GH2 GH2 Film Modes vs. Canon CineStyle Picture Profile - GH2 Wins!

lpowell said:
Yes, that's what I use, with NR and Contrast at -2. For Nostalgic, I also set Saturation at -2, with Sharpness and NR at +2. I like the sparse, clean details this produces in darkly lit areas.
Click to expand...

Does Sharpness actually make it sharper? How does it affect the color?
 
CColton said:
Does Sharpness actually make it sharper? How does it affect the color?
Click to expand...
Yes, the Sharpness setting is part of the built-in demosaic filter that converts the 12-bit RAW RGBG image sensor data into 8-bit RGB pixels. The 12-bit RAW precision makes this the one case where pre-sharpening produces higher quality results than using Unsharp Mask in post on 8-bit compressed data. With Sharpness at +2, edge contrast is enhanced without boosting overall contrast. This works well on dimly lit areas where there's no danger of producing edge halos or blooming highlights. Sharpening has little effect on color balance, and setting Saturation at -2 tones down the reddish tint of dim incandescent lighting. High NR cleans things up at the expense of contour detail, but doesn't blur the sharp-edged look.

Here's an example of very dim incandescent lighting, shot in Nostalgic at ISO 400, f3.0, 1/30 sec shutter:
 
lpowell said:
With Sharpness at +2, edge contrast is enhanced without boosting overall contrast. This works well on dimly lit areas where there's no danger of producing edge halos or blooming highlights.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation! I had no idea the film modes could modify the way the image is processed that intricately. If set to +2 in well-lit areas, does Sharpness produce those artifacts?
 
CColton said:
If set to +2 in well-lit areas, does Sharpness produce those artifacts?
Click to expand...
In AVCHD modes, the G-series cameras pack far more image detail into well-lit areas than in dimly-lit areas. When you're shooting a brightly lit scene in daylight or controlled lighting situations, sharpness enhancement can produce undesirable halos around edges, so I recommend setting Sharpness to -2. In low-light scenes, the only objects likely to produce halos are actual light sources or reflections. These I don't mind blowing out in order to better expose the dimly-lit details.
 
lpowell said:
In AVCHD modes, the G-series cameras pack far more image detail into well-lit areas than in dimly-lit areas. When you're shooting a brightly lit scene in daylight or controlled lighting situations, sharpness enhancement can produce undesirable halos around edges, so I recommend setting Sharpness to -2. In low-light scenes, the only objects likely to produce halos are actual light sources or reflections. These I don't mind blowing out in order to better expose the dimly-lit details.
Click to expand...

Great, thanks lpowell, you're always a good source of info. Where do you learn all this? Experimentation? Contacts at Panasonic?
 
I love that the Canon shots are tighter and yet are still less detailed than the wider shots on the Panny...it's like, as you get closer things become...less defined? huh? :D
 
My goodness lpowell...you should set up a one stop shop "how to shoot with compressed DSLRs thing-a-ma-giggy" to give more tips like these. I'd subscribe to it. What you said I've never tried...nor thought about...but it makes a lot of sense when I think about it.
 
Ian-T said:
My goodness lpowell...you should set up a one stop shop "how to shoot with compressed DSLRs thing-a-ma-giggy" to give more tips like these. I'd subscribe to it. What you said I've never tried...nor thought about...but it makes a lot of sense when I think about it.
Click to expand...

+1
I agree
He should write a L.Powell Book lol
 
lpowell said:
Totally agree. Where I think Nostalgic really stands out is with indoor incandescent lighting. To my eyes, Nostalgic's sepia tone produces a completely natural tungsten look at a custom white balance of 2700K (I also set M-4 to bring down any greenish tint). When I find it necessary to blow out a highlight (e.g. when a light source is in the frame), Nostalgic's wide dynamic range handles it well.
Click to expand...

Great Tip there ilpowell. I can't wait to try this out as I always wished there could be a way to achieve what you got there in that clip. Thanks for all the great work on the GH13.
 
The GH2 is a lot flatter once you shoot on nostalgic and -2 almost everything, and with the hack I can do a lot more adjustments.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top