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Any film makers with SL here?


meerec

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Using a gimbal when shooting solo is a PITA.  I think for the SL your best bet is to use the TL 11-23 and use as deep a DOF as the light allows.  

 

I was testing the SL over the weekend and put together a few quick shots.  I found the l-log fell apart bit when just using 8-bit so I'm going to stick the the standard colour profile but really happy with the 120p quality and OIS on the 24-90.  If the subject matter allows you can get some nice smooth camera movement in 120p by just moving the camera quickly which tends to minimise some of the handheld jitters.

 

https://vimeo.com/216265982

Edited by matnz
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yes indeed, 120fps is super forgiving for handheld shooting. 

some of the footage seems washed out. did you shoot L-Log? It is super easy to bring it back to life in Resolve.

 

 

Some of the shots were with l-log but I was testing using ETTR with l-log and found that the image fell apart to much when pulling the exposure back -hence some of the shots are a little low contrast to minimise this.  I think after playing around with l-log and various exposures I am mainly going to stick with the standard colour profile with contrast/saturation dialled down in 8 bit.

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The SL seems to have more resilience in its shadow tones than in its highlights, so underexposure rather than ETTR seems a better practice.  The Log profiles compress from both ends.

 

I agree. At ISO400 it seems to be better to underexpose in L-Log.

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It would be nice if Leica published a bit more information about l-log and how the curve is working.  Canon have published for c-log that middle grey should fall at 32%, black at 7.3% and white at 62%.  Arri Log-c, which seems to be a popular choice for a LUT to use with l-log has black at 15%, middle grey at 45% and white at 65%.  I have done a few very quick tests with l-log using a grey and black card -nothing very rigorous but just to get an idea of where l-log was sitting.  If I expose my Canon XC10 in c-log to 0EV with a spot meter on the grey card, then on the scopes black is 8% and middle grey 38%.  If I expose l-log to 0EV at iso200 using the spot meter, then black is sitting at 6% and middle grey at 70%!  This would seem to leave little range for highlights when exposing at 0EV, and also explains why some have found that when using an Arri Log-C LUT that the image becomes completely overexposed.  In l-log at -1EV, black is still ~6% and middle grey is 60% and at -2EV, black is 0% and middle grey 40%.  At -2EV the shadows seem quite compressed and some of the shadow detail is lost, and there is more noise.  

 

I have also tried ETTR and seeing if you can pull the exposure down as this helps reduce noise, but in 8-bit not surprisingly the image falls apart too much, you might do better in 10bit.

 

So, I think underexposing from -1 to -1.5 EV, depending on how much highlight or shadow detail the scene has, is probably the best bet albeit at the expense of more noise.

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Well, this is how I look at it. There is color correction, and there is color grading. I would not mind using a LUT for correction, just to get perfect WB and contrast, but for grading everything needs to be done manually, of course. 

The problem is, even though using this SONY S-Log3 LUT gives almost perfect results, the final output never matches the graded timeline. So, what I do is apply the LUT temporarily, just to see how the scene is supposed to look when perfectly balanced, take a reference screen shot, and then remove the lut and correct manually.

 

I agree about separating colour correction and colour grading.

 

I do all colour correction work in FCPX using the same tools I mentioned earlier. Then continue on with colour grading. In either, applying LUT isn't needed. If you are processing RAW stills in LR you don't apply any "filters" or presets for colour correction, do you? I don't. Same applies for colour correcting video.

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I agree about separating colour correction and colour grading.

 

I do all colour correction work in FCPX using the same tools I mentioned earlier. Then continue on with colour grading. In either, applying LUT isn't needed. If you are processing RAW stills in LR you don't apply any "filters" or presets for colour correction, do you? I don't. Same applies for colour correcting video.

 

Using a LUT for color correction is not like using a filter, more like a custom preset while importing in Lightroom. For instance, most of my work for Detroit Opera House is in B&W, and when I import their shoots, I use my own custom preset with high micro-contrast and then work off it with each shot. Same with DaVinci Resolve Studio: I apply a LUT to L-Log footage to see how much I screwed up and work off that. It is even more useful than with DNG pics, as L-Log looks nothing like the scene while shooting due to low contrast and saturation.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just discovered that SL does not want to do wifi when connected to an hdmi recorder and vice versa. I doubt that this is beyond hardware capabilities.

 

This is a nuisance, as using an iPhone to trigger recording without disturbing the camera would be super useful. It can be done without the monitor, but what if I want my 10-bit? :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Picked up some tips on this thread.

 

Definitely going to try underexpose a little next time I use L-Log

 

What are you guys using in terms of Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation settings?

 

I find that the clips are way too bland when I apply a LUT to them (compared to my Canon 5D MarkII flat profile footage). But maybe that's due to it being exposed 'properly' rather than a little bit under.

 

Also anything over 800 ISO for video is not usable!

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Contrast, sharpness and saturation settings are not applicable to L-Log. Also, when shooting via HDMI, noise reduction is not applied at ISO800 and above. The footage will be grainy, but it is a pleasant-looking grain. However, you have to be spot on with the exposure (considering the necessary underexposure, of course) to avoid nasty looking horizontal banding. This banding, to a degree, can be taken care of in DaVinci Resolve Studio. Noise can be fully eliminated.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have switched from Sony to using the Leica SL for my still and video projects. I am a long time Leica M shooter and although I don't currently have an M body, I couldn't sell the lenses. I find the external 10 bit signal to the Atomos Assassin is lovely with much better colors than anything I could produce with a Sony A7s. I have usually avoided L-log, and am very happy with the contrast and saturation turned down. A few minor color corrections in Final Cut Pro and I am done.  I have been using Leica M lenses (24,28,35,and 50mmm) for the last six months, but recently received a used Vario 24-90 that I will be using in the future, especially for filming on a monopod.

 

Here is my rig, shooting an educational video for my wife (a school teacher). The external audio connector is attached to a wireless receiver and is hidden to the side and taped to the cage. I wish Leica had designed integrated sound in and out ports like everyone else, but on a rig the extra adapter isn't that big a deal. This cage is the Walimex Pro from Aptaris, size XL which works nicely.

 

 

 

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Edited by TealWayFilms
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How strong and clean is your audio?  I presume you are recording it into the camera through the audio adapter, which unfortunately doesn't seem to let you monitor while you record.  I haven't gone to external HDMI recording yet, but I found I needed a preamp to get good sound into the camera, to provide phantom power to condenser mikes, and to permit monitoring.  The latest of these, Pre3Digital, also lets you record to a separate chip, lowering the noise floor still further and eliminating the cameraman's breathing.

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Here is a front photo of the cage. Yes, it only wraps around one side of the body, but there are plenty of places to attach gear. You can see the arm that holds the Atomos recorder, and the Rode wireless receiver which attaches to an included cold shoe. I actually like this style as I can still get to all the camera controls easily.

 

The Leica adapter AA-SCL4 has 3.5mm input and output sockets. I attach the wireless receiver to the input, and headphones to the output, no problem. I find the sound output excellent, certainly as good if not better than the Sony A7s. 

 

Michael Rivers

TealWayFilms.com

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  • 4 years later...
Am 4.5.2017 um 12:14 schrieb meerec:

I use FCPX with plugins of FilmConvert and Grading Central and I have the whole colour grading in full control.

Even if the entry was almost 5 years ago, which Filmconvert camera profile do you use for the SL2? I also have a license but it needs a lot of time to try all of them to find the right one. Best regards, Ronny

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