C300: Advantages and disadvantage between RAW and compressed video

L

leonel escobar

Member
Trying to understand what are the pro and cons are between shooting 2K 10 BIT RAW VS 2K 12 BIT 444 on a C500. After doing a test I really didn't much of a difference. Would the RAW produce less noise than the compressed video? When would one choose RAW over compressed video? Thanks!!
 
The general idea is that Raw is more conducive to grading without producing nasty artifacts. The downside is a large file size. This assumes that all Raw is created equally, which it is not. And 12bit 444 is a large file anyway, making the difference rather minute. But, you may want to try heavy grading and see what holds up best for you.
 
10bit RAW seems quite skimpy. Usually one expects RAW to be 14bit which is why it gives so many grading options. RAW is less of a "baked in" approach (at least with stills) where you are working with the actual data straight off the sensor. So when you change white balance it is like you changed it with the camera, not bending existing pixels. This is the true RAW approach from a still workflow. This could be different with video cameras. 12bit 444 is also a lot of data which will give you flexibility in post but this will be from a "finished" image which you will alter, not reconstruct if that makes sense?
 
Canon's Cinema RAW is a unique creature. It is unlike Sony, RED, or even Canon stills RAW. Every manufacturer's definition of RAW is different. Every. Single. One. The only thing you can know without testing is that RAW = "not deBayered".

One great advantage of the 2K 12-bit 4:4:4 mode on the C500 is the amazing amount of color information you get. I would say that the question really comes down to the deliverable. If you are giving your client an HD video, then the 4K resolution won't mean much. But the color rendition will. On the flip side if you are handing over a 4K finished project, then you should capture in 4K.
 
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