External Recorders and Superwhites at DVinfo.net

Matthew Wauhkonen · February 5th, 2013, 09:16 PM

I'm a C100 owner looking to add an external recorder, namely the Ninja 2...

The C100, like the GH2 before it, seems to bury a lot of information (a lot!) in the superwhites. When I view footage in quicktime player or import it using legal range, I get clippy highlights. When I import it using extended range (using 5DtoRGB) there is much more highlight detail.

I just want to confirm that external recorders take advantage of the extended range. Little point adding a prores recorder only to lose latitude over the built-in codec! This confuses me a bit, though, since the viewfinder and EVF appear to display the legal range image, and I assume an HDMI monitor would, too, so I have my concerns. Please allay or confirm them! Thanks!

Matt Davis · February 6th, 2013, 07:59 AM

Yes, Ninja and Pix and all the rest will record your SuperWhites.

5dtoRGB is great when you have time. Luckily, it's not to arduous to use SuperWhites in FCPX, PPro etc. Just need to know what do do. But if I had the time/budget or were working on my own film, I'd be using 5dtoRGB - the difference is subtle but enough to make time for it.

I blogged about this a while back - hope the info may be of some use:

Dealing with 109% whites – the footage that goes to 11 Travelling Matt

Hope this helps...

February 5th, 2013, 09:16 PM	#1
Matthew Wauhkonen Major Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 285	External Recorders and Superwhites I'm a C100 owner looking to add an external recorder, namely the Ninja 2... The C100, like the GH2 before it, seems to bury a lot of information (a lot!) in the superwhites. When I view footage in quicktime player or import it using legal range, I get clippy highlights. When I import it using extended range (using 5DtoRGB) there is much more highlight detail. I just want to confirm that external recorders take advantage of the extended range. Little point adding a prores recorder only to lose latitude over the built-in codec! This confuses me a bit, though, since the viewfinder and EVF appear to display the legal range image, and I assume an HDMI monitor would, too, so I have my concerns. Please allay or confirm them! Thanks!

February 6th, 2013, 07:59 AM	#2
Matt Davis Trustee Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 1,562	Re: External Recorders and Superwhites Yes, Ninja and Pix and all the rest will record your SuperWhites. 5dtoRGB is great when you have time. Luckily, it's not to arduous to use SuperWhites in FCPX, PPro etc. Just need to know what do do. But if I had the time/budget or were working on my own film, I'd be using 5dtoRGB - the difference is subtle but enough to make time for it. I blogged about this a while back - hope the info may be of some use: Dealing with 109% whites – the footage that goes to 11 Travelling Matt Hope this helps... __________________ Director/Editor - MDMA Ltd: Write, Shoot, Edit, Publish - mattdavis.pro EX1 x2, C100 --> FCPX & PPro6