GH4 Logic check: 4096 render down to 3840 is better?

W

wwjd

Well-known member
Looking at this the same way as 4k rendered down to 1080 looks better because the original detail is all there instead of some loss from starting with a 1080 source camera....

Wouldn't starting at 4096, and rendering down to 3840 POTENTIALLY keep the maximum detail? Maybe a PINCH better than 3840?

In working at 2.40:1 aspect, 4096 give me a FEW more vertical pixels out of the base 2160 height. Those would be crunched down a bit for the aspect to fit in 3840, but it might be better detail than just sticking with 3840 to begin with?
Get what I mean?
It is zero hassle for me to shrink it when rendering.
 
wwjd said:
Wouldn't starting at 4096, and rendering down to 3840 POTENTIALLY keep the maximum detail? Maybe a PINCH better than 3840?
Click to expand...

The difference is 6.25%. They are nearly the same. Rendering down will be an extra step, and from a detail (resolution) standpoint you'll be extremely hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. I don't know what the potential is for changes in color detail, but if you're coming from the same bit depth and chroma subsampling level, you'll likely loose a bit (due to the extra processing), but again it probably won't be visible even if you are looking for it.

I suspect that you'll be doing more work for little to no gain, and possibly for negative gain. Much depends on your camera and workflow.
 
My opinion is that no person watching will ever be able to tell you the difference. The reasons to shoot C4K when your destination is UHD is that it allows slight reframing horizontally. I've been finding myself doing quite a few projects in c4k and just masking off the top and bottom of UHD footage. People like the slightly wider aspect ratio. It feels more "cinematic" to have bars on top and bottom, so that's why I shoot at c4k, but in terms of image quality, you really won't notice a difference.
 
Thanks for the input, guys. I just hate loosing that extra bit of sensor in this fine product I purchased that CAN shoot Cinema sized 4k, just to reduce to UHD (even though it is not that big a diff). I do prefer shooting in C4K for the less crop going on, lens wise.
I guess if I always shoot C4K (like I have been) I can always have it that way. Otherwise, I would have to UPSCALE in the future if needed, and I don't like that idea one bit.
 
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