hi there
sorry it this has been asked before, but can anyone give me an overview of the most important parameters of the picture profiles for the EX1, and what they influence (detail, gamma, color correction, skin etc etc)?

the manual doesn't go into depth, and, to my surprise, even Vortex Media DVDs doesn't give any real insight at all about PP settings (I am actually quite disappointed about the DVDs but that's a different story...)

can anyone help me out?
thanks
Federico

Picture Profile settings tend to be a personal thing, as a starting point you should have a trawl through the picture profile recipes section on DVinfo

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/110902-picture-profile-recipes.html

I know there are a lot of posts to work through, set aside a couple of hours and try some of the suggested settings for yourself. Personally I like to keep all my footage as flat as possible and then tweak the colours in my NLE application (Premiere Pro CS5)

Doug has invested a lot of time in producing an excellent set of DVDs, you will learn more every time you watch them. I still refer to the content 18 months after purchasing them. The may be pricey, but hey I would have willingly spent the same amount on a one day tutorial for the EX3. This then makes Dougs specialist DVDs good value for money.

I have Doug's DVD and Field Guide for the EX1 and they got me up and running within a day without having to translate SonySpeak. Doug's PP is a good general one that was recently praised by a top London colourist as being very tweakable in post. The Vortex products just take the hassle out of having to learn about a camera quickly.

I don't doubt Doug's abilities and the DVD is certainly more than well made on a production level.

what I think, though, is that 80% of what he explains (especially on DVD 1) I had already learnt by myself in a week of trying the Ex1r.
he clearly uses a lot of interesting footage comparisons, and i really like his way of explaining things in a smoot and clear way.
I just think that considering the cost of the DVD (more than £100 here in the UK) I was expecting a little more depth into key areas that are uncovered in the (very succint) manual such as the PPs.

Doug has been very kind in replying to some of my messages so my opinion about the EX1 guide is by no means a judgment about Doug's work in general: i just wish he had devoted more time in the DVD to other topics (for example best settings for a certain shoot, you get the point)

Sony has written resources available that go into detail about such topics as gamma, knee, detail, etc.
The information is not specific to the EX cameras, but provides good background on these various parameters.
You'll need to root around the Pro section of the Sony website to find them.
Adam Wilt's original review of the EX1 sheds some excellent light on some of these areas without getting overly technical. You can read it here:
ProVideo Coalition.com: Camera Log by Adam Wilt | Founder | Pro Cameras, HDV Camera, HD Camera, Sony, Panasonic, JVC, RED, Video Camera Reviews (http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/awilt/story/review_sony_pmw_ex1_1_2_3_cmos_hd_camcorder/)

I wrote in depth about some of the parameters here: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/471485-pmw-350-developing-scene-files-picture-profiles.html or here: XDCAM-USER.com Creating Scene Files: Tutorial and Information. (http://www.xdcam-user.com/?page_id=544) much of the information about what the settings do applies to the EX1/EX3 as well.

i just wish he had devoted more time in the DVD to other topics (for example best settings for a certain shoot, you get the point)
Theres no such thing, every shoot is different or shooting conditions can change in a blink. Thats why we need to personally know our cameras inside out. Play with the settings Fedarico, come up with something you are happy with, tweak it to your hearts content. If you dont like the result, reset it. PP settings are so subjective, The look I like, you may hate. Everyone seems to be looking for an easy answer, I personally dont think it works like that, Get your camera out and play with it. There are some wonderful PPs out there as a starting point, but they are not the be all, or end all. Most of the time I end up shooting with PP off.

I think that Post is the place to tinker and find a look that you like. If it is a clean picture to start with then world is your oyster in the editing process.

thanks to everyone!!

I think that Post is the place to tinker and find a look that you like. If it is a clean picture to start with then world is your oyster in the editing process.

Ahh yes, but, different gamma curves will change the way the contrast range is distributed and some gammas are much better suited to post work than others. The EX standard gammas for example are designed to give good looking pictures straight out of the camera with deep looking blacks and strong highlights, while the cinegammas are designed to be graded and provide more range in the blacks and highlights, making post work easier but the pictures are less appealing straight from the camera as blacks look washed out and highlights lack contrast. On top of that apparent picture sharpness and contrast are inextricably linked, so changing contrast in post can also change apparent image sharpness, thus detail correction levels need to be considered prior to any serious post work.

The best way to figure it out is to play with the settings. You can't break the camera by changing the PP settings, but you'll soon start to appreciate what each setting does. Just be very wary of using any setting that is a long way form default in anger unless you are sure of what it is doing.