Highlight recovery in Resolve?

[fatpig]

Hello again,
just learning Resolve and missing the Highlight recovery from ACR..

How can I bring down the highlights with the info from the original RAW file like I can in exposure mode?
I am talking about a feature similar to Adobe Camera RAW Highlight recovery mode.
So we can bring exposure up for shadow detail- and keep the detail from the .RAW in the highlights..

any way to do this? Only in ACR?

[nightvision04]

There's another way. 

For recovering highlights in a Resolve workflow, the best way is to convert your raw files to CinemaDNG and recover highlights while interpreting the footage.

Let's demystify this.

Step 1:

If you're using a mac, the best current option to convert RAW to CinemaDNG is using RAWMagic. Brilliant. Download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/tfur7aif2iic524/RAWMagic.dmg

Windows user? Use Raw2CDNG instead. Download it here: http://dl.phreekz.de/raw2cdng/raw2cdng.1.1.6.zip (If the link no longer works, go to http://www.phreekz.de/wordpress/2013/06/magiclantern-raw2cdng-cinema-dng/ - But watch out! IT'S IN DE LANGUAGE)

Step 2:

Use the conversion software to creat your CinemaDNG's. It's straight forward.

Step 3:

Import your cdng files into Resolve.

Step 4:

Go to the Color workspace. In the bottom left panel, click the movie camera button (Fourth from left).  This button adjusts "Camera Raw" settings.  Underneath is Master Settings pane.  Set the Decode Using to "Clip". Check the Highlight Recover box.

You also have a limited amount of adjustments (similar to ACR) such as color temp, tint, and exposure.

BOOM. You're ready to go wild.

[fatpig]

Hey nightvision04,

thanks for your effort!
If I do this it is similar to using Adobe Camera Raw for the exposure, and then using levels on the created TIFF in Photoshop-
it does not bring down the hightlight detail like the recovery slider in ACR -

See:
If I bring down the Exposure in Resolve, I can see the clouds defined clearly in my shot.
If I bring the Exposure up, I can see the actors better.

So, using the "upped" Exposure, if I try to bring down the highlights, It acts just like a jpeg.
Sky turns darker, but no detail is revealed. (no clouds, just grey, because of overexposure)-
Even though the "recover highlights" option is ticked.

Is this expected behaviour?

[nightvision04]

Can you post a download link for a cndg frame? I'll run some tests... If you turn exposure down do see any cloud definition?

The Shadow/Highlight recovery isn't as scalable as ACR with CinemaDNG/Resolve at the moment. Definitely a setback.

I find it's most helpful to start my grade from a BMCfilm setting within Camera Raw. Log importing helps your latitude right off the bat.

[fatpig]

You got PM.

[fatpig]

In the end it seems the color wheels are applied after the 3D LUT, and the curves are applied before.

So using curves, I could recover detail in the Highlights, that was clipped in wheels mode.

That seems to be the key.

[Andy600]

In the end it seems the color wheels are applied after the 3D LUT, and the curves are applied before.

So using curves, I could recover detail in the Highlights, that was clipped in wheels mode.

That seems to be the key.

You could apply the LUT to a second node and have full control with color wheels and/or curves in the first node?

[fatpig]

I did not get how to apply a LUT to a node instead of a clip. How do you do it? just rightclick the node?
//EDIT: Thanks, found it.