VLog-L color space

D

DefX

Member
Having HDR in mind I am wondering whether the DVX200 covers BT.2020 color space in Vlog-L.

Or in other words, is HDR possible in VLog-L?
 
V-Log uses the V-Gamut color space which is actually a bit larger color space than Rec. 2020. This is described in the Panasonic V-Log PDF:
http://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/varicam/common/pdf/VARICAM_V-Log_V-Gamut.pdf

I believe V-Log L also uses V-Gamut for its color space (although I'm not sure if this was ever officially confirmed). Now what percentage of that color space the sensor and camera is actually able to capture is not clear. I would guess that the DVX200 is capable of capturing less of the V-Gamut color space than the higher end VariCam, but beyond that its hard to say.

I think there are very few (if any) cameras that are currently capable of capturing all of the Rec. 2020 color space (even if they record in that color space directly). And even if you could capture all of Rec. 2020 there are very few display technologies that are capable for reproducing all of the Rec. 2020 color space for viewing. I think only very high end laser projectors can come close to achieving this. Even the best TVs are currently only capable of a fraction of Rec. 2020:
http://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/picture-quality/wide-color-gamut-rec-709-dci-p3-rec-2020

So far, most of the activity in HDR has focused on capturing and displaying a wider range of brightness values. So more than the 6 or so stops of brightness that are available in Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) imaging. And technically that is what High Dynamic Range is referring to (the range of brightness values). The broader color space is sometimes called Wide Color Gamut (although this is often lumped together with HDR).

Since the DVX200 is capable of capturing 12 stops of dynamic range when recording V-Log L it certainly could be used to capture footage intended for viewing on an HDR-capable display.
 
I´ve found nothing about the color space of VLog-L on the web and I think that you are most probably right.
When switching to HDR on my Inferno I can see an extended dynamic range but the colors are becoming reddish and unnatural especially in the shadows. That becomes more obvious the more you turn up the nits.
I´m not sure whether it is an issue of the Atomos or the DVX200.
 
I'm not sure that the LCD screen on the Atomos Shogun Inferno is capable of producing colors beyond the Rec. 709 color space. The specifications listed for the screen on the Atomos website just list color gamut of the screen as Rec. 709. So even if the DVX200 is outputting a wider color space (like V-Gamut), you may not be able to fully monitor this larger color space on the Inferno. Since the Inferno screen goes up to 1500 nits of brightness, you can monitor more stops of dynamic range using it, but to see any broader color space you may need a different monitor.

Given that almost no displays are capable of reproducing Rec. 2020 yet (even Sony's $18000 BVM-X300 reference monitor is only capable of reproducing 80% of Rec. 2020), this wider color space definitely seems like more of a down the road thing. The Ultra HD Premium TV designation specified by the UHD Alliance requires that TVs be able to reproduce at least 90% of the DCI-P3 color space (which is larger than Rec. 709, but still quite a bit smaller than Rec. 2020). Given that DCI-P3 has been a standard for cinema projectors and hence a target color space for many movies, it seems like the P3 portion of the Rec. 2020 color space will be the likely target for consumer displays for the next few years.

I'm sure we'll get to full Rec. 2020 coverage eventually, but it may take a while.
 
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