right now.
 
sharry said:
Ill go with 10 bit codec with 14 stop latitude over RAW any day.
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I guess you and Samuel are referring to the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera's ProRes 422 right?

I'm still a little hazy on the difference between 8 bit (AVCHD), 10 bit (ProRes 422), 14 bit (ML raw) colour depth. I know that if I screw up the white balance on AVCHD footage then it looks really terrible when you try to colour correct it, but maybe 14 bit is overkill for my needs.

Man, late July is such a stupid time to get that urge to buy a new camera! Must.... wait.... until.... new.... generation..... is.... reviewed....
 
North Utsira said:
Man, late July is such a stupid time to get that urge to buy a new camera! Must.... wait.... until.... new.... generation..... is.... reviewed....
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trying to decide if I hear Cpt. Kirk or Christopher Walken's voice when I read this...
I know the intent, but Walken's voice makes it sound like you are not really in a rush after all. Like too cool and making the obvious wise choice.
 
James0b57 said:
trying to decide if I hear Cpt. Kirk or Christopher Walken's voice when I read this...
I know the intent, but Walken's voice makes it sound like you are not really in a rush after all. Like too cool and making the obvious wise choice.
Click to expand...

I wish it was the Walken voice.... but no, it's Cpt. Kirk trying to fight the "buy a camera!" mind control ray.

OK, how about "must wait until new generation is leaked". I think I can hold out until then
 
@North: Im not just refering to bmpc. Anything with 10 bit codec and a wide dr is good enough for me.

@Iyrov: No man. That still does not do for me. Check out some stuff macgregor shot with his f35 with an external codec. There is a whole thread about it on here. This is coming from a guy who loves color grading and narrative filmmaking.
 
sharry said:
@Iyrov: No man. That still does not do for me. Check out some stuff macgregor shot with his f35 with an external codec. There is a whole thread about it on here. This is coming from a guy who loves color grading and narrative filmmaking.
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You can't expect Canon 5D Mk3 RAW footage to hold up against an F35, though I didn't like the color grading in the Vimeo link that Iyrov posted, the skin tone looks very orange and unnatural. ( perhaps with better grading it would look better )
 
F35..!!!??? haha...ok...I think Im gonna sell my house to get one!!! :)
Just dont tell my wife...:kali:
 
Ok then...I ll just sell my car...!
No, seriously now...as you said in your previous post 5D3 RAW vs F35 is not a fair comparison...
However I do think RAW footage from 5D3 can easily be compared to a C100 for example...and thats already a big deal...
 
My point was just that he did not shoot raw. He shot, from what I remember, on the hyperdeck shuttle with nikon glass. So I think it is perfectly comparable in the sense what the OP was talking about. 14bit Raw vs 10bit Avid DNxHD. And dont forget that the Raw from 5D MK3 are stills. Its high quality, just debayerd down to HD. My point is just that raw is not the end of the world. Great, we have it on a $3500 camera but I have not seen many videos utilising it to the fullest.
 
Ok...I agree to that and of course raw its not the end of the world...the way I see it, its just a big bonus for the 5D3 owners to get MUCH better quality video from their camera. To my eyes there is a huge difference between raw footage vs h.264 footage from that camera...
 
I agree that the difference from raw and h264 is heads and "toes" but you have to look at feasibility. You just cant go shoot everything on raw. And for all those things, shooting on a C100 will be like heaven. 5d Mark 3 shooting raw is exactly same as D90 shooting video. For all we know, we are going to be bombarded with cameras with raw functionalities. Blackmagic is doing it. Bolex is working on it. Ikonoskop (which was my personal favorite) was doing it but now has been shut. From what I am seeing and hoping is that aaton is going to come out with a new digital model for their minima line. They merged with a company and this is what they will start. So, for me, raw is not everything. But seeing the advancement, we are going to get it. Interesting times.
 
5D Mk III is a great camera of course, but I was asking about the $700 or less zone. I suppose what I'm asking is, can you persuade me to buy a 50D rather than a D5200 or a G6?
 
It all depends on the kind of work that you do. For 90% of your work you wont need raw. And I dont know if it is that stable and streamlined that you can take it to a paid gig.

Narrative films - Raw
Music videos - Raw
Event - Compressed
Documentary - Compressed
Wedding - Compresed
Corporate - Maybe raw but id still take compressed.

So if you have another camera body, you can add a 50d. That is what I was thinking. D7100 with 50D. But I am not making the move on 50D as I dont see if that can help me right now. And like said Ill probably spend money on an extrrnal recorder and work it with my D7100.
 
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