SL2-S video - file format error? - or human error?

[LocalHero1953]

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I'm checking out the video of the SL2-S, and I can't read the resultant .mov files. Given my inexperience in video, this could be my fault, or misunderstanding.

The set up is to record 1080/60fps. My cards are Sandisk Extreme Pro 128Gb 300MB/s, and they work fine for stills recording.

The files record, and I can download them to my Windows laptop (built in card reader) or desktop (separate card reader). If I load them into Davinci Resolve, it shows only the audio track, and plays it, but no video. If I try to open them in the Films & TV app, it tells me its a format it can't read. Photos and Windows Media Player just lock up without showing anything. Windows Explorer can tell me the file details: resolution, frame rate, duration.

I've just recorded a short .mp4 file, and it plays in Films & TV, no problem.

I'm running these tests in parallel with the Sigma fp for similar recording format, and have no problems.

So, has anyone else encountered problems with .mov files? Successfully opened .mov files from the SL2-S? What am I doing wrong? 

[LocalHero1953]

Hmm.... "mov file imports to Resolve only as audio track" seems to be a common problem, is down to the exact codec in use, and should be soluble. I can see I shall have to do some reading. But if anyone can shortcut that process, I'd be grateful! 

[Stuart Richardson]

It is probably the recording format. Are you using the free version of Resolve, or Resolve Studio? If you are recording in an HDR format, the free version of resolve will not support it. You can still play and check the files on the camera, and using a program like VLC, but in order to edit in Resolve you need to buy the full version. In addition to those formats, it also supports noise reduction and more complicated video and audio effects. The whole list is at their site. It is not cheap, but it is a lifetime license, so you pretty much just need to buy it once, and in the long run it will be cheaper than Adobe etc.

[mrchlaurent]

You can convert the files to prores & they will work fine in the free version of resolve

[LocalHero1953]

6 hours ago, Stuart Richardson said:

It is probably the recording format. Are you using the free version of Resolve, or Resolve Studio? If you are recording in an HDR format, the free version of resolve will not support it. You can still play and check the files on the camera, and using a program like VLC, but in order to edit in Resolve you need to buy the full version. In addition to those formats, it also supports noise reduction and more complicated video and audio effects. The whole list is at their site. It is not cheap, but it is a lifetime license, so you pretty much just need to buy it once, and in the long run it will be cheaper than Adobe etc.

Yes, the free version. I've seen the same advice elsewhere. I was thinking of paying for the full version anyway, now that I find it (after the steep initial learning curve) a useful and powerful package. 

[LocalHero1953]

1 hour ago, mrchlaurent said:

You can convert the files to prores & they will work fine in the free version of resolve

I'll try that, thanks.

[Slender]

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Try using Kyno and see if it helps: https://lesspain.software/kyno/
 

[LocalHero1953]

1 hour ago, Slender said:

Try using Kyno and see if it helps: https://lesspain.software/kyno/
 

Thanks. My laptop struggled to run Resolve, so I now do video editing on a custom desktop with high end graphics card. It would still be useful to do some preliminary organisation and processing on the laptop - Kyno or similar might work well for that.

[LocalHero1953]

Thanks to @frame-it who has confirmed that this is neither a camera fault nor user error, but just that Leica's particular codec can't be read by the (free) version of Resolve. I have converted it (AVC Free) and can now read it in Resolve. I just need to sort out the best app and workflow for doing this on a regular basis.

[Photoworks]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Thanks to @frame-it who has confirmed that this is neither a camera fault nor user error, but just that Leica's particular codec can't be read by the (free) version of Resolve. I have converted it (AVC Free) and can now read it in Resolve. I just need to sort out the best app and workflow for doing this on a regular basis.

You still going to need Resolve studio if you turn of L-LOG in your camera.

[LocalHero1953]

11 minutes ago, Photoworks said:

You still going to need Resolve studio if you turn of L-LOG in your camera.

Can you explain a bit?

[Photoworks]

1 minute ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Can you explain a bit?

L-Log is the flat profile that require color grading and expand the control for exposure and color in video capture.

You probably used  color profile Standard, Vivid, or Natural. This are fine but you can recover less detail in blacks and highlights.

You probably should search for color grading log footage in DaVinci. Then you can see if you want to go there, there is a lot to learn .

[BernardC]

 

17 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

If I try to open them in the Films & TV app, it tells me its a format it can't read. Photos and Windows Media Player just lock up without showing anything. Windows Explorer can tell me the file details: resolution, frame rate, duration.

 

13 hours ago, Stuart Richardson said:

You can still play and check the files on the camera, and using a program like VLC

Agreed, VLC is the solution to your problem, as far as playback is concerned. Not only does it support the most video formats, it's also the easiest on system resources because it uses your GPU to decode video, instead of your CPU.

[LocalHero1953]

1 hour ago, Photoworks said:

L-Log is the flat profile that require color grading and expand the control for exposure and color in video capture.

You probably used  color profile Standard, Vivid, or Natural. This are fine but you can recover less detail in blacks and highlights.

You probably should search for color grading log footage in DaVinci. Then you can see if you want to go there, there is a lot to learn .

Yes, I understood that bit. But I can use LUTs in the free version of Resolve as well - it doesn't seem to be limited to the Studio version.

[Stuart Richardson]

Pretty sure it is just the free/Studio paywall. If your computer was not fast enough, it would probably still open the footage, just not run it well or just be stuck on the opening frame or crash etc. I had this exact issue with files from my S1 when I recorded them in HLG. I looked it up and it turned out to be the support issue above. They would open in VLC. I bought the Studio version and they work just fine. I am happy I bought it...the noise reduction features are also good and easier to use than NeatVideo or After Effects, which I was using before. I have the whole Adobe suite for work, but I still thought it was worth it to buy Resolve. Granted, I am just an amateur in the video realm, but it seems like Resolve is the best of all worlds for color correction and editing if you want an all in one program that still has great quality.

[LocalHero1953]

I had a similar problem back earlier in the year, and used VLC to solve it - I don't know why it didn't come back to me earlier*. It might have been when I first tried the SL for video - then forgot all about it when I switched to the Sigma fp as an easier system... and didn't reinstall VLC when I set up the desktop for editing.

 

* My brain and memory are still fine but the biodata restore system works on Amazon Glacier

[Photoworks]

43 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Yes, I understood that bit. But I can use LUTs in the free version of Resolve as well - it doesn't seem to be limited to the Studio version.

the MOV LOG file don't show up in the free version.

the is a quick edit keyboard that you can buy and the promotion will give you Davinci Studio 17 for free

[LocalHero1953]

1 minute ago, Photoworks said:

the MOV LOG file don't show up in the free version.

the is a quick edit keyboard that you can buy and the promotion will give you Davinci Studio 17 for free

Yes, I've seen that!