GH5 Video UHD settings: Standard or Natural profile?

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FoxAdriano

Well-known member
Hi, I'd like to know your advice but only if you are expert about GH5 please. I will reach Africa where there is a lot of sun. I have set my GH5 in UHD 60p 8bit. I'm undecided if I choose Standard or Natural profile to shhot but Natural with all parameters -2 . With Standard profile I usually don't need to modify the clips in post-production and it is good because I shoot in 8bit (not 10bit) and I could degrade the image quality. If I choose Natural profile with all parameters -2 I will have to modify the clours in post-production (chromatism, brightness, etc.). Which of both profiles would you choose?
Thanks
 
I would advice 10 bit recording in the following format order of preference:

1. V-Log
2. HLG
3. Natural (with no tinkering of values except for sharpness -5)
 
Thanks a lot for your suggestions but I can't study V-Log or HGL in little time. Then I can't use 10bit because I record at 59,94p or 50p in PAL.
Therefore I accept your advice about Natural with sharpness -5. But I'd like to understand better: why do I have to change only the sharpness? If I have to adjust the sharpness in post-production I might as well adjust also the other parameters.
Thanks
 
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CineD with sharpness at -5 will give you the most flexibility in post. -5 sharpening as artificial sharpness is ugly and the gh5 is super sharp in 4k already.
 
sgttom said:
CineD with sharpness at -5 will give you the most flexibility in post. -5 sharpening as artificial sharpness is ugly and the gh5 is super sharp in 4k already.
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Can you explain better please? I take a lot of interest about this matter but I'm relatively inexperienced. If I use CineD with sharpness at -5, then what would have to do precisely in post-production? I don't know if you know Edius 9, I'm using it to to do video etiting with UHD projects.

EDIT: I'm sorry but there isn't "CineD" in the GH5 Menu.
 
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You don't need to increase sharpness in post. 4k video is very sharp naturally. CinelikeD has more dynamic range, it can capture more information in the highlights of the image. CineD is one of the video profiles, it's definitely there. In post you'd most likely be adjusting contrast a bit. If you want a finished look I'd suggest portrait(good on skin tones) or CineV
 
Sharpness is all about personal choice. Cameras don’t have to have added sharpness and having sharpness set to the lowest value just means there is as little extra sharpness added to the image as possible per that camera. Doesn’t mean the image is softened or blurred in any way but gets you closer to the natural look of that sensor. If you prefer a sharper image you can of course add sharpness in pos but you don’t have to. You add as little as you need to give you the pleasing look you are trying to achieve. For some people that is adding none at all. Others prefer that crystal sharp digital look and will add more in camera or in post. Shooting -5 in camera and adding in post may be kind of pointless however and you might as well just shoot in camera sharpness that fits your taste.
 
I have to shoot at a very sunny area, with sheer sun and earth colored red, without trees and without shaded areas and I don't have your experience but I know if you shoot a flat image decreasing the sharpness and contrast and you add them in post, then you will get less artifacts and the image looks cleaner. I'm undecided if I will shoot in "Cinelike D" or "Natural". It seems both are good for modifying colors in post production but "Cinelike D" has a better dynamic range, therefore it will be better. Right?
 
FoxAdriano said:
I have to shoot at a very sunny area, with sheer sun and earth colored red, without trees and without shaded areas and I don't have your experience but I know if you shoot a flat image decreasing the sharpness and contrast and you add them in post, then you will get less artifacts and the image looks cleaner. I'm undecided if I will shoot in "Cinelike D" or "Natural". It seems both are good for modifying colors in post production but "Cinelike D" has a better dynamic range, therefore it will be better. Right?
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Not really. The video is highly compressed and when you apply sharpness in post you are sharpening those compression artifacts. Sharpening in camera happens on the raw image and before video compression. It is rarely beneficial to shoot flat and add sharpness in post with highly compressed material. That isn’t to say it can’t be done but really you gain nothing by doing so besides the ability to change the sharpness after the fact. I typically know how sharp I want my footage and don’t need to play with it in post.

CineD may have a tiny bit better dynamic range but all the profiles besides v-log are considered 10 stop dynamic range profiles. Profiles are typically about a different baked in look and not so much about giving better quality. No manufacturer says hey let’s have a bad quality profile and a good quality profile and see what people want to use. All the profiles are equally good and come down to personal taste. V-log is the one exception because it strips out as much of the processing as possible and allows you to dial in the look in post. CineD is just a simulated look and a baked in profile.

It comes down to how much do you want to mess with color in post and ho close to real life color are you trying to achieve. Natural will give you a more realistic representation of how the world looks. CineD is more of a styled look and deviates a bit further from how our eyes see the world. It gives you more ability to play with the color in post but that puts more effort on your ability to grade. Same overall quality with a different approach.
 
Thomas Smet said:
It comes down to how much do you want to mess with color in post and ho close to real life color are you trying to achieve. Natural will give you a more realistic representation of how the world looks. CineD is more of a styled look and deviates a bit further from how our eyes see the world. It gives you more ability to play with the color in post but that puts more effort on your ability to grade. Same overall quality with a different approach.
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Your suggestions are PERFETC, I agree with everything you wrote without changing a comma. But here's the thing: when you are in remote african areas, where you are in the hot sunlight with your feet on the red earth and furthermore what you have to shoot are fleeting moments, sometime you will do something wrong with GH5, then you need to modify the colours in post production. I already know V-Log is the best option but I have the GH5 a for few days, I don't want to use V-Log now. I need to learn little by little. For this reason I have to choose a preset profile on GH5. Therefore which profile will give me a better chance to modify the colours (chromatism, etc.) in post production? Maybe is "Natural profile"? I make only documentaries in UHD about daily life of the peoples. Thanks for your suggestion.
 
FoxAdriano said:
Your suggestions are PERFETC, I agree with everything you wrote without changing a comma. But here's the thing: when you are in remote african areas, where you are in the hot sunlight with your feet on the red earth and furthermore what you have to shoot are fleeting moments, sometime you will do something wrong with GH5, then you need to modify the colours in post production. I already know V-Log is the best option but I have the GH5 a for few days, I don't want to use V-Log now. I need to learn little by little. For this reason I have to choose a preset profile on GH5. Therefore which profile will give me a better chance to modify the colours (chromatism, etc.) in post production? Maybe is "Natural profile"? I make only documentaries in UHD about daily life of the peoples. Thanks for your suggestion.
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Depends how much you plan on adjusting the color. Some will say CineD gives them more flexibility. They are all baked in profiles however. Just what kind of changes are you talking here? Like wrong white balance? Doesn’t matter even if you use V-log in those situations. You should always try to white balance as close as possible. If you find yourself shifting color that much in post you are doing something wrong. My wife is from South Africa and I go there a lot to shoot and even when I can’t manual white balance I will at least use the outdoor white balance preset to get the color close. Any profile allows you to do slight adjustments to color.

What is your intended look? Reality or a stylized look? The more stylized of a look you want the more CineD may give you a tiny bit of extra flexibility in post. If you want a more realistic look then I would suggest Natural and practice at nailing white balance or at least getting close. CineD requires too much fiddling to get to the same realistic look as Natural. It can be done but requires a ton of grading effort. Some feel as though CineD isn’t the best color and are never able to get the exact color out of that they want. There are some paid luts out there like Leeming that turn CineD isn’t a more accurate choice that include a set of press to get the color closer to how Natural looks. Maybe an option for you to look into if you feel CineD could provide more flexibility.
 
Thomas Smet said:
What is your intended look? Reality or a stylized look? The more stylized of a look you want the more CineD may give you a tiny bit of extra flexibility in post. If you want a more realistic look then I would suggest Natural and practice at nailing white balance or at least getting close. CineD requires too much fiddling to get to the same realistic look as Natural. It can be done but requires a ton of grading effort. Some feel as though CineD isn’t the best color and are never able to get the exact color out of that they want. There are some paid luts out there like Leeming that turn CineD isn’t a more accurate choice that include a set of press to get the color closer to how Natural looks. Maybe an option for you to look into if you feel CineD could provide more flexibility.
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I like natural colours but a bit saturated colors. But I know it is better don't modify colours if the look good. This is the old principle of the photography. Therefore I will shoot with Natural profile and if I have to modify the chromatism I will do it in some clips only. I don't have free time to make a white balance, I will use the white preset and I will evaluate if I can continue on this way. On the other hand it will be the first time I use the GH5 in my trips. I hope well. ;) Thanks!
 
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