Detail Settings with cinema lens adapters and possible film out...
 

Now I've owned a Letus35 adapter and this comes from using that...

On my HD110 i've shot some footage (stock lens) with the detail set to normal or even +1 for a Chroma key test I shot and it wasn't unpleasingly sharp, kinda looked good for that application... That got me thinking, when I buy the new Letus35 thats coming out soon, would it help to keep the detail settings to normal considering the softness that occurs with a ground glass in front of the sensors?

It seems that people set their sharpness settings to MIN or OFF because when they shoot subjects they look quite sharp and "videoy" with the STOCK lens. But once you have a 35mm lens adapter (mounted directly to camera without stock lens, or on front of stock lens) some softness occurs due to the ground glass.

Has anyone done tests with this to show the differences between the two? In my own thought experiment, it would seem wise to keep the detail to normal considering the slight softness that will happen with GG devices anyway... Is there any good information to back this up or oppose this thought?

The second part would be doing a film out. Lots of people talk about how softness and degradation of a 720p happens when blown up and printed to 35mm positive film for projection... If you're using the stock lens for some limited amounts of shots in a feature, and you are considering doing a film out later on, is it wise to keep the detail on normal, for keeping in mind the stretching and softening when blown up to 35mm ? Ultimately I know this will be hard to match shots done with the cinema lens adapter, but just for better knowledge on this if anyone has done this before, would be great.

I'm curious to see what you guys think about this.

We ran some quick improvised tests with Zeiss HS Distagons and Planars on mini35 vs. stock lens before xmas.
We simulated difficult indoor lighting conditions
Didn't change the detail setting though,
but if you'd like I'll put up the Zeiss vs. stock lens sequences.

Giuseppe, when I used the Mini35, similar situation, ground glass, with a Cooke cine zoom we kept the detail at MIN and the image was perfectly sharp.

That would be very helpful to me, I plan on shooting a feature this summer using the new letus35 with Zeiss primes, I have a lot of testing to do ahead of me, but would love to see what you have.

Really? I very much do notice the sharpness drop from normal to MIN, i heard that this is actually a "Digital Sharpening" and adds some kind of visual noise... I have yet to do enough tests to see this, but already with the stock lens i noticed that at MIN it is softer and worrying about the sharpness suffering on a ground glass. I guess ill have to wait until i see someone elses footage, or wait until the letus comes out.

any luck with film outs? I've found very few information on actual HD100/110 film outs and their problems, its a mystery to me :-o

Paolo, what Cooke zoom was that? the 20-100 T3.1 ? We were actually afraid it would bust the mini35 because of its weight and size so we didn't test it but later the vendor told us it would have been ok.

how do you use this lens ? exclusively tripod-mounted I suppose ? do you think it's usable for indoor concert scenes ?

Giuseppe, I'll put it up hopefully by next Monday

That was it. You will need a solid support but it's definitely OK. Here are a couple of shots of the camera setup:

http://www.paolociccone.com/ImageLin...ageline-07.jpg
http://www.paolociccone.com/images/imageline-06.jpg

I would also think that if I knew the material would end up on 35mm and I used a 35mm adapter, that some detail should be added. HD normally needs some detail boosting. Even the F900 when used for features like SW has the detail boosted. HD is not the same as SD. For SD you should avoid detail boosting like the plague, even if going to 35mm. HD actually benefits from some detail boosting.

Yes, Mini35 is perfectly capable of accepting fullbore zooms as long as you are using the proper support as you would with any camera. See here for some historical pictures with the 300 series Mini.

Any opinions on the detail setting issue Charles? You're pretty experienced with 35mm adapters.

Thanks, Paolo
takes some planning at rock concerts in small clubs ! did you use that only in studio or also on location ?

Ah yes thank you. I had a feeling that was likely, because a varicam guy I know told me eveything was slightly soft when he went to film. But he said it was tack sharp on his hd monitor. He wasnt using a 35 mm adapter so I can't think of how much softer it would be with one.

i second that question. Thanks :)

That was the only time I got to work with that setup, although I used setups that were bigger than that (XDCAM with Fujinon 10x10 comes to mind). If your concern is about the stability of the the rig I would say that it can be used with a fair amount of movement. It all depends on the support. The system didn't seem to flex of go out of alignment easily.

tweak sharpness in post?
 

My feeling is if in doubt, shoot with less detail processing in camera.
It would be a lot harder to remove edge and artifacts from too much detail, while post-production sharpening and/or edge enhancement should be just as effective (I suspect much better), and adjustable to your specific shots and final delivery format. Especially for a film-out project.
Correct me if I'm wrong - is there anything about the signal path or method of in camera detail that is inherently superior to post-proccessing or is it just time? I realize you wouldn't want to do this in a HDV workflow with re-compression to mpg2.

Sean, you are correct. The so-called "detail" is an edge detection function that creates an outline for high-contrast areas. It's fast because it's implemented in hardware and it uses the higher color resolution of the sensor but it's an artificial edge enhancement that adds noise to the image, reduces the amount of compression achievable and it's irreversible. The camera does not create blurry images with the detail set to off or MIN. You can add edge enhancement in post and in doing so you can take advantage of advanced tools like masking.

If you have access to a waveform monitor I suggest that you shoot a chart, even a print out of a 11-step grayscale pattern will do. Once you have the chart correctly lit and centered you will see the characteristic "X" shape. Now set the detail to off, take a snapshot and then turn the detail to 0 or +3. Even at 0 you sill see a lot of "fuzz" around each square. That is all noise. On the other side, lower the detail and you will see that each square look actually sharper.