HD100 New Calibration with ChromaDuMonde DSC chart

[Marc Colemont]

After using the great TrueColor V3 settings made by Paolo Ciccione for about a year, I finally got the chance to buy a DSCchart HD ChromaDuMonde test chart for a good price, and to do some testing and calibration on my camera like Paolo advised on this site.

Because I noticed whenever I did live event jobs together with different camera's like the JVC GY-HD100 + JVC DV5000 /5100 my camera tended to like the reds more then the other camera's. With this chart I was able to 'see' it and to adjust it.

Here is a link with settings:

http://www.mc-productions.be/HD100/C.../CamAlign1.htm

If you would like to try out the changes I did on my colormatrix, please feel free to do so, and let me know the results please. I would like to know if it's only my camera which has an offset or if there are slight offsets in general.

[Stephen L. Noe]

Try running the Panamatch file through your test if you get a minute.

[Tim Dashwood]

Originally Posted by Marc Colemont

my camera tended to like the reds more then the other camera's.

Paulo had adjusted the blue gain for version 3, taking it further away from the original DSC calibrated setting, but making the magenta and pinks render more realistically.
You should compare Paulo's V1 or V2 settings to see if you both ended up in the same ballpark with the DSC chart.

[Marc Colemont]

I will load the scene files the next coming days. Stephen you want me to dial-in the settings in the camera starting from the refenrence I have now to compare the latitude/colors? Or just load your scene file setting, and setup the DSC chart back between 0-100 RLE?

[Stephen L. Noe]

Marc,

Just load the Panamatch. I think you'll find that it has the reds reigned in. The V3 file and the Panamatch file are similar but the Panamatch pulls in the color saturation. I'm just wondering what you're results are compared to the rest of us.

Thanks Marc.

[Tim Holtermann]

I just shot some stuff with the V3 and thought it did a great job with lattitude and getting more than enough color. I found that shooting during sunrise or sunset when the color tends to be redish (warm) to begin with that it was a bit too much and constant white balance adjustments as the sun changed position was needed.

So under different conditions (and Paolo has said this), you need to tweak the V3 settings from time to time.

Color grading (correction) is almost always something I do anyway, so having to pull the color back a little in post is no big deal (at least you have it).

V3 is far better than the stock settings, but I think I'll experiment more with it to bring the reds down a bit more in camera.

[Marc Colemont]

Stephen,
I have load your scene file into the camera and measured the vectorscope on the ChromaDuMonde chart for you. Here are the read-outs:
http://www.mc-productions.be/HD100/C.../Panamatch.htm

Tim,
Like you suggested, I will load Paolo's V1 settings next to compare. Probably wednesday I have more time again.

Marc

[Stephan Ahonen]

Just a note, if you're looking for an exact calibration, look at your luminance chips a little more closely in the waveform monitor. There should be an exactly equal "gap" between adjacent chips. At the moment the white chips are a bit too close to each other and the black chips are too far apart. This can be fixed by tweaking black stretch and knee.

I have no idea if the IRE markings in the software are there for show or if they actually mean anything, but if it's the latter your pedestal might be a bit too high as well. I'm going to guess here that the chip in the very center is a "superblack" 0% reflectance chip and the black chips on the end are "video black" chips. The video black chips should go to 7.5 IRE. The superblack chip can end up below 7.5 IRE, ideally at 0.

[Marc Colemont]

Hi Stephan,

For the equal "Gap" I have seen this yes... putting the Knee @ 100%, and the Gamma level @ -4, made it equal.
But I guess Paolo did this to get more info out of the dark parts, to get more a cinematic effect.
Changing these parameters didn't change the colors, so I left it original from the V3 settings.
I think it's time for Paolo to jump here :-) Because he's the person who can reply on why these settings were set that way.
My only reason why I checked the calibration on my Chart was purely out of curiosity, how the same settings perform on multiple camera's, and to find the reason for the more Reds compared with other camera's I experienced.

[Jiri Bakala]

Originally Posted by Tim Holtermann

I found that shooting during sunrise or sunset when the color tends to be redish (warm) to begin with that it was a bit too much and constant white balance adjustments as the sun changed position was needed.

You know, white balance is an important feature that's certainly needed for news and other run-and-a-gun situations, which deal with mixed lighting. However, if you are shooting outdoors, and expecially in the morning and evening, white balancing will remove the natural beautiful warm hues and 'sterilize' the image. As the day progresses and clouds move in and out the lighting changes. That is how we SEE the world. Hence, it's not a problem if the image LOOKS warm in the evening because it IS. If one white balances the warmth out, the evening feel is diminished.

So, in the end it depends on what one needs to achieve; if it's shooting a continuous scene and one starts to "run out of light", white balancing might be necessary to maintain the skin tones. However, if the subject IS the change of light - as with a sunset - the colours SHOULD change progressively. In that situation, I would stick to a preset - or if you must - a white balanced setting from an earlier part of the day, and keep it there. Also, if the scene is an evening setting with characters walking outside, it is natural for the faces to be warmer than usual. Again, a preset might be a better choice.

[Stephan Ahonen]

To get that warmth back into your daylight scenes, hold your white balance card so it's *not* being lit by the sun, only by the sky. Tada.

[Jiri Bakala]

That wasn't the point. We all know how to 'cheat' white balance. The point is why to change the colour spectrum if you want to capture the nuances and differences between morning and mid-day, afternoon and sundown. It's like shooting film - load daylight film stock and go.

[Stephan Ahonen]

The color of the sky doesn't change significantly throughout the day even when the sun's color does. Doing a white balance lit by the sky is a good way to get a consistent white balance at any time of the day.

[Jiri Bakala]

That's not exactly true. The colour of the sky changes depending on amount of cloud and time of day. Regardless, my point once again is NOT to change the white balance throughout the day in order to keep CONSISTENCY and maintain colour nuances as they naturally appear.

Let's not turn this into an argument. I just shared my opinion on the way I shoot daytime exteriors. I find that white balancing is prevalent way of shooting news and most news shooters white balance all the time.

[Paolo Ciccone]

Originally Posted by Marc Colemont

I think it's time for Paolo to jump here :-)

Here I am. Just being extra busy finishing shooting El Papel (finished Pricipal Photography!) and editing it. Let me take a look at the the thread... :)