Picture presets

[Lee Mullen]

Is there any site where I can download them or view? thanks

[Chris Hurd]

AF-100 owners are encouraged to post their picture presets as downloadable
attachments right here on the forum. Surely we have some members who are
willing to share theirs? Just click the "manage attachments" button when
making a reply. Thanks in advance,

[Nate Haustein]

Hi Jalan, here's a few that were made by Andy Shipsides from AbelCine:

AF100 Scene Files Created by AbelCine | CineTechnica

After testing a bunch of these, I like a slightly modified "5Dmk2" preset for lit projects that is tuned slightly to my taste.

I also really like the preset used in the short film "Snow," by Sean Bloemer. More helpful in lower light and "film" applications. You can see the film here: https://vimeo.com/18620886

Settings for "Snow" were:
Operation type: Film Cam 180.0d
Gamma: HD Norm
Knee: Low
Matrix: Norm 2 (The least noise by far)
Color: -3 (All other settings left at 0*)
DRS: Off
ISO: 400-1600
Both detail and v detail dialed to -7

I hope some others post their presets here as well, camera settings can be confusing at times!

[Lee Mullen]

Awesome thank you.

[Olof Ekbergh]

Here is the PP I have settled on:

Film Cam
Detail Level -4
V Detail Level -4
Detail Coring -3
Chroma Level -2
Master Pedestal -2
Gamma HD NORM
Knee LOW
Matrix NORM2

Works well for me best compromise between banding and noise. Also make sure you keep skin highlights below 80 or they tend to turn ugly yellow as the red channel seems to clip first. I expose most skin at 60-75.

[Chuck Fadely]

I just got an AF100 and am trying to set it up. I'm finding that the initial white balance is critical when you're setting a profile.

I'm starting to think I'll need to set it up outside in sunlight with the preset color balance. I've tried setting wb on several different white cards and different wb sources, and even though they're the same by eye, it changes the results more than you'd think. My first attempt was with daylight flo lights which of course turned people magenta outdoors. You definitely need a Macbeth color chart or similar. The gamma and matrix settings change the relationships of greens and magentas a lot so you need to watch those and have a good color chart to work from. It's a real dance between gamma, matrix, and the different cine v / cine d settings.

And what you see on a calibrated monitor out of the cam won't necessarily match what ends up on the timeline.

This is more complicated than I thought but I can see why so many profile examples have banding and blocking because it's easy to get things out of whack - but I don't think it needs to be like that. Pretty much any setting in the right ballpark looks good out of the camera - the question is how accurate it is.

[Olof Ekbergh]

Originally Posted by Chuck Fadely

And what you see on a calibrated monitor out of the cam won't necessarily match what ends up on the timeline.

Chuck, what do you mean by this?

Are you saying that the direct out of the SDI from the camera is different that the in camera compressed files? I have not found this myself, I mostly use a NanoFlash on the AF100 at 50 or 100mb/s, this reduces the compression artifact a lot, but does not really change the color, and it does allow for more CC in post w/o the image falling apart.

Or are you saying that it looks different on your computer screen?

I always edit on a system with a SDI pro monitor for CC and external scopes as well. The only exception to this if it is for WEB only.

You are right about WB. I always white balance for every shot. I usually use a true white card, but sometimes I use "warm cards", but I don't change my profile, for different light situations. When shooting in a theatre/concert I often use a 3200K preset, as it can be very hard to white balance in those settings, and they are still mostly based on tungsten lighting.

I really find that I get true whites and skin tones with my settings as long as I white balance in any light, tungsten, LED, fluorescent daylight or 3200K, or natural light, outside or inside. Mixed light can be tricky, but this really becomes a question of how to light properly. And lighting really is the key to making any camera look good, that is proper use of natural/artificial light and reflectors, flags, diffusers etc.

[Chuck Fadely]

I edit on Final Cut so have to put up with Quicktime gamma differences.

[Olof Ekbergh]

Chuck, so how do you monitor.

I use Matrox MX02 and AJA Kona cards with FCP7 and Media100 and now even with FCPX.

I never trust what I see on a computer monitor. The only time I use Mac or PC monitors is when I deliver for WEB and that is usually the last step. I always monitor on pro SDI monitors, and as a last step compress for WEB if I need to.

I always consider the real video monitors and external scopes to be the important and also consistent way to monitor and grade footage.

This may change in the future but for now in my mind it is really the only way to be consistent.

The nice thing about scopes and calibrated monitors is you know immediately if you have a problem with gamma and it is easy to correct. The new FCPX scopes are also very good in my opinion. Gamma shifts are a pain in computers and M100 has problems with this as well. You have to be very careful how you export footage. But by always including bars you can quickly figure out what is up with your footage, and correct it as needed using your scopes.

[Chuck Fadely]

Yes, exactly the point I was making - what it looks like on the timeline on a computer monitor isn't necessarily what it looks like. I use a BlackMagic card to monitor.