C100: how to calibrate an external monitor to C100 - other calibration issues

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nickbeef

Active member
I recently got the C100 (NOT the mk II), and I've heard rumors that the LCD screen is not that great. What ever, I thought.

Just recently I did a two camera shoot with my old Canon 60D and the C100. I used the "Neutral" picture profile on the 60D and the "EOSNut" pp on the C100. Color temp dialed in to be the same. Looking at the LCD screens side by side, they looked similar enough. In fact, I had to admit, that the 60D looked better on the LCD, it was softer, more saturated, and nice color. The C100 LCD was more "harsh" almost like moire in the details, more desaturated, and the color looked a tad greenish.

However, when I looked at the actual footage, the results were almost completely reversed! The C100 was sharper, but in a smooth pleasing way, no moire, brighter more vibrant colors and a nice warm temp. The 60D now seemed to be off - dimer, desaturated, a huge green push. For what it's worth, I was shooting with some semi-decent LED's, but again the issue is with the discrepancy between the LCD image and the captured image.

So clearly something is lacking in the on camera LCD's of both cameras. Any suggestions for this?

Lastly, this has convinced me that I need to buy an external monitor. I'm looking at the SmallHD AC7. However, how do I know if this image is going to be any more accurate? Is there a good way to calibrate the AC7 and the C100? Suggestions?
 
I would suggest looking into the atomos ninjablade with the datacolor calibration spyder.
this will give you a realy good calibrated monitor and a hdmi recorder as a bonus :-)
The spyder can be used to calibrate your computer monitors as well after a software upgrade (paid extra)
 
Yep! Ninja Blade is very accurate compared to the C100 LCD. I got mine 2 weeks ago and I'm loving it. Very useful too when doing an interview and you need to be on the side of the camera.
 
avian said:
I would suggest looking into the atomos ninjablade with the datacolor calibration spyder.
this will give you a realy good calibrated monitor and a hdmi recorder as a bonus :-)
The spyder can be used to calibrate your computer monitors as well after a software upgrade (paid extra)
Click to expand...
This spyder you have, is it the one from Atomos or a different one. The one on Atomos seems to be specifically for the Samurai Blade, not the Ninja Blade as far as I can see.
 
nickbeef said:
What ever, I thought.

Well, that's your problem: If you "just" bought the original C100 you shouldn't have said "whatever" with issues concerning the LCD screen, you should have done a thorough search on this forum and you'd see, for those of us using it for the last 18 or more months, there have been many threads that you should pay close attention to regarding the crappy LCD screen. Go back and read them and you will learn it should be used only for mag focusing and composition. To compensate I had to buy a Small HD DP4 as an EVF and the the AC7 for client viewing. As said by previous posters above, the Ninja is great but for me there's no eye loupe for outdoor handheld shooting, so to me it's useless for exteriors.

In sum, read the threads to learn about this, don't say "whatever" on something that can F up a shoot, avoid the LCD except for mag focusing.

As for the matching issue, same thing, read all the threads and you'll find gurus who have figured out the PPs and tricks in post. If you are referring to both cameras aimed at the SAME situation, I have to warn you, I bought the 70D thinking it would be a poor man's way of dual camera shooting and although I tried the tricks recommended here, such as the famous Technicolor PP download for the still camera, it takes an excellent grader with high end software to really match the cameras. I have yet to have a great match. Most clients may not notice but a video pro can tell.

So my summary of matching the C100 with a 70D is it's a poor man's attempt to save money and doesn't look 100% pro, and that's trying all sorts of settings and using different editors. My last few dual camera shoots I have rented a 2nd C100 and will only use the 70D as n extra b-roll grab camera. My solution is I will be buying a used C100, even though there's pressure to go 4K, so I can have two of the same model matching cameras instead of doing this half ass way.

All this has been discussed and settled here many months ago, you just have to find the threads. Good luck!
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From my experience, the cinema EOS and DSLR cameras use the same general color science. If you set the same temperature and exposure levels and use the neutral profiles, they match up decently in post. I'm not sure what the EOSnut profile is. I might need to update my firmware if it is on a new firmware. Anyway, I would suggest lowering the contrast on the neutral profile on the 60d all the way down to help it match the C100. That green spike you are seeing is probably a result of the different saturation levels of the cameras and the effect that LED's have on color and the sensors. Natural or tungsten light will help make it easier to match the cameras. In any case, it is best to take some time and try to create a profile that will help the C100 match the 60D. The resolution differences are impossible to overcome without adding blur to the C100 or outputting at 720p.

Whatever you do, don't try to judge or match the images of the cameras based on their LCD's. Having matching extrenal monitors might help, but the 60D sends out a distorted image while recording that doesn't help. I have an AC7 OLED and it doesn't match the C100 at all. I've never found a way to get a good calibration on the AC7 and the OLED doesn't match the actual post image very well either.
 
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