GH2 Optimize GH2 settings for smooth "filmic" highlight rolloff

C

Chris Lawes

Active member
Hi guys.

I would like to hear you opinions/experience on how to best optimize the GH2 for a smooth gradual "filmic" highlight rolloff to pure white, without getting too much yellow/cyan glow when clipping and hopefully maintaining more details in the overblown areas to recover in post.

When watching the Zacuto 2011 Camera shootout this is one of the areas that showed the most variation between cameras and seems to be one of the main issues with the AF100/FS100/Canon DSLRS/GH2.


I would like to really focus on squeezing the best highlight rolloff possible out of this awesome camera.:thumbup:

Thanks for your input!
 
Some opinions I've heard so far:

"Cinema Mode (1 option from Film Mode above)
Cine gamma settings are typically closer to the “film-like” look (highlights roll off softly without rapid
transition to being blown-out, shadow areas transition smoothly in the quarter tones without color shifts as
the shadow areas build, partially blown-out areas where only 1-2 channels are blown look reasonable instead
of showing purple/green fringing, less of the “hard” video look)."
Link

"Cine Gamma settings (Film Mode = Cinema, then season to taste). The GH2 clearly continues that look, and it is most impressive, especially when compared with the Sony camcorders (EX-1) that we have been using for our commercial productions for the past few years. Also, while Sony cameras have a huge range on their variable settings, the GH2's modest three stage settings seem just fine in achieving a soft film like look.
What this look means is that the highlights roll off softly without rapid transition to being blown-out. Similarly, shadow areas transition smoothly in the quarter tones without colour shifts as the shadow areas build. Most impressive!! We've never before seen a video DSLR with this film-like image quality. Much more film-like than the hard video look that so many camcorders, professional as well as amateur, produce. My observation is that unlike some other video cameras, Panasonic is able to correct the partially blown out areas (where only one or two channels are blown) to look reasonable instead of showing purple and green fringing."
Link


Stefanos said:
A quick note: till now I thought the cinema mode was the best and was the best for highlights, but i was wrong and i kept sacrificing shadows for that as cinema is very contrasty . But, my opinion is that cinema film mode is garbage. go with smooth and nostalgic. the cinema profile may retain slightly more detail but it saturates the gradation in such an ugly way... it's all about highlight roll off, and smooth and nostalgic are great + you don't sacrfice your shadows! One of my major complaints about the gh2 used to be this, ugly highlight roll off, cause i was using cinema, now i'm in love again...
Click to expand...
Link
 
Cinema is what you use if you do not need highlights rolled off.

So if the scene goes directly from exposure (maybe +1) to EV +4 with no gradation, basically pure white, cinema mode will be your best bet for the lowest noise.

In all other situations think of Smooth mode like a Hat. Smooth sits like a hat on your highlights starts rolling them off early, evenly and smoothly. Does this give you the most DR? Probably not. But it will give you a more "film type" response in the image that is recorded.

Would be best if I could I just dump the GH2 in the Zacuto scene to show you.
 
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So in that Zacuto scene (with the blown out window and the girl comparing dresses) you would use Smooth to better handle the overexposed window? And only use cinema when there are quick transitions like a white bulletin board in the background or something?

Also if we are going to use some exposure terminology like +1 and EV +4 could you please briefly describe what that means for people ignorant like myself? Are you referring to the exposure scale on the GH2 going from +1 to +4 or is that an actual f-stops, lightcandes, etc, lighting term?

Thanks for your time.
 
I completely agree with plasmasmp and I'm glad other people have picked up on the little devil that is cinema mode:) For a long time I was using cinema mode cause the consensus was that it handled highlights the best and I was constantly underwhelmed with the highlights. They were almost always oversaturated with ugly yellow or cyan casts that does not look like detail. It only looks like banding when you clip a channel in color correction. Then I switched to using the smooth and nostalgic profiles and have been a happy bunny ever since:) So if you don't want to do any post processing and if your scene does NOT contain gradation in the highlights then cinema is fine. I think overall I like nostalgic the best, I really like what it does to highlights. Also, I've found that combining smooth or nostalgic profile with a very modest amount of highlight recovery in color correction such as in the "levels" tab in Color Finesse within after effects, helps a lot with how we perceive the highlights. Yes it does not bring back any detail of course to your blown highlights above 100 IRE but because of that slightly more grey gamma, your highlights look more even and not so "hot". But be careful not to overdo it with it cause if you do it looks plain ugly/unnatural and wihtout contrast.
hope this helps.

after watching the 1st zacuto episode I am even more frustrated that they didn't test the GH2. The AF100 didn't perform well in highlights and there has been lots of frustration concerning its highlight rolloff from users on this forum too. Although I have no way of proving it right now, I am pretty sure that the GH2 has better DR than the AF100 and if not better DR, definitely better roll off (perhaps the reason is GH2 has different and newer sensor than AF100?). Also I really think the GH2 DR in video mode is vastly underestimated compared to the canons DR in video mode. The only canon that probably has a slight edge is the 5D. Also people must realise that DR must be useful, as in not covered in ugly noise. People look at cinestyle profile and say oh wow look the camera has 14 stops, look at how deep into the shadows it sees. Well, that's great but if those shadows are noise+grain, what's the point apart from giving you more options in post? I could take a GH2 file in post and digitally lift the shadows and therefore introduce noise, and have a very flat looking image, but is that what we want? I know I don't...
 
I'm into Smooth now, too. haven't shot much w/ Nostalgia. I seem to remember hearing that Cinema's color fidelity was truer throughout the entire exposure right up until it clips, not necessarily that it rolled off nicer (doesn't roll off at all, really). That may well be, but my eyes like what they see with Smooth. I don't do a lot of C.C. usually, but still I like going with smooth.
 
So.... For general scenario's where you will have some overexposure you'd recommend what settings?
Smooth -2 -2 -2 -2 ?
 
Stefanos said:
I completely agree with plasmasmp and I'm glad other people have picked up on the little devil that is cinema mode:) For a long time I was using cinema mode cause the consensus was that it handled highlights the best and I was constantly underwhelmed with the highlights. They were almost always oversaturated with ugly yellow or cyan casts that does not look like detail. It only looks like banding when you clip a channel in color correction. Then I switched to using the smooth and nostalgic profiles and have been a happy bunny ever since:) So if you don't want to do any post processing and if your scene does NOT contain gradation in the highlights then cinema is fine. I think overall I like nostalgic the best, I really like what it does to highlights. Also, I've found that combining smooth or nostalgic profile with a very modest amount of highlight recovery in color correction such as in the "levels" tab in Color Finesse within after effects, helps a lot with how we perceive the highlights. Yes it does not bring back any detail of course to your blown highlights above 100 IRE but because of that slightly more grey gamma, your highlights look more even and not so "hot". But be careful not to overdo it with it cause if you do it looks plain ugly/unnatural and wihtout contrast.
hope this helps.

after watching the 1st zacuto episode I am even more frustrated that they didn't test the GH2. The AF100 didn't perform well in highlights and there has been lots of frustration concerning its highlight rolloff from users on this forum too. Although I have no way of proving it right now, I am pretty sure that the GH2 has better DR than the AF100 and if not better DR, definitely better roll off (perhaps the reason is GH2 has different and newer sensor than AF100?). Also I really think the GH2 DR in video mode is vastly underestimated compared to the canons DR in video mode. The only canon that probably has a slight edge is the 5D. Also people must realise that DR must be useful, as in not covered in ugly noise. People look at cinestyle profile and say oh wow look the camera has 14 stops, look at how deep into the shadows it sees. Well, that's great but if those shadows are noise+grain, what's the point apart from giving you more options in post? I could take a GH2 file in post and digitally lift the shadows and therefore introduce noise, and have a very flat looking image, but is that what we want? I know I don't...
Click to expand...


I totally agree with Stefanos. I used cinema mode, but it had that ugly "hot" highlight clipping to pure white. I just could not get used to it. On sunny days I now use only smooth (everything -2 except color), and on overcast days I use nostalgic (all -2 except for color). Interestingly, I never used nostalgic on the GH1 because it was far too yellowish, but on the GH2 it works nice and I am constantly surprised about the DR I am getting in nostalgic. Generally I agree that the DR of the GH2 (especially in nostalgic) is vastly underestimated.

But you have to underexpose 1/3 stop in these two settings for good highlight roll off.

Thats my 2 cents.
 
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