I've been using the factory preset and I think my colors are looking flat compared with my mates sony and jvc cams.

So I am wondering if someone could suggest a preset which will give me more vivid colors and a bright (noisefree) image in lowlight?


I've been reading forums and found positive feedback on the:

PanaFilmVision preset - http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xh-series-hdv-camcorders/185480-best-low-light-preset.html

Any suggestions and/or footage of people's fav presets?

Hi Mark. I find PFVision to be very good at maintaining colour and brightness in low light. But I suggest you try these presets for yourself and see what you prefer.

Richard

thanks Richard

I'm about to produce a series of online videos for a tourism region. I will be using minimal lighting ( on camera and 1 x 500w halogen on stand), filming in museums, restaurants and a lot of outdoor scenic stuff.

Have you used PFVision for outdoor 'nature' shots? How did it fare?

There are lots of threads on this forum about presets and how they were derived by several talented individuals.

Listed below are arguably the most popular ones. Please correct me if I have posted any of these incorrectly, thanks.


1) VividRGB

GAM: 1
KNE: L
BLK: M
PED: -5
SET:0
SHP: 3
HDF: H
DHV: 0
COR: 0
NR1: 0
NR2: 0
CMX: N
CGN: 25
CPH: 0
RGN: -2
CGN: -2
BGN: -3
RGM: 0
RBM: 0
GRM: 0
GBM: 10
BRM: 0
BGM: -13



2) True Color

Parameter Value
GAM Gamma N
KNE Knee M
BLK Black P
PED Pedestal -9
SET Setup -9
SHP Sharpness -9
HDF Hor.Detail M (default)
DHV Detail HV Balance 0 (default)
COR Coring 0
NR1 Noise Reduction 1 0
NR2 Noise Reduction 2 0
CMX Color Matrix N
CGN Color Gain 0
CPH Color Phase 0
RGN Red Gain -7
GGN Green Gain 3
BGN Blue Gain 12
RGM Red Green Matrix 40
RBM Red Blue Matrix -12
GRM Green Red Matrix 6
GBM Green Blue Matrix 0
BRM Blue Red Matrix 12
BGM Blue Green Matrix -3



3) Panalook

PANALOOK ................... PANALOOK2

Gamma: Cine 2 ............. Cine 2
Colour Matrix: Cine 2 ..... Cine 2
Colour Gain: 1 .............. -4
CPH: 0 ........................ 0
Knee: Low ................... Low
Black: Middle ................ Stretch
Master Ped: -7 ............ -7
Set-up Level: -1 .......... -1
HDF: Middle ................. Middle
DHV: 0 ....................... 0
Sharpness: 1 .............. -2
NR1: Off ..................... Off
NR2: Off ..................... Off
Coring: 0 .................... 0
RGN: 2 ....................... 8
GGN: 2 ...................... 11
BGN: 3 ...................... 12

Everything not listed is set to zero.

I use TrueColour for shooting everything. Here (http://paolociccone.com/blog/?p=17#more-17) is the original article on that preset, which argues the benefits.

One thing to note, Ravi: You've set the Pedestal to -9, which was the original setting, but this was amended to -7 soon after to give a bit more detail in the blacks.

I have one or two settings on several of my presets that don't match what I see on this forum. For example, the BGM setting on the VividRGB preset is "-13" according to a recent post. I have that setting at "0." Does anyone have the latest complete list so I can update mine?

I read about the trucolor preset Nic, and some users found it produced a blue tinge.
I found this post http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xh-series-hdv-camcorders/116993-truecolor-configuration-xh-a1-10.html where changes were made by Bill Busby to get rid of blue:

GAM N
KNE M
BLK P
PED -4
SET -1
SHP -1
HDF M (default)
DHV 0 (default)
COR 0
NR1 0
NR2 0
CMX N
CGN 8
CPH 0
RGN -1
GGN -2
BGN -3
RGM 10
RBM -12
GRM 6
GBM 0
BRM 12
BGM -3


Amazing seeing the quality of image people are getting with the humble XHA1.

Here are some links I found -

*Steven Dempsey has created some much used xha1 presets including panalook, vividrgb and disjecta. Really nice eg film, love it An Uncluttered World on Vimeo

*Prime eight preset, lovely film like quality The Corn Crib on Vimeo

*Giovanni Speranza of Vision preset fame. vivid filmlike images Showreel1 on Vimeo

Earlier this year I was looking for a film-like preset and contact Steven Dempsey for suggestions, he informed me:

"If you are going to be shooting a lot of low light stuff, I would really shoot with a flat preset like the Canon one. You can do a lot more tweaking in post than you can with some of the other presets. Panalook2 is about as pretty good for that kind of work also, it’s probably a little noisier because some of the colors are pushed a little more than the Canon preset. One of the things I think very few understand is that it’s always better to get a good clean image from the camera and then shape the look in post rather than trying to capture it with a final look. That way, you will have less noise in your image and, if you decide you don’t like the look, it will be much easier to change the overall feel.
Make sense? In a nutshell, shoot flat and tweak in post"

Yet I'm keen to experiment, sick of flat factory setting. I will experiment with Trucolor and see how it goes.

That seems like good advice from Mr Dempsey. At the high end of the digital capture spectrum - with cameras like the F23/F35 and Genesis - their 'log' modes are basically linear video captured with 'safe' camera settings which produce images that appear flat and desaturated, similar to how Canon's factory preset does. This is then worked with in post.

I use TrueColour because I don't really have the skill with colour grading software to work with such a flat image, as well as not liking some of the biases the camera comes out of the factory with.

thanks Richard

I'm about to produce a series of online videos for a tourism region. I will be using minimal lighting ( on camera and 1 x 500w halogen on stand), filming in museums, restaurants and a lot of outdoor scenic stuff.

Have you used PFVision for outdoor 'nature' shots? How did it fare?

When I used my PFVision for the first time outdoors, it clipped in the highlights quickly (as it was TOO bright :). Imagine that...). I would suggest to really be careful of your exposure when using the preset outdoors. As far as how it renders, beautifully vivid colors and they really pop. May be too saturated for most taste but I was really happy with it. YMMV.

I tried PFVision only once outdoors, and found that it is too unnatural. Indoors under low light it is very effective though, and I find it less noisy than shooting flat and boosting in post.

Richard

I'm new to capturing video and I was wondering what I'm supposed to do with the White Balance when using these presets? Would manually setting the White Balance when using one of these presets change the intended color, or is it still necessary?

Hi Adam. You still have to WB as normal, as the preset does not know the lighting conditions you will be facing.

Richard

I have decided to use the trucolor setting for a tourism project I started today. I am using auto whitebalance for outside shooting and manual whitebalance for indoor shots. I am using a new fluoro lighting kit with a pink filter to cut greens. I run a few seconds footage of white when I am whitebalancing in case the pink filter messes color mix. Will post on youtube at youtube.com/visitmacarthur

regards

Mark

i'm not sure, but auto white balance outdoors may not be a good idea... it may change balance in the middle of a shot, as light is always shifting, and could ruin the consistency of the shot. sure sounds tempting, though... any other opinions?

White balance is white balance, it's the cameras, your NLEs and your basic reference. It has nothing to do with color presets.

The hardest white balancing is with mixed lighting, and you've got to get that reference or, if you have limited experience, you're likely to spend days in post.

The best tool I have for instant WB is the Expodisc, fast and accurate. Cheers.

I tried color correcting a previous video in which I used the 'factory' preset
Here is the original video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X5So1nzY2g

and here is the color corrected version ( boosted whites a little, mids a little more, lowered blacks and raised saturation)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y0XBbksNHs

"The hardest white balancing is with mixed lighting, and you've got to get that reference or, if you have limited experience, you're likely to spend days in post."

Inside I whitebalanced in front of talent which gave nice skin tones under fluoro. But infortunately light coming through windows came out with a green tinge. May be an idea to remove pink filter over fluoro. Any suggestions how to get good whitebalance in mixed light ie fluro and natural light

hi brian
liking trucolor outside with auto wb, richer colors than factory preset. doesnt seem to be a problem with consistency

Nic MacDonald referenced an article by pciccone on the merits of using the "TrueColor" preset. I would like to get a neutral look from the camera while not sacrificing color info in post. But, do you really use TrueColor for everything - indoors and out?

Of the thirty or so presets I found on this forum, I would like to narrow down to 2 or 3 for most of my jobs. I do weddings, music/dance performances, interviews, etc. indoors and out. I don't like the flat look of the video presets out of the box and I don't like to do much in post either.

You want to "get a neutral look from the camera while not sacrificing color info in post" but you "don't like to do much in post"? If you don't want to do much in post then what are you saving the info for? Just use whatever presets you think are most aesthetically appropriate for your purposes and bake the look in. You can still tweak it later.

Here are some more examples of the PRIMEEIGHT preset which I use as a "go-to" for almost all the projects I have been working on recently. It works well as a neutral preset and has a very filmic quality.

Jerry Heggleman: The Enigmatic Eye on Vimeo

Gary Sweeney: Maybe If Your Metaphors Weren't So Obvious on Vimeo

If anyone is interested in using it...

PRIMEEIGHT

GAM 2
KNE L
BLK M
PED -9
SET -9
SHP 4
HDF M
CMX 2
CGN -4
RGN 8
GGN 11
BGN 12

everything else is set to 0.

Enjoy! Hope it's useful.

White balance is white balance, it's the cameras, your NLEs and your basic reference. It has nothing to do with color presets.

The hardest white balancing is with mixed lighting, and you've got to get that reference or, if you have limited experience, you're likely to spend days in post.

The best tool I have for instant WB is the Expodisc, fast and accurate.

I can attest to Allan's endorsement of Expodisc. Best $100 I've spent in a LONG time.

*Giovanni Speranza of Vision preset fame. vivid filmlike images

That footage looks like it's shot with a 35mm acromat adapter given the short depth of field. Also, it's exceptionally well lit stuff. You can't tweak the settings of the camera to magically make pretty pictures. It will only help if you know how to lens stuff properly to begin with.

My 2 cents.

Everyone seems to go on and on about the paintbrush (the tool such as a XH A1), but never considers that knowing how to paint (skill + talent) is the real reason great images happen.

Methinks Giovanni could shoot with a Flip video camcorder and make superior images than many of us.