Oh, and make the color gain 25, not 40. Tom Roper found that cranking the color like that introduces noise and 25 is almost as vivid as 40

Steven, I think you should post the settings again. Post #67 above is not correct, not just for the color gain should be +25 not +40 as you noted, but also the RGB gains are not the new ones. Matrix settings are the old ones also.

What you've created is beautiful.

Final settings for VIVIDRGB
 

Tom, I very much appreciate your help.

You can download the CPF file at the bottom of this post (It's currently called PRESET30.CPF but you can rename it to the preset number you want it to be on your card or camera).

Just so everyone knows what the final settings are:
Gamma: Cine1
Color Matrix: Normal
Color Gain: 25 (thanks, Tom)
Color Phase: 0
Knee: Low
Black: Middle
Master Ped: -5
Setup Level: 0
HDF: High (This can be "mid" if sharpness is 0)
H/V Detail: 0
Sharpness: 3 (adjust to taste)
NR1: Off
NR2: Off
Coring: 0
Red Gain: -2
Green Gain: -2
Blue Gain: -3
RG Matrix: 0
RB Matrix: 0
GR Matrix: 0
GB Matrix: 10
BR Matrix: 0
BG Matrix: -13

See below for four example shots of my kids on an overcast day and indoors with natural light to demonstrate how the preset handles intense red and skin tones.

The bottom two stills are a comparison of the DVX100B (with settings listed below) and the XHA1 (with the VIVIDRGB settings).

Here are the DVX settings for anyone interested. Everything is zero in the DVX settings except for the following:
Chroma Level: 4
Master Ped: -5
Gamma: Cinelike
Knee: Auto
Matrix: Normal
V Detail Frequency: Thin

For the bottom two stills, the XHA1 had the 1/32 ND engaged at F3.7 and the DVX had the ND 1/64 engaged at F4.8

Hi all !

This is a superb preset ! Great job.
I think it is the best for the moment. The most difficult was to keep neutral colours, and that was precisely what I was looking for and that I couldn't find with the other presets.
This could be renamed "NEUTRAL" !... I will put it as my CP1.
Maybe the black level could be set to "press" so that it would better match the DVX.

Thanks Steven, but how do you tweak your presets ? Do you use the Canon "console" software ?..

GC

The best all-around useful preset from this list, IMO, is Kodak, followed by the original Bleach Bypass by Juan (if you're shooting war, horror or bleak sci-fi/futuristic).

The old VividRGB turned everything I shot into a bad Disney cartoon colorwise, but I'll have to test the "final" version. That said, I'm not half the cameraman Disjecta is, and his results with the prior version of his preset (like that gorgeous dogwalkers in morning fog vid) are phenomenal...

Note: So far, the final version looks MUCH better!

Kodak? I don't recall that one

I think he's referring to one of two different presets that approximated a particular type of Kodak film. Look at the descriptions in the spreadsheet on the first page of this thread.

Oh yea... I didn't even think of those two. Thanks

Bill

So this preset looks pretty darn close to the DVX which I thought was the goal of the Panalook preset. Should this be called Panalook? How about a three way shot of Panalook/VividRGB and the DVX.

It looks like the DVX is crushing the blacks more than the A1. It favors the Canon to my eye. It seems the Canon could be getting a larger lattitude. It also appears that the blue in the sky and greens in the trees are darker on the DVX despite the fact that the white vehicles look closer to blown out on the DVX. This points to more contrast on the DVX (or less lattitude.) I like the fact that the Canon is resolving more shadow detail and higlight detail to my eye. I do large-fomat printing for a living so color comparisons are always interesting to me...

Has anyone shot video of a grayscale to determine if the Canon can capture a higher white to black lattitude. I already sold my DVX so I'm no good for comparisons.

-Jonathan

It's looking good (and pretty close to the DVX). There's definately a touch more red in the A1 image - look at the clouds in the lower portion of the sky to the left of the lampost. I shot some footage with the previous settings and noticed that it added a touch of red to skintones - which wasn't a bad thing for pasty Caucasian skin (adds a nice glow), but I didn't have anyone with olive, brown or black skin to test it out on.

I won't bother posting the grabs as the settings have changed since and I don't want to confuse the issue.

I'm still having difficulty understanding what exactly each of the matrix settings does. Can anyone enlighten me?

Just for the record, I've done everything I'm going to do regarding this preset. For those looking for additional tests, I suggest you do it yourself and post anything you find interesting.

With every preset comes a million opinions and, while this will look great to some, others will find things they don't like about it.

The purpose of these presets is to use them as a starting point and adjust the parameters to what works best for you. As for me, I love this preset and will be using it extensively.

Thank you Steve I also love this preset and will use it often. Also it help jump start me on diving into adjusting the presets of the A1.

Nice job Steven. Thank you for all your hard work. I will definitely be using this preset. While I was a long time DVX user and loved that cam I have no desire to emulate it with my A1. I'm looking forward to much greater things with the A1 than my DVX was ever capable of.

Thanks guys and please keep in mind that I did not develop this to look like the DVX or HVX, it was just a coincidence that they were so similar. This preset stemmed from people wanting more vivid colors in general.

Yep. Not sure which of the two Kodak filmstock presets it was. I only liked one and that's what I've been using as a general purpose preset for interiors/exteriors. It gives me vivid (but not too vivid) colors without going all wonky with the reds/magentas. Panalook was a close second to the Kodak but not quite as colorful, IMO, and since I only need one general purpose preset, Kodak wins. I am keen, however, to more extensively test the new and final version of VividRGB.

I've tested all the presets under various conditions indoors and out and found the best for my needs as an independent filmmaker are Kodak and Juan's original, silvery Bleach Bypass. Some of the others might be useful under certain conditions, but not often. Of course, everybody has different needs, so YMMV.

BTW, this preset library is a veritable godsend. I would never have figured out this stuff on my own, or at least not without wasting a ton of time when I could have been shooting instead. Even though I won't end up using most, just having been able to test and compare them against each other has been a wonderful experience.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed a preset!!! Looking forward to more!