4k Video Testing

[digitalfx]

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Im starting a clean thread for video testing per several requests.

 

Today I received a early version of the new SL to PL adapter. I have shot a very quick color test in LOG mode with a Shogun Recorder via HDMI. A few quick observations follow. I will try to do some more extensive and better planned testing next week. For now consider this a quickie

 

SL-PL Adapter:

Very simple and well made dumb adapter. Plain jane, offers no data...just a simple bayonet adapter directly from the SL's T mount to a PL bayonet mount. Securely locks to SL.

 

4K Recording:

1- 4K is limited to a APS-C crop of the sensor- hopefully this will be addressed with FW, it would be nice to use the full sensor.

2- Currently external 4K is limited to 3840 x 2160 at either 25 or 30fps...so no 4K at 24fps. This is a problem, hopefully it will be addressed in the next FW, otherwise the video functions are worthless in the US. If you set the camera to true 4k 4096 x 2160 at 24fps...the Shogun only sees a 1080P signal

3- The omission of a viewing LUT is a hinderance, and although it can be added in the external recorder, it would be better to have it available in the amazing EVF. Focusing in a small LCD is far less than ideal...not being able to utilize the amazing EVF just doesn't make sense. Without a viewing LUT its nearly impossible to focus the camera and judge proper exposure.

 

Ive uploaded a very quick test, not perfect but will give you a way to judge the LOG files for yourself. Others have reported that its impossible to grade the footage with this implementation of LOG. While Leica's LOG is different from others, it is perfectly acceptable and easily produces a nice contrasty image. Can it be improved?...I'm sure there is much room for improvement...more testing with real life subjects will be required, so I will reserve judgment for now, but its hardly impossible to grade this version of LOG. 

 

Camera settings:

ISO 400

M 1/60

4K- 3840 x 2160 30fps

.MOV 

 

Lens:

Leica Summicron-C 35mm f2.0 PL Cine Lens

Leica T-PL Adapter (prototype)

f4 to f5.6

Focus shifts from focus chart in rear to color chart in foreground. (7.5' to 10')

 

Atomos Shogun Recorder:

v6.5

ProRes HQ 10-Bit

4K UHDp29.97

Record trigger does not work via HDMI

 

The clip can be downloaded here- its a large file so be patient:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mnzzxuay45h5f9a/SHOGUN_S001_S001_T114.MOV?dl=0

 

Please be gentle, I did this very quickly before leaving for the weekend. I will try to set up proper tests next week. Don't get too excited, its just a still set with lots of color and highlights and shadows...I'll shoot some motion with real humans soon

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[rick_dykstra]

DFX, thanks for this test and report. When you're back and have a moment it would be really helpful if you could upload to, say, Vimeo, the finished product (or a link for downloading), for those of us who are only experienced with a Sony Handycam so far. I'm carefully considering the SL for stills and video, so seeing your end results would be most informative. Thanks. Rick.

[digitalfx]

Dropbox link in post above.

[Sully]

Many thanks Digitalfx,

 

I'm looking forward to your further tests.  We will be using the SL with the Shogun,  R zoom lenses and primes, but the 

Leica C lenses are the way to go for a proper feature video production.

 

Ciao,  Sully

[Paul J]

Thanks for info and tests, I will check them out. There were some reported issues with Log - though it's not clear if this is a pre-production issue. Is it still the case?

 

Log issue:

http://www.eoshd.com/2015/11/leica-sl-hands-on-first-impressions-review-from-a-video-perspective/

[Guest]

Thanks for info and tests, I will check them out. There were some reported issues with Log - though it's not clear if this is a pre-production issue. Is it still the case?

 

Log issue:

http://www.eoshd.com/2015/11/leica-sl-hands-on-first-impressions-review-from-a-video-perspective/

That was  suggested to be 8 bit problem not 10 bit external ... hope this will answer this for me prior to purchase.

 

Am downloading now.

 

Thanks Dfx.

 

Bob

[Guest]

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Im starting a clean thread for video testing per several requests.

 

Today I received a early version of the new SL to PL adapter. I have shot a very quick color test in LOG mode with a Shogun Recorder via HDMI. A few quick observations follow. I will try to do some more extensive and better planned testing next week. For now consider this a quickie

 

SL-PL Adapter:

Very simple and well made dumb adapter. Plain jane, offers no data...just a simple bayonet adapter directly from the SL's T mount to a PL bayonet mount. Securely locks to SL.

 

4K Recording:

1- 4K is limited to a APS-C crop of the sensor- hopefully this will be addressed with FW, it would be nice to use the full sensor.

2- Currently external 4K is limited to 3840 x 2160 at either 25 or 30fps...so no 4K at 24fps. This is a problem, hopefully it will be addressed in the next FW, otherwise the video functions are worthless in the US. If you set the camera to true 4k 4096 x 2160 at 24fps...the Shogun only sees a 1080P signal

3- The omission of a viewing LUT is a hinderance, and although it can be added in the external recorder, it would be better to have it available in the amazing EVF. Focusing in a small LCD is far less than ideal...not being able to utilize the amazing EVF just doesn't make sense. Without a viewing LUT its nearly impossible to focus the camera and judge proper exposure.

 

Ive uploaded a very quick test, not perfect but will give you a way to judge the LOG files for yourself. Others have reported that its impossible to grade the footage with this implementation of LOG. While Leica's LOG is different from others, it is perfectly acceptable and easily produces a nice contrasty image. Can it be improved?...I'm sure there is much room for improvement...more testing with real life subjects will be required, so I will reserve judgment for now, but its hardly impossible to grade this version of LOG. 

 

Camera settings:

ISO 400

M 1/60

4K- 3840 x 2160 30fps

.MOV 

 

Lens:

Leica Summicron-C 35mm f2.0 PL Cine Lens

Leica T-PL Adapter (prototype)

f4 to f5.6

Focus shifts from focus chart in rear to color chart in foreground. (7.5' to 10')

 

Atomos Shogun Recorder:

v6.5

ProRes HQ 10-Bit

4K UHDp29.97

Record trigger does not work via HDMI

 

The clip can be downloaded here- its a large file so be patient:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mnzzxuay45h5f9a/SHOGUN_S001_S001_T114.MOV?dl=0

 

Please be gentle, I did this very quickly before leaving for the weekend. I will try to set up proper tests next week. Don't get too excited, its just a still set with lots of color and highlights and shadows...I'll shoot some motion with real humans soon

May I ask where you found the PL adapter and how the battery life is with 4K ?

 

TIA

 

Bob

[digitalfx]

Thanks for info and tests, I will check them out. There were some reported issues with Log - though it's not clear if this is a pre-production issue. Is it still the case?

 

Log issue:

http://www.eoshd.com/2015/11/leica-sl-hands-on-first-impressions-review-from-a-video-perspective/

 

Yes, I saw this and this is why I did my own test.  I think that footage was overexposed causing some of the issue he reported. I exposed my shot to the highlights and then where the camera wanted...you be the judge. You will need to be able to import this into Resolve or a similar application and see if you can grade it. I didn't have any troubles.

 

May I ask where you found the PL adapter and how the battery life is with 4K ?

 

TIA

 

Bob

 

Bob,

The PL came from Leica, the production model will begin shipping at the end of January. RE: Battery, I haven't had enough time shooting video yet to know. This is really the first 4k I've shot and I only had a few minutes to do the test. I'll report back later on battery life, but I suspect it will be decent.

[rick_dykstra]

For those about to download the video sample digitalfx kindly prepared, it's a 5.99GB file. I'll kick that off early tomorrow morning when the internet is faster 'round here. 

[John240p]

Thanks for this DFX, downloading down to have a play in Premier Pro.

Cheers,

John

[rick_dykstra]

Dropbox link in post above.

 

Just a quick check before I start the big download again - has this video 'footage' been graded by you so it looks like a finished product? Or have you provided footage for us to grade for ourselves? I don't know how to do the latter (though I'm sure I could learn), hence my question. If the latter, any suggestions on where to start? Thanks.

[digitalfx]

it is a raw 10-bit LOG file straight out of the Atoms Shogun recorder. The file is encoded ProRes...untouched. Needs to be graded. The purpose is to demonstrate the amount of latitude Leica's LOG file will give you.

[rick_dykstra]

I have Final Cut Express but only know the basics. Any clues on whether I can use it to grade the file?

[digitalfx]

you can use any application that has basic color tools. FC does.

[psss]

thanks so much for doing this! i did another couple of tests but never got to use an external recorder....

the sensor can produce some of the cleanest files i have ever seen, the low base iso definitely helps, but the DR is very limited, 10bit looks a little better then 8bit but highlights still clip fast and hard...i would put it in the 4K black magic range....

i did some head to head SL with A7rII (always 8bit anyway) 4K and although the SL is much cleaner, the sony has a clear advantage in DR....as long as one does not underexpose in slog2, the sony video files look better to me.....i wish they would put in slog3 with the next fw update...

[rick_dykstra]

Has the limited dynamic range issue been corrected by Firmware update 1.2?

 

Does anyone have new video tests to share, perhaps comparing 4:2:2 with 4:2:0.

 

Thanks.

[Steve Spencer]

The firmware supposedly addressed the low DR in Log issue, but I haven't seen samples or even reports of how it performs now.

[digitalfx]

2160P limitation on Atomos Shogun is a limitation of the Shogun itself not the Leica SL. I am told the Convergent Design 7Q+ works fine in full 4K with the SL. I have not tested it yet but will soon.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[digitalfx]

Just to clarify the note above. The Shogun does not support full 4k via HDMI, so you are limited to Leica's UHD settings which for some reason omit 24fps. So if you own a Shogun, your options are limited to 30fps...which is of no use.

 

Quite frankly in my limited testing I doest see a huge advantage in quality compared with the internal 8-bit recording that would justify the added size and inconvenience of hauling around an external recorder. I will try to do more extensive testing, but the difference between the internal 8bit vs external 10 bit seems to be marginal at best.

 

This is an excellent review and mirrors my finding so far:

https://www.cinema5d.com/leica-sl-review-part-2-lab-test/

 

Overall the quality of video from the SL can be very nice for a compact camera, but the challenges of getting the correct exposure and focus are real. 

[rick_dykstra]

Thanks for this news DFX. Perfect timing - I'll be doing some testing tomorrow. Will look out for the dynamic range issue. Having read the review you linked to (thanks) I must say I'm a bit confused. On one hand I keep reading reviews saying the SL's DR is terrible, then on the other I see reports that the final output looks great. What to think? My problem is I'm not experienced enough with high end video to be able to spot a problem if it is apparent - hence my interest in your views and those of other videographers.