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After updating to the latest nightly build today, I also installed the newest version of MLVFS and decided to do another body cap ISO test (see the video description for more details):

https://vimeo.com/157694455

I'm not convinced that changing the boxes in the web interface is doing anything. The clips with "Bad Pixel Fix" checked don't seem to be any different than those without it. What am I doing wrong? I restarted Resolve after making the changes to the web interface so that they would take.

Neat tip. I'm using it in conjunction with "slightly sharper" Digic Peaking (but I don't usually shoot slow motion).

I'll try that (I am using Resolve 12). Thank you.

@mothaibaphoto

I looked it up, but I still don't get it.

@arrinkiiii

I have CineLog, but as I recall that didn't play nicely with the FilmConvert ARRI LOG C settings either.

I have been trying to convert my footage to LOG (either BMD or ARRI color managed) and then applying the corresponding FilmConvert setting (treating it like a LUT), but that's not giving me good results at all. I get an extremely underexposed image with that workflow.

I'm just curious what has been working for other shooters!

Properly graded raw from the 5D3 looks a lot nicer to my eye than anything I've seen from the GH4. But if sharpness if your main concern, the GH4 will probably give you a sharper image. Part of the appeal of Canon ML raw is its softness.

I'd be more concerned about file storage. If you're just shooting a few clips to create a wedding highlights video, raw is probably fine. But if you are doing a full-blown video with comprehensive coverage, you're going to fill up a lot of cards very quickly.

I'm just looking for a good starting point for the grade that conforms to a common LOG color space and I think I'm getting better results with the Resolve 12 workflow in baldavenger's first post. There seems to be more color information in the skintones to work with than previously available options.

Oddly, I've never gotten FilmConvert's Log C settings to give me anything usable in that regard. The gamma always seems way off and correcting it introduces an unusable amount of noise. FilmConvert kind of presents itself as a library of LUTs, but maybe it's not meant to be used that way. But then why include LOG profiles at all? Anyone have experience with this?

Take a look:

ARRI Log C (Davinci YRGB Color Managed)


ARRI Log C (Davinci YRGB Color Managed) to Rec 709 (LutCalc settings from post #1)


ARRI Log C (Davinci YRGB Color Managed) to Rec 709 (BMD-supplied LUT)


ARRI Log C (Davinci YRGB Color Managed) to FilmConvert (Log C to KD 5207 Vis3)

http://www.eoshd.com/comments/topic/6411-bell-howell-16mm-anamorphic-lens/

Really, really good. Especially the high-concept "story" stuff. How long did you spend in pre-production for this?

You can convert the MLVs from the camera to CDNGs and then edit in Davinci Resolve Lite (which is free).

I'm glad to see that 1.13 is still being supported!

It seemed that the nightly builds lapsed after August 7th of last year, but I see that they are being generated again (though I am not sure when this started, since I stopped looking after a while). Have there been any significant improvements/refinements?

I haven't seen any moire yet on my 5D3 (recording raw on 1.13), but there has been a little aliasing on high contrast lines. Nothing to get too concerned about though.

Yes, at the end he talks about "genuine mathematical transforms"... similar to Cinelog? What new opportunities might this bring when used in conjunction with Cinelog? I know that there is no way of knowing how accurate these are without working with the program, but I'd be curious to hear what Andy thinks.

Imagine a camera...

Full-frame sensor
1080P raw internal recording
No moire
Great skintones
4:3 shooting mode
22MP stills
Weather-sealed magnesium alloy body
Canon EF mount
3.2" LCD screen
LP-E6 batteries
Affordable CF cards
Under 2lbs
List price of $2,500

Oh yeah, we already have it!

@Andy600,

Would you consider working with the folks at FilmConvert so that we have a CineLog preset in the next release?

If you're not doing multicam editing or retiming your footage, you could always just cut it in Resolve. The built-in editor isn't bad.

I use a SmallHD AC7 when recording raw. No problems so far, though I am still using 1.13. I wouldn't mind if it were a little smaller (I think that 5" would be perfect for this camera), but sometimes the extra real estate is nice -- especially when dealing with the super shallow DOF of the 5D. It also has a useful anamorphic scale mode if you ever shoot with those lenses.

Thanks, Danne. I pushed the ML raw footage quite a bit to get it to match (somewhat) the other two cameras. But the ML skin tones were a lot closer to where they needed to be post-Cinelog than either of the other two cameras.

Thanks, Andy. This is interesting stuff and with your help it is starting to make more sense to me.

How does the 5D Mark III with ML raw stack up against a couple other popular cameras? I had an FS7 for a few days and compared the footage with that from my C100 and of course my 5D Mark III. I thought that it might be interesting to some here:

https://vimeo.com/119093979

Details are in the video description.

Do you prefer the Nikkor AIS 50 1.8 over the 50L 1.2? (Videography wise)

I can't comment on the Canon 50mm f/1.2 because I have only ever used the f/1.4 and f/1.8. But I tend to stick to my Nikkor AIS prime set whenever I can.

Remember, our BMD Film colorspace model is reverse engineered because Blackmagic don't publish it - It is 'nearly' perfect.

This might be a dumb question, but is it possible to reverse-engineer the color coming straight out of the Canon cameras with ML raw (perhaps even on a camera by camera basis)? Could Cinelog be applied to ML raw footage directly, removing the slight variable that is the BMD Film color space?

I went back and replaced my RawMagic DNG folders with the MLVFS mounts, and that seemed to help. I followed the suggested Cinelog workflow, creating color-balanced ProResHQ files and then bringing them back into Resolve for a grade. I feel better about these colors (I did push the hue on the ML raw footage to more closely match the other footage; the color differences are too jarring otherwise):

https://vimeo.com/119093979
PW: cine

The thing about Cinelog is that I find it to be a very good starting point for a grade. However, the transfer LUTs are perplexing to me. For instance, taking my Cinelogged ProResHQ files and applying a transfer LUT to S-Gamut3.Cine/SLog3 does not yield results that look anything like the actual S-Gamut3.Cine/SLog3 footage that I have in the same project. And I do own a C100, so I can see a use for using a transfer LUT to map ML raw footage to Canon Log. But there are at least three to choose from. Without knowing what is what, I find myself just clicking through LUTs until I find one that doesn't skyrocket or bury the exposure.

I am looking into the possibility of investing in an FSI monitor. As Andy suggested, I suspect that my not having one is adding to my confusion as I try to figure this out.

Thanks again for a thorough explanation. Point well taken on the ACES color space not looking so great on my limited-spectrum iMac monitor. I will download those charts and have a play after work.

Just to clarify, is MLVFS a good alternative to RawMagic when it comes to working with Cinelog (turns out that the newer version embeds audio)? Taking into account the latest developments, could you perhaps provide a list of 'Recommended' vs 'Not Recommended' MLV conversion apps for Cinelog users?

Andy, as always I appreciate the quick and detailed response. I get frustrated with CineLog sometimes because I know that I am not using it correctly, and then I try to follow your advice and end up getting weird results like this:



Starting in BMD Film color space (not 4K; highlight recovery on)
First node: BMD Film to CineLog-C LUT
Second node: CineLog-C to ACES LUT
Third node: Linear to Rec.709 LUT

I did use a gray card for color balance in there somewhere using the Camera Raw Clip Decoder Settings... should this be taking place in a certain node?

My MLVs are going through RawMagic. I remember reading your recommendations for some of the other programs because they preserve the color temperature camera metadata, but the last time I checked, they don't sync up audio the way that RawMagic does. I also have MLRawViewer, but I got some weird artifacts around burned highlights so I stopped using it. Is this where the disconnect is?

Finally, I did use a display LUT to transform the CineLog-C footage to Rec.709 because it was the only place that I could find that transformation LUT. I also tried it with CineLog-C to CineLog Universal Film Rec.709 (both FULL and LEGAL) and got pleasing, but very saturated and surreal colors.

@Andy600

I tried to take my 5D3 raw footage back to Rec.709 in the most direct and faithful way possible for a camera comparison, and I used BMDFilm > BMDFilm to CineLog-C > CineLog-C to Rec.709. But this really doesn't look right to me:

https://vimeo.com/119093979
PW: cine

Any suggestions?