Hello All-

Before I ramble about this topic I did try the search engine on "picture styles" and "Dynamic range" and nothing came up.

So I ran accross this video on Vimeo. And I was very interested in the results.

How to increase the Canon 7D dynamic range (Tutorial) on Vimeo

I just want some input on what DVinfo people think about this. Also, if people have used this, how were the results? Any advise for people who are new to picking up this technique?

-Tim
Intern (Learning Slowly)

I jumped on the picture styles and played with most of the main ones, but eventually I just started to shoot neutral with sharp and contrast all the way down. I haven't found that they gained me that much, I seem to be able to do just as much in post with or without them. Some of them seemed to give me funky skin tones and no perceptible increase in dynamic range.

That video was interesting except when he compared the DR of the 7D to the DR of the RED. But that's a completely different topic. I usually Just play with the User Def. settings under and what ever style that what I think looks like nice through the LCD.

I figured anything you can create with custom picture styles you can do similar in post.

Yes and no.

If you clip something in the camera, you can't fix it in post.

Also, the Picture Style works in the 14-bit RAW domain. In post, you're working with an 8-bit 4:2:0 signal. You risk contours and noise in post.

That said, to really nail the look in-camera with a picture style would require a lot of time and patience on set, and you'd need to know your look before you start shooting.

Well...just like Mike Peterseon I switched back to "Neutral" settings in cam. I found that messing with the picture styles adds noise to my footage. I just can't seem to get it as clean as the factory settings.