Matching AF100 to GH2 b-cam

Thanks for the input guys. TheDingo what you did looks great, I'm trying to emulate what you got using built-in color correction tools in Premiere Pro. Any tips on how I can get the result you got in the image using Premiere? Maybe you can share your settings other then the highlight settings with me? Thanks.
 
I was a studio photographer ( magazine and table-top ) for 10 years, so I have a fairly good eye for color matching. ( we used to have to color-balance every batch of film with Kodak CC gelatin filters )

For the quicki color match I used two Sony Vegas plug-ins:

LEVELS : Where I adjusted the gamma to lengthen the contrast range ( effectively dropping contrast slightly ), then I use the "Input Start" and "Input End" controls to brighten the mid-tones and bring back some of the contrast lost with the gamma adjustment.

Premiere must have an equivalent to the LEVELS plug-in, as the two videos will never match if the contrast range doesn't match. This is by far the most useful NLE plug-in you will ever use. I use it EVERY time I edit.

COLOR BALANCE : I included my settings in the screen-shot, you can see the control-panel open in the middle of the image. As you can see I added a lot of RED, I subtracted a little bit of GREEN ( same as adding MAGENTA ), and I subtracted BLUE ( same as adding YELLOW ) to get the skin tone to match. Premiere should have multiple ways of adjusting color balance ( just like Vegas ), I mostly use the simple RGB color balance plug-in set to either highlights, mid-tones, shadows to achieve what I am after because it can be super quick if you know what to adjust.

Color matching takes practice to develop your eye for it, and you might want to buy a "Trainer" kit which is what I originally used to learn visual color correction. I used a Kodak kit, which I think is no longer produced, but LEE Filters still produce a "trainer" kit. The kit is essentially a bunch of viewing filters of all 6 main colors at different densities, and you hold the filter in front of your eye to figure out which color you need to add or subtract in order to properly color balance your image. The "trainer" can be used for prints, transparencies, and yes, computer monitors. Here's a link from B&H Photo: LEE Filters 3 Density Color Print Viewing Kit : $40
 
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Great thanks for all the info, I'm experimenting more now. Could you post a screenshot of your Levels settings where? And are you saying you didn't change any settings for the mid-tones or shadows in the Color Balance plug-in, only the highlights? I have a lot of shots that turned out kind of like this so I really want to zero in on how to get them to match, but I'm already getting much closer now thanks to your help.:thumbup:
 
Chris Lawes said:
Could you post a screenshot of your Levels settings where?
Click to expand...

Will do, but I'm on location right now, so I won't be able to post this until tonight.

Chris Lawes said:
And are you saying you didn't change any settings for the mid-tones or shadows in the Color Balance plug-in, only the highlights?
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The Vegas Pro "Color Balance" plug-in is kind of crude, so when you select "highlights" your changes will effect more than just the highlights, but the emphasis in more on the highlights portion of the image than anything else. I chose highlights because the mid-tone setting wasn't doing what I wanted.

If you want to see what Vegas Pro is actually doing you can download a free trial to make exactly the same changes that I am making, and then try and transpose these settings to Premiere.

Web Page with Link to Sony Vegas Pro Free Trial

NOTE: If you are interested in buying Vegas, the VideoGuys.com website often has good bundle deals that are cheaper than just buying Vegas alone from Sony. ( i.e. Pioneer 12x Blu-Ray Burner + Vegas Pro 10 is cheaper than buying Vegas alone from Sony )
 
Just did a Jaguar shoot with both the AF100 and the GH13. After a little color correction it was an acceptable match. I'll post a link and camera setting soon.
 
i'm trying to match an af100 to a gh2 for interviews and was hoping for some help. Below are two ungraded screen shots, and they are so different I don't even know where to start. i set the white balance on both manually by shooting a white card. I realize I can color grade in post, but I'm wondering if I can make the process easier if I try to match them in camera. I like to usually use a really flat setting on the AF100, but i'm wondering if that's a mistake. Any suggestions?

AF100 w/ Contax Zeiss 50mm f/1.7:
  • Operation type:FILM CAM
  • Rec. Format:1080/24P
  • Synchro Scan:180.0d
  • Detail level:-6
  • Vertical detail level:-6
  • Detail coring:-4
  • Chroma level:-4
  • Chroma phase:-2
  • Master ped:-2
  • Gamma:Cine-Like-D
  • Matrix:Norm2
AF100.jpg


GH2 (hacked) with Canon nFD 28mm 2.8:
  • Smooth
  • All settings except for noise reduction set to -2
GH2.jpg
 
another thought, since the af100 is my flatter picture, do I adjust it to match the GH2? this seems stupid. I shoot the af100 flat to keep shadow detail and have more color correction freedom in post. the gh2 ends up seeming like a hindrance, because it doesn't have enough picture controls. i feel like i'm stuck between trying to match the AF100 to the GH2 either in camera or post.

or should i shoot the af100 flat, adjust it to what i want in post, then try to adjust the gh2 footage to match the corrected af100 footage?

i don't know, no matter what, it seems like the codec from one footage or the other will just end up breaking down with all the pushing and pulling i'll have to do to get these to match.

example, I tried to adjust the Af100 footage to match the GH2, and, i don't know if you can see it in the pic, the curve started to break when i tried to raise the mids and lower the shadows :
AF100 CC.jpg
 
sorry to keep posting, but i thought I'd explain a little background on what i'm trying to do here. i have a af100, gh2, and hmc150 for a documentary because they are all different tools with different strengths and weaknesses and i use which one will best respond to a situation.

now i'm trying out a tactic with interviews. this is a one man project, and the conversations i'm having require me to be fully concentrating on the person i'm interviewing. this means, no hands on the camera to zoom in and out. i've seen filmmakers do interviews from behind the camera, with headphones on, and looking into the viewfinder - it's terribly impersonal for my project. so i thought to film the interviews with both the af100 and gh2 with different focal lengths, this way i can make make my "zoom" cuts in post at will, and without suffering any loss in resolution. but now i'm running into these color matching issues. now, i was ultimately hoping that i can raise enough funds to hire a proper color corrector person, but this won't be until the very end of the project. i don't want to make mistakes now that make color correction impossible down the road.

yes, i should be using all the same camera, but i'm broke. i could sell the af100 and pick up another gh2, but i lose 1080/60, xlr, etc, but most importantly, all the amazing control the af100 gives you over the gh2. if i could afford it, i'd get another af100, but i can't. what's the best way for me to work with what i have?
 
I need no external hardware interface in 2012, is a software for Mac / PC application program interface on the camera via a USB cable with the real-time HP 96 updates to display the camera settings perimeter.
 
i use Barry Green's Af100/GH2 settings to match the 2. i'm using it on a tv show right now. Af100 + Samurai / GH2 + ninja. The HDMI output to the ninja is a lot more underexposed than if you just recorded straight to SD card. I bumped the iso to 1600 while using 800 on the AF100. I use the Panasonic Lumix 14-140mm and 14-42mm lens interchangeably on both cameras depending on the set up. The noise matches surprisingly and the color on the GH2 is slightly warmer. But overall VERY easy to match once you color correct and take the warmth out of the GH2 footage. hope this helps.
 
Mercatus said:
sorry to keep posting, but i thought I'd explain a little background on what i'm trying to do here. i have a af100, gh2, and hmc150 for a documentary because they are all different tools with different strengths and weaknesses and i use which one will best respond to a situation.

yes, i should be using all the same camera, but i'm broke. i could sell the af100 and pick up another gh2, but i lose 1080/60, xlr, etc, but most importantly, all the amazing control the af100 gives you over the gh2. if i could afford it, i'd get another af100, but i can't. what's the best way for me to work with what i have?
Click to expand...

I agree. I need a solution like the one you seek. Yours is an excellent example. I'd like to be able to shoot the AF-100 as I like which is fairly flat and lower color saturation, and work the GH2 footage to match that.

To wit, does anyone know a way of "lessening" edge detail in Premiere Pro CS 5?
 
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