From cineD to something else

PaPa

PaPa

Major Contributor
Lately I've been feeling like cine D just might not be doing it for me anymore. I'm wondering if many of you have decided to switch gamma's because you are growing tired of the posterizing that happens when you introduce an "s" curve in post. The only thing is that I haven't yet found another gamma that treats skin as nicely on the lower end of exposure and that keeps things looking a little less video ish, and not so punchy and sio quick to clip to black. What do you guys think?

Hd born seems to be the closest gamma to cine D but isn't quite there. Sigh.
I'm also starting to like cine v because there I don't need to put as aggressive a curve in post keeping the 8 bit from showing it's weaknesses.

*sorry mods, on my mobile and didn't see that I was in the wrong section. If someone could please move this. Thanks*
 
Last edited:
Recently I've been using Low gamma a ton for interviews I've been doing for a lot of jobs. Otherwise I'm using HDNorm much more than I was using CineD when I first got the camera. I recently bought a Panasonic 1710 monitor and have been able to feel more confident about dialing in a great look, and frankly see little reason to do a lot of CCing for a lot of my work if I don't have to (which I was finding necessary with CineD). I thought HDNorm was "it" but Low seems to be nicer for a lot of the ways I've been lighting interviews recently.
 
I just did a test tonight and CineD did give me more banding. The shot I did earlier wasn't a good test for banding but it gave me what I wanted for that particular shot. I tried out HIGH instead which is 2nd noisiest on the camera, and the banding was significantly reduced. I was shooting a white wall with a gradient all the way across it...a literal nightmare for banding especially if you were to try and CC.

HIGH seemed to give me the higher noise level without the kind of banding CineD gave. I think I'll start shooting more with HIGH and see how things turn out. By the way with both CineD and HIGH I did have my Master Ped down to like -5 to try and bring back the normal black level most of the other presets would give me, since I know adding that in post would definitely bring out banding regardless. Either way HIGH also allows as I said in my previous post the use of KNEE which is very useful and hard to give up in a lot of situations.

If you like how CineD can give you a bit more latitude then you might try to give HIGH a shot Papa. It still has that help in the latitude area of things like CineD just not quite as exaggerated, and has the noise associated with it as well but doesn't seem to have the banding issues as much at all. Honestly every single gamma on this camera bands, but I'll admit if you have the wrong settings set you better stay away from walls or skies.
 
I'll give High a shot, but HD norm seems to be the closest thing to the latiude that CineD gives. I'll see what I can cook up.
 
That's weird though because the graphic Barry gives to show what each gamma looks like places HD NORM in a totally different place on the scale particularly in the high range. Perhaps a low knee would help? I don't know...as I look at the previous setting of my old camera that I liked, I can't seem to replicate it. I just posted another thread in the main AF100 section...hopefully I can figure it out.
 
Yea it's not just a gamma issue though it's also color and not only KNEE with highlight response but need of master ped in different increments with each different gamma. A shot with each gamma isn't enough to tell, and the subject I'm pointing at is going to make a big difference.

I think I've settled on BPRESS with nothing else touched pretty much or HIGH with slight master ped in the negative and knee on low. I have a 20 second scan of 35mm film shot at 50% grey so I have a good way to add perfect grain but it just stinks not getting it in camera like I want. Can't have it all I guess.
 
I'm finding too much of a boost in the lower mids with B press and i keep getting an image that clips to black too easily. Still toying around with finding a curve that I don't need to apply such an aggressive S at the bottom end, that's where i start to see the posterizing. Going to do some screwing around with HD norm, CineD, CineV and High to see what's going on in there. This is why i tend to expose on the lower end so that i don't need such an aggressive curve at the bottom end.

Should be interesting.
 
See I thought BPress clipped to black too easily too, but honestly I've used that gamma the most and have found no issues in that arena if things are properly exposed. Also, it's the cleanest gamma so why not try something like BPress with a slight master ped lift? It shouldn't induce as much noise as it would with other gammas that already have the noise there. Also it would provide knee as well, so you can get the slight midtones boost (which is my most common CC change honestly depending on how I had to compromise with exposure), while providing a knee rolloff, and still some shadow detail. BPress has never really crushed my blacks, it's just not giving me a flat signal in camera as much which to me is better. The less CC I have to do, the greater my picture will be in the end.
 
I recently shot 2 features, both on CineV exclusively, and I'm very happy with the choice. I only used CineD + DRS in extreme DAY EXT situations.
I've always been a CineV user, since DVX and HVX days. I feel I get great results with the contrastier starting point, and just lighting/filling in the shadows more so than I would on CineD.
 
CineV seems a lot like BPress. BPress/Cine-V are the cleanest gammas as well. The only thing that keeps me away from Cine-V is the lack of KNEE which I really want. But they both do something really similar.

How'd the noise work out with CineD and DSR outside? I know both are the noisiest things you can do to the image, but in daylight maybe it's not anywhere near as bad...?
 
Which Knee setting do you like with BPress? To be honest, I haven't really ventured away from CineV or CineD, so I have no experience with the different knee settings.

As far as CineD +DRS, I was suprised at how well the noise held up. Granted, I also had Nanoflash at 280mbps too...

Its definitely more than not using DRS at all, but the DAY exterior situation with hardly any black or near-black in the frame helped. That's the only time I've learned to use DRS, day exterior. Using it in night EXT or INT to gain a little more latitude = bad idea.
 
Regardless of gamma I like something like Low or Mid. High barely does a thing at all for Knee. I like a rolloff it gives, especially outside.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top