Hello,
I've shot a film, it's been submitted to many festivals, I'm waiting.
I shot using one of the presets from Mcallister, I liked the one I used, but frankly since I still had to do a huge amount of work on the color in post, I'm using Vegas, I'm wondering if it's actually worth it bothering at all about presets and instead not do all the color and desaturation work in post.

What do you think?
Larry

I know for me that I have not seen a preset that I can't duplicate in post. I hate the thought of shooting a bunch of footage with a preset then not liking it after it's all been shot. I choose to color correct in post and then copy and paste that setting to all my other scenes.

You can't undo a preset like you can a post setting. Having said that, there are some people that like their favorite preset so much that they always shoot with it and never worry. I am not one of those.

Just depends on the shooter I guess.

Right now I have a tendency to believe you're right!

The camera's factory default might not look all that colourful or sharp and contrasty, but it captures the widest spectrum of useful information and is designed to be worked on, in post. I am even beginning to like the reality look of the camera tapes.

Hi

There is an article written by another forum user which describes how to get the most out of the XH-A1 and to have as much recorded information to work with in post:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xh-series-hdv-camcorders/116993-truecolor-configuration-xh-a1.html

There is also a preset for this, TRUCOLOR, which also is described on the above link.


/Bo

Don, you're right, what matters is to capture the widest spectrum of useful information.
BO, thanks for the link, very useful
L.

Most of my shooting (event shooting) needs to be turned around as quick as possible, leaving no time for color correction. Before the event, I show a few examples of the presets and ask the client if they have a specific "look" they are after. Then I'll select the appropriate preset ahead of time and shoot away, limiting editing to dubbed audio and stills, transitions, and titles.

If I ever get off my duff and start shooting more creative works, I'd go without a preset and make the desired changes in post.

Call me crazy, but I think I like the image of the HV30, over the XH-A1, and in post don't see any difference. I was talking to a guy at B&H, and mentioned that to him, he just laughed and said "don't tell anybody that".

I'm considering selling my A1 and getting a couple more HV30's and a 35 mm adopter. Am I crazy?

I don't care for presets and don't use any of them. I experimented with a few but found them to be cumbersome and caused more work in post than I normally experience. So.......no presets for me!

Phil,
So you shoot with presets "off"?

Call me crazy, but I think I like the image of the HV30, over the XH-A1, and in post don't see any difference. I was talking to a guy at B&H, and mentioned that to him, he just laughed and said "don't tell anybody that".

I'm considering selling my A1 and getting a couple more HV30's and a 35 mm adopter. Am I crazy?

The HV30 image is great as long as the lighting is reasonably good. The XH-A1 can work better in a wider range of lighting because of the amount of control it provides.

Richard

Does no preset really capture the widest spectrum of useful information?
I've been using a preset that looks almost identical to the factory setting but there is considerably less zebras (blown highlights) when shooting contrasting lighting. But it could just be my untrained eye.

Rashdan,

that is why the XH-A1 is so good. It has a wide range of parameters to adjust depending on the situation. I'm not a video professional, I am an video hobbyist. I used to shoot as flat as possible using the TRUCOLOR preset but it forced me to do so much manipulation in post so I decided to use preset more often. I'm mostly using VIVID or PANALOOK presets and adjust them depending on the situation to get the look I want which saves me time in post as I find color grading pretty difficult. But that's my workflow and of course other people use their systems different.

Regards,

/Bo

i have used the Trucolor preset for awhile (and am happy with it!), and just recently have been experimenting with color matching to a HV30. even white balanced in camera, it seems both cameras need CC to get a better white balance and get rid of color casts. i read that using the cinemode settings in the HV30 match better with the XHA1 in i forget which preset (#13???), but i found the cinemode to be anemic/soft, and even with extensive CC in post i could not make it either pleasing or match to the XHA1. I found when shooting 30f, the HV30 in TV with no other changes in camera can be matched really well with the XHA1 using Trucolor. i think i would have a hard time telling which camera is which... (maybe i don't have the best eyes...)

Bo you wrote: I used to shoot as flat as possible using the TRUCOLOR preset but it forced me to do so much manipulation in post so I decided to use preset more often"

What do you mean? Do you mean you have to color correct? That's the point isn't it?
You shoot TRUE COLOR then you try to find what you need in post?

Larry,

After a lot of experimentation I've come to use a customized version of VIVIDRGB (Disjecta) preset. So far it's been working for me. Here's an example:

Limo 1, LLC Promo, Time: 60 Seconds on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/6537357)

Tony S.

Tony
That's a well done video. The preset is close to what the default setting the Sony cameras use. More saturated and higher contrast than what my eyes perceive.
I like the look and usually go that direction in post.
Your preset didn't hide those great Canon brown tones in the bar.

Don,

Thanks for the kind words. It's been more of trial an error thing until one day - pow! I've got several versions for different things. That's the cool thing about these presets you can "make" your XH-A1 to match pretty much anything - some say even a RED. Very little color grading in post since I've already shot the initial test shots to my liking. I also like the way the brown is represented in the bar shot.

Thanks again for watching.

Tony S.

My tuppence-worth is that when shooting the whole feel of what one's doing is affected by what you see whilst doing it, so getting the image to look right at the time is important. Doesn't matter what you do in post - getting the right shots is everything. That's why the flexibility of the presets is so great on the XH-A1. Also, there's something about relying on huge amounts of CC in post that makes the whole process even more artificial and somehow 'false' than it inevitably is already. Just my opinion. It's one of those things that is really personal, though all this technical talk about needing a flat image to get the best result whilst processing in post seems to be missing the whole point to me and is over-exaggerated in importance.

If a videographer is careful, uses correct white balance, exposure etc there will not be "huge amounts of CC in post." If on the other hand you use a preset and find in post that it really isn't what you wanted......there's a lot more CC to deal with to get it back where you want it.

But to each his own. I just find presets to be something I don't like to use. If you are happy with your results using presets great. For me, they just don't give me what I want.

ummm... isn't the XHA1 stock setting a 'preset'?

That's a very interesting point Brian. Aren't all cameras working from some kind of preset no matter what 'mode' they are in? It's not like one can point a camera at something and expect that by using no presets we are getting anything like 'reality' (whatever that is).

Tony,
Very nice clip.