Video looks a little different from camera to computer
- Thread starter kevinkt
- Start date
analog_addict
Well-known member
because your LCD and monitor aren't calibrated exactly the same,
Blue Bomber
Well-known member
Yup, you might even notice the brightness/contrast may appear differently, too. Even if you calibrate your monitor, the LCD might still show the image differently, so you need to get to know how each displays the same and anticipate that when adjusting color/exposure on the camera.
Next up is playback programs/apps/devices... :shocked:
Next up is playback programs/apps/devices... :shocked:
Jordan Scott Price
Veteran
I am not an image technician, and there are far more qualified people on these boards to give you direction on image management in the production pipeline.
But, what I do, for most cameras and all DSLR's I shoot with, is try to match my field monitor to my camera's LCD screen. The 7D's LCD screen is darn close to what the recorded image will look like. (I remember someone positing why it's not exact, and I'm assuming it's because it's half the resolution of the video it produces.) That way I at least know that what I see on the field monitor is pretty close to what I get. That's what matters.
In the cutting room, every monitor will look a little different because of different gamuts, contrast ratios, resolutions, brightness and contrast settings, viewing angles (LCD's), etc., etc. Most of those terms are the offspring of marketing hype, as a monitor with a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 is not necessarily better than one with 5,000:1 for video editing. One tried-and-true way of handling video is to output to a CRT, calibrated by using its Blue Only function. You can feed the CRT color bars (most camcorders will output them) and then calibrate it with Blue Only on.
Now your monitor is SMPTE-calibrated! If you don't have a proper monitor and are using a laptop or LCD monitor, become very cognizant of how your image is stretched out across your RGB parade and your scopes. Even more importantly, if you know where the final product will output (another LCD, a television, etc.) test the image on there. What I used to do when color grading on a MacBook Pro before I got a CRT was sit in a dark room and turn the brightness of the laptop all the way down, right before the display shuts off completely. This took away some of the brightness bias the LCD introduces. It's also a better representation of what it will probably look like on someone's TV.
But, what I do, for most cameras and all DSLR's I shoot with, is try to match my field monitor to my camera's LCD screen. The 7D's LCD screen is darn close to what the recorded image will look like. (I remember someone positing why it's not exact, and I'm assuming it's because it's half the resolution of the video it produces.) That way I at least know that what I see on the field monitor is pretty close to what I get. That's what matters.
In the cutting room, every monitor will look a little different because of different gamuts, contrast ratios, resolutions, brightness and contrast settings, viewing angles (LCD's), etc., etc. Most of those terms are the offspring of marketing hype, as a monitor with a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 is not necessarily better than one with 5,000:1 for video editing. One tried-and-true way of handling video is to output to a CRT, calibrated by using its Blue Only function. You can feed the CRT color bars (most camcorders will output them) and then calibrate it with Blue Only on.
Now your monitor is SMPTE-calibrated! If you don't have a proper monitor and are using a laptop or LCD monitor, become very cognizant of how your image is stretched out across your RGB parade and your scopes. Even more importantly, if you know where the final product will output (another LCD, a television, etc.) test the image on there. What I used to do when color grading on a MacBook Pro before I got a CRT was sit in a dark room and turn the brightness of the laptop all the way down, right before the display shuts off completely. This took away some of the brightness bias the LCD introduces. It's also a better representation of what it will probably look like on someone's TV.