2in1Q: Cinegamma-V, Cinegamma-D and/or Cineform
 

Friends,

I've got a HMC-150 and I am trying to achieve 'film look' to my footage (short movie [1080p/24p]). Looking at the 150's settings, I discovered two dynamic range settings called 'Cinegamma-V' and 'Cinegamma-D'.

The manual description of 'Cinegamma-V' is that is for video out and 'Cinegamma-D' is for film out.

Besides what the description suggest, what's the different between both? I surfed the web for answers and I couldn't find anything. Even Wikipedia doesn't have a good detailed description between both.

So, I was wondering if you can please explain me the difference with some more detail than just the manual's description.

I've also heard about Cineform. I went to wikipedia and to their website and learned they have all these different products:

neoscene
prospecthd
prospect4k
neohd
neo4k
neo3d
cineddr

My second question is: Do I need or want to use Cineform even tough I have 'Cinegamma-D' and 'Cinegamma-D' as dynamic range settings on my HMC-150?

If so,.. why?

And which one of their products then?

I am using Final Cut Studio.

Thank you very much in advantage!!

Kind regards,

Ben Tolosa

double post...deleted

Ben, the answer to that question depends on many factors. Best is for you to go to Cineform's website and see what all it does and maybe it'll answer your question:

www.cineform.com

Hi Stephen,

Thank you for your answer, but I went to their website previous to write this post and I couldn't find the answer of what I was looking for.

Specifically: Do I need to user Cineform is I user Cinegamma V or D from my HMC-150 in order to get 'film look' to my footage?


I'll appreciate an answer from you or anyone on that!

Thanks very much!

Kind Regards ^_^

Ben Tolosa

Ben, I guess it somewhat depends on what you mean by "film look". Are you refering to cinamatic like "coloration", or to the perceived "frame rate", or maybe to both? "Film look" is a pretty wide open term, but I guess most people use it to refer to both coloration and frame rate.

One advantage I see with converting any video you shoot to Cineform (without using any image/color-altering built-in "film look" setting on your camera), and using Prospect HD or higher for editing, is the ease with which you can set your desired "film Look" non-destructively (non permanently) by using the bundled "First Light" program.

Another is the ease with which you can convert video to different frame rates using the bundled HDLink program if desired. These are very powerful tools and all by themselves can give your video a simulated "filmic" look.

Maybe that helps a bit?

I see from your other post in the Panasonic AVCCAM forum that you're using FCP, so I guess the First Light option is out for you.

BTW, FL would give you EXACTLY what you're looking for, but would be more work if speed is important to your workflow.

Like I said earlier, it all depends on what you mean by "film look". Those built in "looks" in cams are like shotguns....one blast will hit something close, but could hit a lot you don't want.

For the panny cameras
think of cine d as dynamic range
cine v looks good out of the box but cine d gives you more latitude during grading ect

that's why cine d looks as if it has a grey wash over it...it has less contrast and is preserving some more detail in the highs and lows
so if you plan on grading,or modifying the look of your footage it's always best to use cine d gamma settings on the panny
if you just want nice picture and fast workflow....go with cine v as it should have a filmic look to it right out of the box (at least in panasonics opinion)

A workflow benefit of cineform with the hc150 is that the codec from that camera is crap
for any post work you would want to immediately get the footage either into a uncompressed file format or something like cineform
If you are happy with the look of the camera as shot, then you can edit away happily, but if you want to push the footage a little bit, your best to get out of that AVC codec that the camera is shooting