Test shoot requests

dcarstens

dcarstens

Well-known member
I'm seeing a various posts where vimeo footage is picked apart and suggested that it should have been shot under different conditions (direct sun vs. overcast, etc). Perhaps we compile a list of different tests here and post suggestions for specific types of testing from the first recipients of the AF100 units, or at least post links to test shoots relating to requested shoots. I'd also like to keep footage listed here to be from final release units only as to dismiss any noise/artifacts in footage being attributed to "pre-release cameras".

Noise Floor Test: http://vimeo.com/18359615
 
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I'd like to see a test of the Detail setting since it's being tagged as the culprit for the noise. 15 shots of the exact same thing incrementing the Detail setting from -1 to +7. Sort of like ISO tests that are done sometimes. It would probably be best to do that indoors so the lighting can be controlled and consistent with each incremental shot.
 
dcarstens, I see you're in Playa del Rey. Can you please do some test footage of the Christmas light setups on the Venice canals at night? It would be great sample footage -- I'm thinking, get a model to stand on the bridge lit by the red lumiere w/ tassles, with the huge crazy corner house w/ the crazy french clown decoration and all of the other lights and props in the yard and balconies in the background, and the reflections on the water of the canal. Please test with a Voigtlander 0.95 25mm if you have one, or something fast and sharp, and get some nice round and saturated bokeh. Please also test the 17-170 or similar and do a rack focus, and especially a fast whip zoom. An ultra-wide would be excellent too. I'd like to see the model wearing some shiny black surfaces, since reflections on shiny black surfaces is where we've seen the noise introduced on Barry's chart test shot. Maybe a female model wearing a fitting v-neck black vinyl top with a pair of shades for one of the shots -- shades with a slight mirror coating preferably. And a necklace and earrings of moissanite for the maximum refractive index to spread the saturated colors of the lights across the skin and vinyl, and also to provide the ultimate test of highlight handling (test one shot with a knee, and another shot kneeless Cine-D). Since the noise that has been observed in the dark greys is a green/yellow color, it would be great if you could also find a shot under strong lighting of those particular color ranges. Plenty of homes in Venice use single green bulbs to light their porches, so maybe try one of those. I think there's one diagonally across from the Abbott Kinney Pizza parking lot.
 
Mike@AF said:
I'd like to see a test of the Detail setting since it's being tagged as the culprit for the noise. 15 shots of the exact same thing incrementing the Detail setting from -1 to +7. Sort of like ISO tests that are done sometimes. It would probably be best to do that indoors so the lighting can be controlled and consistent with each incremental shot.
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Happy New Year, Mike! Thanks to you and the others who have spent so much time on this issue.

I'll have my AF100 next Tuesday and will perform a battery of tests. I plan to shoot the charts and will do your suggested Detail settings sweep. Please suggest anything else you would like to see.

I'll be doing a low-light, green screen, and table-top, and try to get outside the studio for some daylight footage. We'll post the clips for evaluation by the forum members.

I probably won't be able to do everything until Wednesday or Thursday and there is likely to be much footage & tests posted before, but I will follow through.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
Mike@AF said:
I'd like to see a test of the Detail setting since it's being tagged as the culprit for the noise.
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I thought Barry stated the higher Detail setting enabled the low level noise to be visible but was not actually the source of any noise.
 
The higher detail levels exaggerate the visibility of noise, but they don't add any noise themselves. The detail circuit sharpens up the edges of fine detail, and as far as the camera is concerned, noise is fine detail too, so it sharpens up its edges, exaggerating the contrast around the noise, therefore making it a lot more visible.

I recommend going no higher than -4 on detail level for general purpose shooting, and I usually throw at least a little detail coring on for good measure (+2).
 
Ticheli said:
Happy New Year, Mike! Thanks to you and the others who have spent so much time on this issue.

I'll have my AF100 next Tuesday and will perform a battery of tests. I plan to shoot the charts and will do your suggested Detail settings sweep. Please suggest anything else you would like to see.

I'll be doing a low-light, green screen, and table-top, and try to get outside the studio for some daylight footage. We'll post the clips for evaluation by the forum members.

I probably won't be able to do everything until Wednesday or Thursday and there is likely to be much footage & tests posted before, but I will follow through.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
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Happy New Year to you, Leo! Thanks for doing the tests. I look forward to seeing the results and the likely amazing footage you'll be showing us next week!
 
ransom said:
I thought Barry stated the higher Detail setting enabled the low level noise to be visible but was not actually the source of any noise.
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Barry_Green said:
The higher detail levels exaggerate the visibility of noise, but they don't add any noise themselves. The detail circuit sharpens up the edges of fine detail, and as far as the camera is concerned, noise is fine detail too, so it sharpens up its edges, exaggerating the contrast around the noise, therefore making it a lot more visible.

I recommend going no higher than -4 on detail level for general purpose shooting, and I usually throw at least a little detail coring on for good measure (+2).
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That's what I meant. Noise is always going to be there, but the Detail setting seems to be the cause of the exaggeration. Thanks for the clarification Barry.
 
...Can I add a small request to see what the audio noise-floor is like ?

I've done this in the past by supplying a LINE level 1 kHz test tone to the camera with a high-quality ( i.e. Sound Devices or equivalent ) field mixer with the recording level set to -12 dB, then record 5-10 seconds of tone, then kill the tone while still recording with the camera. Once done I bring the audio from the MTS file in to a good audio editor to see what the noise-floor is like once the tone is shut off. No mics are attached ( which I know makes this a bit of a theoretical test ), but it does give you a pretty good idea of how noisy the camera's audio limit is.

My HMC-150 has a noise-floor of about -63 dB and my consumer HS700 camera has a noise-floor of -82 dB. I am hoping that the AF-100 will put one or both of these cameras to shame. :-)
 
I'd like to see some tests for flash banding. That is one of the things that has been driving me up the wall with 7d footage. Is it there on the AF100?
 
Yes, the rolling shutter isn't fast enough to capture a flash in a single frame. Using an open shutter helps, but doesn't cut it completely.

5319192988_b9e9d2fbfd.jpg
 
I guess the question is compared to a 7D is it any better? From the sounds of it, it seems to be about the same.

I have seen it pretty bad on the 370's as well when they were used for imag. I wonder if there will be a FBC for the 100.
 
Jim Simon said:
Ugh! Enough with using these inferior CMOS sensors. C'mon Panny, Sony, Canon and JVC. Please go back to all CCDs!
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JVC is still all CCD. Sony has several all-CCD models in their upper line. Panasonic is all CCD for their entire lineup, excepting most of the AVCCAMs. Those are all CMOS except the HMC150, which is CCD. And Canon... well, all their older products are CCD, but all their newer products are all CMOS.
 
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