DVX w/Reel-Streem Andromeda - CC'd Grabs

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skital

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Is it just me or does most of the color correct Adromeda footage with a DVX100A look like or very close Digital Cinema quality or even film? I need one of these. :) Here some color corrected shots from one. The first is the original, second is Reel-Streem's Color Corrected image and the rest are my attempts.

Original:

dvxandromedacopych5.jpg


Reel-Stream's Color Graded:

adromedareelstreamcolorvw3.jpg


Mine:

dvxandromedacopycc3smuo8.jpg


dvxandromedamycc2smqk9.jpg


dvxandromedamycc4smzz4.jpg


dvxandromedamycolorcoia0.jpg


HD Resolution (Click the enlarge icon to get the full resolution):

http://img430.imageshack.us/img430/1485/dvxandromedamycc2ladf1.jpg

Thoughts? How are mine compared to Real-Stream's CC shot and which one do you like the best? I know all monitors aren't calibrated the same, but I'm still interested in opinions.

Does anyone here have Andromeda? If so, how does it compare to the HVX200. How close are they in reality? Also, how close is the DVX100A and Andromeda to say Digital cinema cameras like the ones used for Episode III and Sin City?
 
I think theirs is too dark but I would lower the color ped on the shot in general--thats me.

I think your first CC is way too green. The one 3rd from the bottom is clearly the best.
 
I think Reel-Streem went overboard with the contrast boost. It looks like her teeth are phosphorescent. :) IMO, that's not necessarily the way to achieve a film look.

To me crushing the the elevated blacks and and then lowering the contrast gives a more film like look. It softens the highlights instead of making the skin look too reflective. Skin that is too shiny usually screams digital, IMO.

On my monitor I think the second one looks best and I like the warmth of the last one. Depending on contrast/brightness/color temperature and gamma settings of a monitor it can appear a bit too red though. I assume that's the one you meant by third one from the bottom.


I definitely love the images the DVX with Andromeda is capable of. I wonder how close the HVX200 is to a setup like that. The dynamic range with Andromeda is just awesome.
 
I've got the andromeda and I love it. I just shot a low-budge feature and I'm having the time of my life grading, color correcting and painting the lights and darks of the image.

It's silly to compare cameras and systems. Andromeda is a pain for capture (but not that much), but you are in CC heaven when it comes time for that final "look". The highlight roll-offs and shadow detail give you the ability to create some pretty close recreations of film response.

When you want to do extensive image manipulation and coloring, andro is the only way to go for under 10K, bottom line. If you want to have fun and shoot, use something else, hell, use HDV.

You can't compare andro DVx to those big camera systems 'cause it's not the same price range and/or range of tools ie killer lens options. So stop trying! Andromeda is what it is.

I say get it!
 
That looks great too (definitely better than Reel-Stream's correction, IMO). I tried higher white levels myself, but I seemed to prefer lower white levels on this one because of the shiny look her skin had at higher contrast. Your colors are nice and natural looking (though, admittedly, I'm a fan of saturation that pops. Depends on what one is going for really though).

I usually boost the white levels higher, but in this case I think it looks more like film when her skin looks like more of a matte surface than a shiny reflective surface. So, I basically tried to make it look as much like the light would look on someone in person. I don't try to make it look exactly as it would in real life though. I try to improve upon that if possible.

For some reason it just kind of bugs me a little when it looks like teeth are emitting light. Great CC though. What I would give for this setup. :)


Matthew, what makes Andromeda a pain to capture for? What is different when using this? Is low light the same? I'm trying to get an idea of how things are different with this mod.

They say the latitude is nearly 9.5 stops with the Andromeda mod and 7 without it. How much latitude does the HVX200 have?
 
It's hard for me to judge just a straight on shot like this... I'd like to see some real film footage and action. :)
 
Papa I like yours although I would take the saturation down 5% and bring down the reds just a bit.

Her front tooth is crooked. I have 20/10 vision
 
Brandon. Go to www.reel-streem.com. They have footage there. It is STUNNING. Here's a short clip. Not necessarily the best, but you get an idea of the quality even though the video is at a lower resolution. That's cinema quality to me (exluding the resolution of this clip since it's compressed and downrezzed). I couldn't ask for more.

http://www.reel-stream.com/gallery_individual.php?gallery_type=1&image_id=175

Here's another (this one shows some great greenscreen footage):

http://www.reel-stream.com/gallery_individual.php?gallery_type=1&image_id=190

One more:

http://www.reel-stream.com/gallery_individual.php?gallery_type=1&image_id=206
 
Looks pretty good. I would like to see some comparison between dvx and the dvx with reel stream...especailly when it comes to latitude and color rendition. the reel stream seems pretty interesting but I doubt the point when for the same price you can get an HVX.
 
The HVX200 is very nice, but not on the same level. You get closer to film like latitude with the Andromeda.

Look at the artifacts and dynamic range comparison between the DVX with and without Andromeda. No comparison. The Andromeda is very near cinema quality overall.

Andromeda Features List:

http://www.reel-stream.com/andromeda_features.php

All that is a compelling reason to get the Andromeda over the HVX. I've seen some stunning footage with the HVX, but you can do even better with Andromeda.
 
Here's a comparison between stock DVX and a graded Andromeda output, (This is the same frame at the same moment in time, DV tape output vs. a CC'd .tif frame from the Andromeda output) It gives you an idea of the extra 2 stops of highlight detail you get with Andromeda.

DVX:

Window_DVX_DV.jpg


Andromeda:

Window_Andro_Graded.jpg
 
This is a good example of the added dynamic range Andromeda provides over the standard DVX output. The additional ~2.5 stops are mostly on the top-end, which gives better highlight handling, as can be clearly seen in this image.

There are several ways to use this extra range. You can expose for DV as you normally do, and then you have huge overhead on the highlights to roll them off softly, eliminating the traditional 'hard-clipped' look. You can also choose to move the entire content higher up in the range, which gives you significant extra room on the brights and darks.

As a side note, we are planning on soon providing a discount for DVXUser.com members on Andromeda installations. We will post the announcement in the DVX News Forum, so stay tuned!

Cheers,
Juan@reel-stream.com
 
Brandon Rice said:
Awesome stuff... great comparision there... has there been any HVX/Andromeda comparisions?
Click to expand...

Off the top of my head, here is some stuff that has been posted in our forum.

Here is a EIA1956 chart:
http://forum.reel-stream.com/viewtopic.php?t=363

Here is some chroma samples including the HVX:
http://forum.reel-stream.com/viewtopic.php?t=338

I think they are basically different tools. Andromeda+DVX generally yields more dynamic range, color precision and freedom in color correction. The HVX yields versatility when you need self-contained shooting, 60P frame rates, etc, but at the cost of compression and decimation.

Cheers,
Juan@reel-stream.com
 
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