Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

Like anything, ya have to grab the 'right' tool for the job ...and different jobs require different tools. In my case, what I like about the X70 is:

1) 10-bit recording to meet specs
2) Ability to easily whip the cam out and generally be able to capture quick shots that could otherwise be missed.
3) ND filters
4) Good autofocus (and other 'auto' features when I need them)
5) Good steadyshot
6) XLR inputs and also mini-mic input when I need it
7) Easy zoom (easier than DSLRs)
8) Form factor (small size and ability to remove handle and lens shade for a 'normal' cam look).

All these features in a small package plus a 1" sensor make the X70 a really wonderful camera and a good tool for the kind of shooting I do most.

Then again, sometimes, using a DSLR-like cam, is the 'right' tool too, for low light shots and clandestine shooting. I really had my eye on the Canon XC10 or the Samsung NX1, maybe in the future...

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

Oh, and I should add, the S&Q feature is pretty darn cool too for easily being able to do fast motion video.

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

Well?...if you shoot a scene in rec.709 and the same one in SLOG-2. Yes the SLOG-2 will have more highlight detail and more dynamic range overall. However, when you grade/normalize it back to a rec.709 (so it looks pleasing) you are going to have to "choose" where to shift all that dynamic range. You might shift your highlights up to let them clip at the same point as your rec.709 highlights clip. Or, you can shift the mid-tones down and sacrifice your shadows instead.

In the end, you are still chopping off the dynamic range to fit that into rec.709 is a pretty way. (You just can't leave it SLOG-2 and deliver it)

So yeah,...you get "can" get the same result as rec.709's "baked-in" look but with SLOG-2, you always have the options in post as to what to save and what to sacrifice upon final grading and delivery. Rec.709 is a more destructive process and less forgiving. Once you clip something it's gone forever. In SLOG-2, you are archiving more of the image in flat way so you can expand it and decide later how to place it in your grade. (It's not raw but SLOG-2 is a bit less destructive than rec.709)

For speed, I make pre-graded templates that I drop in my SLOG-2 tracks. All I need to do then is tweak them for each scene.

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

If only someone could provide a 5 second clip with a high dynamic scene (harsh light and shadows in one image) with some different colours (like green gras and flowers) taken in slog2 and the same shot in a standard rec.709 profile and place the 2 raw files directly from the card online to download, now that would solve many questions :)

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

I can upload some shots for you this weekend. Until then, you can certainly find many SLOG-2 videos on YouTube and Vimeo.

SLOG-2's abilities are very well documented across all Sony cameras that have it.

Canon's C-LOG , Panny's V-LOG, Arri's LOG and Sony's SLOG, SLOG-2 and SLOG-3....they were all engineered to do something that rec.709 can do, which is hold 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13+ stops of dynamic range.

Believe them, they work wonders!

Gamma compression is the bomb! (if you have the time to work with them in post)

CT ;-)

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

Yes, but the one I find are not the ones I want :) I want 2 clips straight from the card, not a youtube and vimeo compressed one and even 2 seconds per clip would do just for colorcorrecting and dynamic range purposes. I believe in wonders once I can test and see it with my own eyes.

I use my rx10 a lot at weddings but it does blow out highlights easily, with that I mean extremer situations where you are shooting indoors and you are shooting against a window light with a person standing in front of it, most camera would find that challenging, especially when there is no indoor light to compensate. The rx10 however blows out the window that badly that you can't see the window anymore, it's just one big white blob. I"m curious how s-log2 would handle that AFTER you have colorcorrected so that it would match color with how a standard profile of a rx10 would look like and most important, how easy it is to colorcorrect that.

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

Here is a good SLOG-2 vs a "normal" REC.709 image (PP"off")...

The light to the right is exposed to about 100 IRE on both shots.

Look how much more latitude SLOG-2 gives. again, this is exactly why Sony developed SLOG-2. You can increase exposure without clipping the highlights.

I have this as two short videos files if you don't believe the frame grabs. ;-)

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

While the discussion moves into that direction ... does anybody know, if Sony plans to add slog2 to the X70 in a future update? That would match those two cameras perfectly. Can someone recommend settings for a decent flat profile for the X70?

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

I doubt it. Sony would really need to add 100mbp first. SLOG needs to be stretched back out into rec.709. You need a durable codec to handle that.

Plus, the PXW-X70 doesn't have a "CyberShot" or "Alpha" logo on it. The X70 is too professional and not "consumer" enough to have a gamma that can record 12 stops of dynamic range.

So...if you really want SLOG-2, you gotta go cheaper and drop down $1000+ to an RX10-II to get that. The X70 is too expensive to have SLOG-2.

It's very possible that the next $499 4k 100mbp/s "Action Cam" will get SLOG-2 Long before the XDCAM X70 does. The Action Cam is also at the perfect price point to get 60p 4k as well. It's just barely cheap enough and not too expensive to have that too.

Hopefully Sony won't raise the price of the 2016 Action Cam. If they do, that might disqualify it from getting SLOG-2 or 60p 4k!

It's a good thing the RX10-II came in at $1300. If it had only been a few dollars more and Sony would have been forced to pull out the high speed frame rate modes.

;-)

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

I raise Black Gamma and Black Level as high as they will go, lower Saturation a bit, and in Knee adjust Point very low but Slope higher (sounds wrong but looks better to me than minus Slope values). Then I use scopes in post to put highs and shadows where I want. Works great and adds no noise.

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

I'm not really familiar with SLOG2 and what cameras have it built in. I'm curious though, as I noticed the other day that Premiere Pro added some color effects in their newest update. One of which is to change the Input LUT. There is an option for SLOG2 and SLOG3. When applied to the footage, it give it a much richer and deeper color tone. Is this the same thing as if it were recorded out of a camera with SLOG2?

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

Absolutley not, it's just an effect in PP to simulate Slog 2.

It's like adding a film effect to 60i footage vs filming in 24p.

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

Maybe Sony will ship a "CyberShot" sticker with a new update to cover the "XDCAM" writing to justify SLOG in the X70...;-))

Re: PXW-X70 vs RX10-II
 

Thanks David, sounds good. Will try.