GH5 ND filter for video: I look for a good filter for gh5

dvbrother said:
If you fill the frame with an object that is SUPPOSED to be brighter than middle gray, and you set your "cursors" to align, your image will be underexposed, because the meter doesn't know that what you are shooting is supposed to be bright. Make sense? You can also read about The Zone System. All these methods work in both still photography and video.
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I understand that you wrote and I accept everything. But I don't understand well those lines I quoted you. I feel good using the cursors, is there a trick to make a good video using the alignment of the cursors?
 
Ron Evans said:
I have zebras set all the time and can toggle on waveform monitor to check the whole scene. Would be worthwhile you learning how to use both.

Then if it was the lady you wanted to expose for you can make sure she is has the correct exposure without really blowing out everything else. That way you can grade afterwards. If you overexpose you have lost the detail. Same for too underexposed but this is easier to correct if there is not too much noise when corrected. In you clips they seem fine for correction. Still not sure why you are so upset.
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I'm upset when I don't understand but now I undertsand my inexperience on exposure with a camera. Now I see a camera more and more hard to make my documentaries. In my life I never used zebras to shoot. I will have to learn but to learn will be so slowly. I'm better with alignment of cursors on the viewfinder. To use zebra is so hard for me. I don't know if I can use it when I don't have available time to take the shots.
 
Doug_EX said:
Here is a video that shows how to set up the GH5 for film making.

https://youtu.be/nqk8Nzo6wWE
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Doug, I knew that video. I watched it a lot of time ago. My camera is configured perfectly to take video. I need to learn the exposure. I think I have a great gap on this topic. Now I understand what was my problem. Anyway what I don't like about a camera is its audio. Audio of GH5 is good but the problem is: camera shoots everytime with almost one silent second. In the post I have always to cut one second of every clip that I put on the timeline. This is a big disgrace that a video camera doesn't have.
 
FoxAdriano said:
is there a trick to make a good video using the alignment of the cursors?
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The trick is to understand how the camera's meter works. It thinks everything it sees is middle gray. If you point the camera at something black, the camera thinks it is middle gray and the "cursors" will mislead you into making the shot too bright. Because it will make what is supposed to be black photograph as middle gray. The same thing goes for something white (like a snowy day or a bright white wall). In that case the meter will think it's middle gray and make you underexpose and the snow or the white wall will look gray.

The "trick" is to know this. To be smarter than the meter. Honestly, everything that everyone has recommended is good advice for nailing exposure. Zebras, scopes, histogram, meter. Everyone has a workflow that is a little different. They may use just one, or a combination of these. I use the meter, histogram and zebras (set for 100). After a while, it becomes second nature and you don't even think about it except in the most challenging situations.
 
dvbrother said:
After a while, it becomes second nature and you don't even think about it except in the most challenging situations.
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What do you mean precisely please? If you use the Zebra, why will you not even think about it? Maybe I don't understand well.
Then ... some guys here suggested to put Zebra at 70%, why do you use 100?
 
I have zebra set for 75% in the theatre and look to make sure that if there are zebras on white shirts or costumes or a white wall I ignore it. What is important is that there are NO zebras close to any actors faces. I increase the exposure until the zebras are on the faces then back off so they disappear . In the theatre when this happens the meters that you see in the bottom of the lcd are usually at -3. In my situation if you followed the meters like you do everything would be over exposed and all the actors faces would be white with no detail. For Africa you have the opposite where the scene is very bright rather than the dark I have in the theatre so the meters will be equally wrong in the opposite direction. For correct exposure I would expect the meters to show more like +2 or 3 to get good exposure for the subjects of your video. A way of checking this is to zoom right in on the subject and set the exposure then re frame. Using zebras and waveform I think is easier ounce you learn to use.
 
Fox,

I’m only going to discuss your preferred Picture Profile of ‘Natural’ & ignore VLog-L for now.

70% Zebras (70% IRE) are a general recommendation for Caucasian skin tones, but due to variances in tone it’s not a hard rule & will require some interpretation. Black skin tones come in even a wider variety of tones & may require even greater interpretation.

Dark Black Skin tone falls around 45 IRE but the GH5’s Zebras only go as low as 50%. This is likely by design as exposing skin below this can cause issues in grading & it’s typically better to pull the brightness down in post then to expose so low.

While using ‘Natural’ or any other Rec.709 type Picture Profile, I usually leave my first Zebras set to 65-70% & the second at the clipping point, & will check both while setting exposure.

One trick for determining exposure is to meter off the palm of a hand. While skin tones vary widely the palms of peoples’ hands are all very close in density. And if you use the palm of your own hand the tone will never vary, assuming it’s not covered in dirt, or similar.

PS: Panasonic should allow lower IRE values for the Zebras especially when working with VLog-L.

PSS: Consider yourself lucky most your subject matter involves darker skin tones. Back when I was a fashion/beauty photographer I dreamt of only filming Black Skin due to it’s inherent beauty. The darker the skin the easier it made my job. If you want a real challenge try making a variety of Caucasian skin tones beautiful.
 
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Ron & Bern, finally after 100 posts I understand where I made the error when I was shooting in Africa. All you wrote only I had to study without interpreting and understanding my problem. Now I understand and I will study how much you are writing to me. If Zebra is the most important option to make a good exposure, I will take more practice about it. I thank you.

PS: Bern, I don't understand well how I have to set my GH5 pointing it on palm of my own hand.
 
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FoxAdriano said:
If Zebra is the most important option to make a good exposure,
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Zebras are not the most important tool for exposure - it's just one tool and improper use of zebras will also lead to badly exposed footage. You need to be able to understand all aspects of exposure control in conjunction with how you intend to process your footage in order to get the best out of this (or any camera) and get the results you want. Practice - fail - learn and repeat this until you are in control. Plenty of instructional videos on Youtube to learn this stuff which is a far better resource than this or any other forum. Not saying that forums are bad but they typically deal with specific and very narrow questions and you need a broader understanding of the basics of video exposure but again even if you watched every possible Youtube video on the GH5 or video exposure in general it's no substitute for practice as you need to have these skills ready to use when you are working on your project. You wouldn't learn how to drive a car by watching youtube videos and asking questions on a forum would you?
 
+1....Fox....I would add to this, you can somewhat duplicate conditions you were shooting under in Africa....so take the environment first....get a mannequin or any source of color to represent your subject..it does not have to be accurate...it's just a representation for your comparison of the various exposures...you mentioned the red sand....if you were getting bounce off the red sand, it would be close to the subject, so put together a little "set" mimicking the conditions...it does not have to be spot on....just approximate....so either a large piece of cloth or some plywood to match the sand color....could be 4 1/4 inch sheets with your test model in the middle. The sun is the sun, so your light source will be consistent and use a long lens to keep your field of view narrow...you can now do various exposure tests....write them down and slate each take with the settings noted....also use whatever ND you are going to use and WB every time you take a shot. You will now be able to compare results as each slate with each clip will contain your settings, and you will learn (1) about correct exposure and (2) possibly most importantly what you prefer. Personally I use an external light meter, but for the kind of shooting you do, that's probably impractical. It would possibly take you one or two days practicing with your little set to master this...it of course depends entirely on your learning abilities, but however long it takes is largely irrelevant...what's relevant is that you get exposure and WB down. I keep including WB here because after selecting a picture profile, WB is the most important thing to get right, for the colors you want. If you use a variable ND (I don't!) you have to reset the WB every time you change the ND....change of light entering the camera equals change of WB. There are no short cuts to learning this and although the GH5 is sold as a prosumer camera it is very much a professional piece of equipment in the field and by mastering the tools available in the camera, you will land up with images that will satisfy the quality you are looking for...
 
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fboonzaier said:
If you use a variable ND (I don't!) you have to reset the WB every time you change the ND....change of light entering the camera equals change of WB. There are no short cuts to learning this and although the GH5 is sold as a prosumer camera it is very much a professional piece of equipment in the field and by mastering the tools available in the camera, you will land up with images that will satisfy the quality you are looking for...
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Nice reply.Out of curiosity: are you telling me every time I turn the ND variable filter I need to make the WB? Even if you make videos are you using a fixed ND filter? At this point, if it is so, I will also use a fixed ND filter.
 
FoxAdriano said:
What do you mean precisely please? If you use the Zebra, why will you not even think about it? Maybe I don't understand well.
Then ... some guys here suggested to put Zebra at 70%, why do you use 100?
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I use 100 IRE on Zebra because I use it as an indicator for clipping of highlights, not skin tones. Using 70% is a valid approach for caucasian skin tones, but I don't use it that way. When I say "I don't even think about it", I meant that about outdoor sunlight shooting only. Years of experience with shooting outdoors on GHx cameras makes me know generally what the exposure settings should be in given situations. In my part of the world, the brightness of full sunny days doesn't vary much. I've shot so much with the cameras that I can basically just tell by looking at the monitor or EVF whether my exposure is correct or not. That's what I meant. I still use those tools, but I'm barely conscious of using them. Now, for an interview or more controlled shoot, I very much pay attention to all my exposure tools and make sure I get it perfect.
 
FoxAdriano said:
Nice reply.Out of curiosity: are you telling me every time I turn the ND variable filter I need to make the WB? Even if you make videos are you using a fixed ND filter? At this point, if it is so, I will also use a fixed ND filter.
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WB should remain the same at different settings with a good Variable ND filter but if the light changes such as if a cloud moves over the sun or you change location you need to WB for this change.
 
dvbrother said:
In my part of the world, the brightness of full sunny days doesn't vary much. I've shot so much with the cameras that I can basically just tell by looking at the monitor or EVF whether my exposure is correct or not. That's what I meant.
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Do you think if I will add a bigger monitor like "ATOMOS Ninja Inferno Monitor", most of the time I could make a better exposure without using Zebra or 100 IRE? Do I understand fine?
 
FoxAdriano said:
Do you think if I will add a bigger monitor like "ATOMOS Ninja Inferno Monitor", most of the time I could make a better exposure without using Zebra or 100 IRE? Do I understand fine?
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Yes it will give you more tools to make a better exposure but for your kind of work it would be impractical to use and create more problems than you will know what do with. The GH5 has enough exposure tools to get perfect exposures as long as you know how to use them. I sense you are looking for short cuts and easy ways to achieve what you want but there is no substitute to learning how to use the GH5 properly through practice and experience.
 
FoxAdriano said:
Do you think if I will add a bigger monitor like "ATOMOS Ninja Inferno Monitor", most of the time I could make a better exposure without using Zebra or 100 IRE? Do I understand fine?
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Yes it would be easier to see the image but you will still need to use the exposure tools either on the GH5 or things like false colour on the monitor. The monitors are also big to carry around and need extra batteries. I do not think it is practical for your work. GH5 has plenty of tools to get correct exposure you need to learn how to use them.
 
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