How do you feel about skin-tone detail in this camera?
 

I'm wondering what do you think of the the skin-tone detail and if any of you are using it and what settings?
Thanks.

in my first day with the EX1, even at full auto and with various indoor lighting, the EX1 does a good job at color. i will post more later.

http://www.vimeo.com/1108055

paul

more color samples

http://www.vimeo.com/1109244

Nice samples Paul.

I guess nobody around here uses the skin tone detail feature?

just saw the skin tone detail on page 74.
ah, i wonder if it will do enything for large groups like in my first shoot.

I use it on rare occasions in interview work.

It's politically incorrect, but nonetheless accurate to think of it as an "old folk talking head wrinkle" filter.

You're essentially applying a slight bluring (lowering of detail, more accurately) to skin tones while leaving the rest of the image alone.

It's only useful when you've got that particular problem. The rest of the time it's useless as it essentially lowers sharpness whenever it encounters color information in that tonal range.

Leave it OFF.

Turn it ON only when you look in your monitor and think to yourself "That nice older lady or gentleman looks generally fine but I wish I could do something about all those wrinkles/blemishes."


Oh, and it's essentially effective for full size head shots. It's pretty useless at distance or for groups.

Bill, do you have any experience with any of the Tiffen Black Pro Mist (or similar) filters? Just curious to know if the Tiffen product would be better or just similar.

It's a different look.

The pro mist, (or a net behind the physical lens) effects the overall picture reducing detail and providing a slightly more "dreamy" appearance to a shot.

A lot of guys are trying to get that when they're in search of a "film look."

Personally, I don't care about that kind of "look" at all.

But that's me.

Good luck

the white balance button works very well indoors.
that button under the lens.

i have at least 3 different type of lights in this room area...

i had the matrix metering on, does not work well with major ambient lighting on the subject's back!

for good lighting and even handheld, as in this case, the resolution is quite impressive.

Reducing skin detail also reduces blemishes (as well as wrinkles), a sort of electronic substitute for make-up. Needs to be used skillfully. Lighting control is the primary tool, with a little touch of skin detail.

These look really good. However, the group shots you posted above seem to have a brown-orange tone to the skin. The distance maybe?

John

Do you guys use the skin tone detail on default or do you tweak the settings? If so, which settings do you use?

I only tested it once but I didn't like the look of it with the Cine gammas, which are the gammas I use all the time. I never use standard gammas. But I guess I will give it another try. Shooting a project right now where one of the actors has a pretty rough face. Not wrinkles but I very hard type of face and also some acne. Make up alone is not working. Maybe it will help.

i literally use the EX1 right after i received it, so no manuals whatsoever and i used it at a preset white balance when there were no presets.

now i know where the white balance button is and will use it going forwards.
and yes, the group images are brown-orange'ish due to wrong white balancing.

my fault entirely.

paul

This provides setting that might be a useful start:
http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/view/ShowC...veContext=true