GL2 Red Push problem
 

Hi all,
I'm new to this forum and a recent owner of a GL2. I've bought it and tried it out of the box to get some impressions and I must say I am overall happy with it.

THe only think that I noticed and annoyed me quite a lot was that in normal conditions (i.e. not playing with custom presets) some hot red objects are over-saturated.

Its not that the videos are overall reddish like it was often reported for the xl1s, but it seems that only red objects (and not all of them but only some hot reds) are not represented correctly and you have to play with gain and phase in custom preset to soften the red tones, with the consequence that the overall video is less warm and sometimes the image still remains a bit reddish.

I dont have an image where I can show you this problem, but I recognize and can clearly see it in this pages of stills from bill hardy:

http://homepage.mac.com/bhardy3/PhotoAlbum29.html

If you notice the first three images for examples, they all have the reds pushed too high comparing to other colors.

You can see it even more clearly on the picture called miss nubian.jpg down below in the page.

I've read a report about a similar problem (also with blue tones) here:

http://www.gl1-411.com/forum/message.asp?MessageID=1473

also here:

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/html/reviews/techreview.php?rev=8

and you can see a red and blue push also in this parade footage by barry goyette (i think):

http://xm2.free.fr/documents.htm

(get the xm2 les couleurs footage).


Now the question: is this something anyone has ever noticed and more importantly solved in any way?

I really like the camera and waited a long time before buying it, I dont like the idea of sending it back.

Please try to shoot some hot reds if you didn't notice it so far, and play with custom presets and other settings in the camera to see if you can get rid of the problem (or even see it, it could be that some models shows it some not but I think its a camera problem).

Thanks

Davide

Davide

I'm not sure I agree with you that the gl2 produces overly "hot" reds...in my tests, the gl2 produced more accurate reds than either the xl1s or pd150, and the saturation was only slightly higher than the pd150, and about the same as the xl1s. In my experience, the gl2 produces a decidedly neutral image, that has slightly desaturated (and reddish)yellows, and slightly oversaturated purples.

Thanks for pointing out the french xm2 site. While the parade footage isn't mine (it's bill hardy's), several other clips and stills are mine, and essentially have been purloined from this (or my) site.

Anybody know how to say "get your filthy hands off my stuff" in french?

Barry

Welcome Davide
 

Actually, I know what you mean. Canon video cameras, in general, have a slightly warmer cast than Sony's which leans toward blue/green. My GL2 produces a fairly neutral image but is still given towards slightly over-staturated reds

Fortunately the "Color Gain" and "Color Phase" menu controls give you complete control over this. (P. 83 of the English manual) I generally keep my Color Gain set 1-click towards "G" (green) for the most neutral image.

Barry,
Actually it looks like most, if not all, of that French site's photos and clips are stolen! I recognize not only yours but several others from other members' collections.

I noticed the image in the viewfinder/LCD to be more "redish" then the actual image on the tape (seen on a TV screen).

As I've said before, as far as my outdoor shots go, I wish I had used the sunlight setting and not automatic; I see a considerable difference between the two as far as warmth of the shot. I haven't had a chance to post more outdoor pics with sunlight setting but I plan to.

...Hey! Those French stole both my "Parade" and my "Highway at night" movies! News flash mo-na-mee, its GL2, not XM2!

"buddy1065", I'm glad you posted!

We are in the process of filing a formal complaint with that site on behalf of our members. I knew that the parade shots belonged to one of our members but couldn't recall who.

BTW, as you may have seen, we're eliminating all anonymous handles by month-end. Please either contact Chris Hurd (chris@dvinfo.net) or me via email with your name so that we can update your profile asap.

Thanks!