FS5 Picture Profiles

[John Gilmore]

I'm going to the Arctic for my first shoot with an FS5.

Unfortunately I've had very little time to learn the camera.

In particular, I'm shooting QFHD but, since I don't have a 4K TV, I haven't been able to compare the results of any of the different picture profiles.

So the question is: should I play it safe and not use a picture profile, maybe use PP1 or take a chance on PP3, PP6 or PP7?

I've already decided against PP7-9 as I won't be doing any significant post-production work for a while.

Has anyone had experience with picture profiles in this particular environment?

[Cliff Totten]

The FS5 with picture profiles "off" is ok but you will definitely not get much dynamic range out of the camera. Just go with a simple Cine gamma 1-4. They will give you more dynamic range than nothing at all and they wont require any real color grading in post. They look pretty decent right off the camera. I like Cine 4 for a "baked-in" look but the other Cine flavors are good too.

Try them out tomorrow inside and maybe in your back yard or something.. Just shoot a few clips of the same scene with different Cine gammas and pick the one you like. Later, you can start getting into knee, black levels, black gamma and lots of color recipes. There are a million on the web you can copy too.

I have many Sony cameras and I usually have similar settings programmed for all of them. On occasions when I switch the picture profiles off, I always say: "Oh God,...no way" lol Those gamma knees and shoulders really help allot!

CT