Andromeda SGRO Footage Test

cardmaverick

cardmaverick

Well-known member
Ok.... here it is, an SGPRO Andromeda still frame and clip. Some technical notes:

I shot this with ZERO help for focusing... so it took a little while! Shot using an SGPRO Rev.3 with flip module and a Nikon 50mm 1.4 lens at f/4. I've been shooting lots of tests this week, but I know most people really want to see a good old human face instead of a res chart... or stuff on my desk! So I did a quick setup, just a 1K light and some reflector fill, helps show the sharpness and texture. The exposure was a little bit under, but I really needed some extra DOF since I didn't have any help. I shot this using the DVX 3200K preset white balance, so no optical filtering... I have a new way of getting really clean footage now, and its more user friendly light wise. I used my "nuzzaco_contrast_0" record LUT, shooting 10 bit 4:4:4.

Still Frame Version 1:

tieadjust.jpg


Version 1 h.264 Quicktime (24MB):

http://www.chrisnuzzaco.com/special_uploads/tieadjust.mov

Here's a sharper take on the same clip....

Still Frame Version 2:

tieadjust2.jpg


Version 2 h.264 Quicktime (31MB):

http://www.chrisnuzzaco.com/special_uploads/tieadjust2.mov

Both of those files are 8 bit by the way. Is it just me, or does that frame grab have a kind of storybook quality to it? I'm really digging the ascetic.
 
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Thanks! I've shot some outdoor footage actually, but its older, and I hadn't found the sweet spot settings when I shot it. Hopefully I can get some this week, and maybe finally get someone else to stand in for me to do an interesting shot with more lighting.
 
I hear you about seeing a real face instead of a chart. But the grab looks soft. I know an SG can get sharper than that at a 4.0. Is the footage soft too? Didn't have time for the download. Do you have any in focus grabs you could post?
 
Hey Tim,

Sharpness with Andromeda is an interesting thing. The camera is three chip (keep in mind, I"m pulling this out of a modified DVX100), but its treated like a single chip bayer filtered image. So technically you can only ever get so sharp, also, with Andromeda, you do your own sharpening actually. I can take the raw image and make it WAY sharper than that, but noise and sharpness go hand in hand. I think one of the reasons behind the HVX200's noise has to do with inferior sharpening technique that users don't have control over (yes, there's menu options, but the DSP does things you can' t control....). It also has a lot to do with forcing the user to underexpose and not use the sensors full potential. Every "super sharp" grab I've ever seen usually has a lot of noise in it, and its not always the ground glass either... but at any rate, back on track.

I'll have to do a shoot with someone else in front of the lens next time so I can have some real control over it.... For now, here's a different amount sharpening on the same frame. I used a three channel unsharp masking technique for this one:

tieadjust2.jpg
 
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By the way... this was an underexposed shot. Because noise and sharpness are so inter-related, you can only ever go so sharp with an underexposed image and not have the image look super sandy. The farther away real edges are from the noise floor, the more successful you're image will perform in both sharpness and apparent noise. One of my reasons for being a bit critical of underexposing for the heck of it... Yes sometimes you need to, but theres always a cost.

Yeah, I've learned a lot after processing RAW for a good year now :)
 
Ok I'm posting this as I work on some res charts again.... I feel like I've shot a million of these things. For starters, the SG Flip module seems to be having some pin cushion issues, however, I have yet to work with an adapter that has not had this issue. I can clearly see a small bubble going on. Honestly, its much better than other adapters I've messed with, but its still an issue. I'm thinking about making two back focus settings, one for when I have a subject center frame, the other for when I have a subject off to the side of the frame.
 
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