Fuji X-T3 released

ReelWorksMedia said:
Awesome, just pulled the trigger. Sorry to derail anything here. For CPU sake...would you shoot 400mb as opposed to 200? If so...what SD card9s) are you using? Thanks
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I think you'll be happy with the XT-3, it's a great little camera. The AF is frustrating for the time being but I am confident that Fuji will fix it. If it was another company, I wouldn't be so confident but Fuji is ON it with firmware updates and user requests. I agree with Grug, the C200 shooting CRL and the Fuji shooting F-Log look pretty different.

A few tips:

The out of the box picture settings look great but immediately dial down the detail/sharpness to 2 or 0, the OOB settings are too sharp.

I've tested shooting 200 vs 400 Mbps and personally, other than for green screen possibly, I see no visual difference and the 200 Mbps is very, very responsive to CC and grading, it doesn't fall apart because it's 10-bit, which is more important than data rate difference.

Like Scorsese Fan, I shoot 200 Mbps with the cheap Sandisk Extreme Pros, they've been bulletproof reliable in six months of shooting. I bought two of the ProGrade V60 cards and both crapped out on me, but the camera seems happy with the cheap Extreme Pros.

F-Log is a nice, mild Log, I use the standard REC709 Fuji LUT but you can play with the Eterna LUT too if you like.

If you shoot outdoors, you'll need a monitor, I use the Atomos Shinobi SDI so I can also use it with the C200 when needed.

The battery life sucks, just accept it. I bought the battery grip, which I use when shooting tripod, slider or handheld

On gimbal (I use the Crane 2), I rigged up a dummy battery and power cable that plugs into the power outlet on the Crane 2. So far, works great and I don't have to take the XT-3 off the plate to change batteries, then have to re-balance it each time.

The XF16mm f/1.4 is the best lens in the lineup, it is soooo good looking, such a beautiful image. Buy it.

I'm saving up for the MKX Cine lenses, I will be buying both and will probably only shoot with those two lenses and the XF16mm f/1.4 for gimbal. IMHO, those MKX lenses are the deal of the century, you are getting Cabrio glass for under $4k each! Takes the
image quality of the XT-3 up a few notches too.

Good luck, PM me if you have any specific questions once you get it. Great camera, but they need to get the firmware out to fix the focus. And I agree, it will take some skills to get the C200 RAW and XT-3 footage to match. I shoot documentaries and
have been shooting the mixed media look for decades (I used to shoot DV, S16 and Betacam all in the same project) so I generally don't care if the two cameras match as I use the difference in image creatively.
 
puredrifting said:
I think you'll be happy with the XT-3, it's a great little camera. The AF is frustrating for the time being but I am confident that Fuji will fix it. If it was another company, I wouldn't be so confident but Fuji is ON it with firmware updates and user requests. I agree with Grug, the C200 shooting CRL and the Fuji shooting F-Log look pretty different.

A few tips:

The out of the box picture settings look great but immediately dial down the detail/sharpness to 2 or 0, the OOB settings are too sharp.

I've tested shooting 200 vs 400 Mbps and personally, other than for green screen possibly, I see no visual difference and the 200 Mbps is very, very responsive to CC and grading, it doesn't fall apart because it's 10-bit, which is more important than data rate difference.

Like Scorsese Fan, I shoot 200 Mbps with the cheap Sandisk Extreme Pros, they've been bulletproof reliable in six months of shooting. I bought two of the ProGrade V60 cards and both crapped out on me, but the camera seems happy with the cheap Extreme Pros.

F-Log is a nice, mild Log, I use the standard REC709 Fuji LUT but you can play with the Eterna LUT too if you like.

If you shoot outdoors, you'll need a monitor, I use the Atomos Shinobi SDI so I can also use it with the C200 when needed.

The battery life sucks, just accept it. I bought the battery grip, which I use when shooting tripod, slider or handheld

On gimbal (I use the Crane 2), I rigged up a dummy battery and power cable that plugs into the power outlet on the Crane 2. So far, works great and I don't have to take the XT-3 off the plate to change batteries, then have to re-balance it each time.

The XF16mm f/1.4 is the best lens in the lineup, it is soooo good looking, such a beautiful image. Buy it.

I'm saving up for the MKX Cine lenses, I will be buying both and will probably only shoot with those two lenses and the XF16mm f/1.4 for gimbal. IMHO, those MKX lenses are the deal of the century, you are getting Cabrio glass for under $4k each! Takes the
image quality of the XT-3 up a few notches too.

Good luck, PM me if you have any specific questions once you get it. Great camera, but they need to get the firmware out to fix the focus. And I agree, it will take some skills to get the C200 RAW and XT-3 footage to match. I shoot documentaries and
have been shooting the mixed media look for decades (I used to shoot DV, S16 and Betacam all in the same project) so I generally don't care if the two cameras match as I use the difference in image creatively.
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Super helpful! Thanks So much. I hear ya on matching the cameras. I was expecting a little hardship there. 90% of what I do is music concert related...and all of the colors are constantly changing anyway...so for music videos...its a bit all over the place anyway. With the production shoots we do...I'll probably just use the C200 RAW on the whole thing anyway unless its just B-Roll.

"The XF16mm f/1.4 is the best lens in the lineup, it is soooo good looking, such a beautiful image. Buy it" - - Great tip. I'll totally look into that lens.

I may just hit you up getting this thing up and running. I'm use to regular cinema cameras more than DSLR cams...especially having not used a Fujifilm camera before.

If you don't mind me asking....do you use an adapter. I would like to use some of my canon and sigma glass on there. So far, the Fringer seems to be the one to get. Would like to know your opinion.

Thanks
 
If you're shooting with the X-T3 in F-Log or HLG and editing with Premiere or Resolve the color is being misinterpreted. I'm not affiliated in any way with this company but I highly recommend the technical fixes LUT package from colorizer.net. I was disappointed in how the X-T3 rendered reds and green foliage/grass. The wierd thing was red and greens looked fine on the back of the camera but off in premiere and resolve so it's the software that was the issue not the X-T3. If you are shooting F-Log the bt.709_to_bt.601 LUT totally fixes it. This is not a creative LUT pack, they are a fix for the wrong color matrix being applied by premiere and resolve. Made it so much easier to match it up with a C300 MKII. If you're shooting HLG, you'll want to use the bt.709_to_bt.2020 LUT. Not being able to reproduce strong reds was my only major gripe with the camera but now I'm a happy camper.
 
I read and watched a video that also addressed this. Good tip about the LUT fix. I had not heard about that yet.

Quick question about a work around. Do you think if I transcoded the H265 footage directly off the card to ProRes...would it fix the problem? It would still need to either pass through Davinci or Adobe Media Encoder to do this...but if it was directly off the card and then transcoded to a flavor of ProRes...I am hoping it would fix the problem with Apple/Adobe misinterpreting the H265.

Would love to know everyones thoughts on this.

(FYI...I'm on the most current iMac 5K...specced...ect.)

I'll totally check out colorizer.net. Hopefully that can help with the issue.



Have you guys seen this H265 Issues video yet? Looks like the blacks can totally be crushed by the Apple 265 issues. Do the LUT fixes also help with that as well . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh9iViCKu6o
 
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I've not had a chance to match the X-T3 with C200 Raw but have had no issues matching it C300 MK II internal 10 bit, external raw to an atomos or a red epic, have not had projects were an X-T3 was used with any of the newer Reds or an Alexa yet but don't think it would be that hard to get them in the same ball park. Obviously you're giving up some overall image quality and a stop or 2 of DR but the overall general look should not be an issue.
 
Bypassing internal recording going straight to an atomos fixes it. Transcoding alone won't fix it unless you're doing it in an application that is reading the file correctly to begin with. Otherwise you need the LUT. My memory fails me but I believe Final Cut Pro X applies the right color matrix, not sure about Avid or which other NLEs read the files right.
 
I watched the video but have not downloaded the files. I only shoot in h265 F-Log or HLG so I can't really comment on the Eterna profile in h265 vs h264.
 
Super helpful. You may have saved me hours of trying to figure out what was going on in Premiere/Resolve. I'll definitely get that LUT pack for sure.

When shooting h265 F-Log or HLG...have you noticed any issues on Mac (Adobe/Davinci) with the blacks being crushed or different from "in camera?"
 
Carlos Morillo said:
Bypassing internal recording going straight to an atomos fixes it. Transcoding alone won't fix it unless you're doing it in an application that is reading the file correctly to begin with. Otherwise you need the LUT. My memory fails me but I believe Final Cut Pro X applies the right color matrix, not sure about Avid or which other NLEs read the files right.
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I haven't seen any image color shift issues with the XT-3 and FCP X 10.4.6.

It cracks me up all of the poor Premiere slaves who have to externally transcode H.265, deal with 601 to 709 color management issues, slow rendering, crashing, instability and pay Adobe monthly for the privilege of being abused. Why do you guys take it??? What are you clinging to? Why not just dump Premiere?

FCP X, ingest the H265, edit. It's transcoding it all to Prores in the BG as you work. Nothing edits or renders faster than FCP X (other than Resolve can be a touch faster rendering in certain circumstances but still is slower than FCP X to actually cut with). It seems like a lot of users are okay being hobbled right out of the gate.
 
I'm on a PC. Have not had any issues with blacks being crushed with or with out the LUT. Even if you were to severely under expose, you would hit a DR limitation wall of noise long before you had totally crushed blacks.
 
puredrifting said:
I haven't seen any image color shift issues with the XT-3 and FCP X 10.4.6.

It cracks me up all of the poor Premiere slaves who have to externally transcode H.265, deal with 601 to 709 color management issues, slow rendering, crashing, instability and pay Adobe monthly for the privilege of being abused. Why do you guys take it??? What are you clinging to? Why not just dump Premiere?

FCP X, ingest the H265, edit. It's transcoding it all to Prores in the BG as you work. Nothing edits or renders faster than FCP X (other than Resolve can be a touch faster rendering in certain circumstances but still is slower than FCP X to actually cut with). It seems like a lot of users are okay being hobbled right out of the gate.
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Fair points, and to be clear it's also an issue with resolve, not just premiere.
 
On the plus side for me on a PC, I have zero need to transcode. I edit h265 files from the x-t3 like butter. No hiccups or stuttery playback at all.
 
puredrifting said:
I haven't seen any image color shift issues with the XT-3 and FCP X 10.4.6.

It cracks me up all of the poor Premiere slaves who have to externally transcode H.265, deal with 601 to 709 color management issues, slow rendering, crashing, instability and pay Adobe monthly for the privilege of being abused. Why do you guys take it??? What are you clinging to? Why not just dump Premiere?

FCP X, ingest the H265, edit. It's transcoding it all to Prores in the BG as you work. Nothing edits or renders faster than FCP X (other than Resolve can be a touch faster rendering in certain circumstances but still is slower than FCP X to actually cut with). It seems like a lot of users are okay being hobbled right out of the gate.
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You are totally correct. I can't stand some things Adobe does. I also work for a company and are embedded in the Adobe ecosystem. So for now...I'll continue to swallow my own vomit everytime Adobe decides to...well...be Adobe.
 
Carlos Morillo said:
If you're shooting with the X-T3 in F-Log or HLG and editing with Premiere or Resolve the color is being misinterpreted. I'm not affiliated in any way with this company but I highly recommend the technical fixes LUT package from colorizer.net. I was disappointed in how the X-T3 rendered reds and green foliage/grass. The wierd thing was red and greens looked fine on the back of the camera but off in premiere and resolve so it's the software that was the issue not the X-T3. If you are shooting F-Log the bt.709_to_bt.601 LUT totally fixes it. This is not a creative LUT pack, they are a fix for the wrong color matrix being applied by premiere and resolve. Made it so much easier to match it up with a C300 MKII. If you're shooting HLG, you'll want to use the bt.709_to_bt.2020 LUT. Not being able to reproduce strong reds was my only major gripe with the camera but now I'm a happy camper.
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Just FYI...I saw at the bottom of the colorizer.net site that Resolve 16 has fixed this issue.

I believe the way Apple is reading the 265 file still may have a separate problem with crushing its blacks....though I did find a thread that transcoding in EditReady can fix. I'll have to do some tests and see if its an issue on my machine. Will update when I know more. A little buyers remorse...but not Fujifilms fault. Keeping the faith that once a workflow is figured out...the footage will be worth it (at least as a B- cam).
 
ReelWorksMedia said:
Just FYI...I saw at the bottom of the colorizer.net site that Resolve 16 has fixed this issue.

I believe the way Apple is reading the 265 file still may have a separate problem with crushing its blacks....though I did find a thread that transcoding in EditReady can fix. I'll have to do some tests and see if its an issue on my machine. Will update when I know more. A little buyers remorse...but not Fujifilms fault. Keeping the faith that once a workflow is figured out...the footage will be worth it (at least as a B- cam).
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That's a bummer, I'm not on mac so I haven't researched that problem, but certainly that sounds like a severe issue. I wonder if that's something fujifilm could easily fix, if there's something not standard about the way they write their files or if it's apple's fault. Either way I hope they can work that out.
 
Carlos Morillo said:
That's a bummer, I'm not on mac so I haven't researched that problem, but certainly that sounds like a severe issue. I wonder if that's something fujifilm could easily fix, if there's something not standard about the way they write their files or if it's apple's fault. Either way I hope they can work that out.
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From what I have read online...its actually not a Fuji issues. Its a MAC issue....which translates to...its probably not getting fixed. That said...there is always a work around. I just need to find the most painless one. The obvious solution is capture to a Ninja V. I just don't feel like spending another $800+ on that at the moment.

One fella said that, for some reason, transcoding with EditReady somehow fixed it. Keep in mind...these are all issues that I have consistently seen other Mac users encounter...but I have not received the camera yet...so I can't confirm if its also an issue for me.

The scary thing about this problem is...that probably most mac users don't even know they have the problem. They probably just accept the blacks are crushed and the highlights are blown. I have seem a bunch of mixed levels of quality online from this camera. Some make it look absolutely amazing...and others...look pretty bad. I bet this issue is all over the place and most don't know.

From what I read....if you transcode to ProRes with EditReady...when you open the transcoded files...the information is actually still there...you just need to adjust your levels and bring it back. If you just import directly into Adobe...the info is just gone.

The problem is not there if you shoot H264. Its only an issue withe H265. I'll definitely need to test. I'll report back once I find things out.

Eventually, I'll probably just get a Ninja V. There is the benefit of recording directly to ProRes and getting the 422 color space. It also solves this issue. Just did not want to get in that deep $ for a B cam.
 
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