I have been trying to match my ls300 with my gh4 standard settings and so far changed the following in the camera process menu:

detail: 0
masterblack 0
black paint 0,0
black toe normal
knee manual
level 85%
white clip 100%
gamma itu790
level +3
wdr off
color matrix itu709
colorgain +5

This to my eye comes pretty close though there are still some subtle differences, I shot at exact the same iso and f-stop and in the standard setting with all parameters at 0 the gh4 ire waveform in Edius was between 0 and 80 while the jvc had it between 0 and 100. Because the gh4 compressed the highlights it did not show the gradual changes from dark to light from a lightsource that bounced off the wall like the jvc did, with the gh4 the wall was just one lightgrey flat surface while the with the jvc you clearly could see the transition from a bit darker to the lighter part where the lightintensity was stronger.

I am aware that this can be changed in camera to match even further but since I am not such an expert when it comes to colorcorrection I often tend to play it safe to not come home from an assignment with wonky colors that I can't get right anymore.

I also had a hard time getting rid of excessive noise at higher gains, I could get rid of it for a major part by compressing the blacks but then I lost way too much detail in the darker areas. Too bad though the noise is not grain like but in my case it's like ugly vertical stripes, I take it that is "normal" for this camera.

Have any ls300 owners got some nice looking presets they care to share?

No-one? it almost looks like this camera doesn't exist, very hard to find any useful user info about it, good thing Steve Mullen is writing some educational articles about the camera.

No kidding - it's like a bottomless well - wish I could help but I don't have the Panasonic....

I realize now that I may not have been clear enough that it doesn't have to be a preset matched to a panasonic camera, just any good looking preset.

Based on feedback I'm going to next write about log and LUTs. If I try to put this in my Part 2 review it will be 5000 words long! :(

This way when I write Part 2 I can make simple statements. If someone doesn't understand they can always read the log/LUT article.

One of the nice things about J-log is it eliminates worrying about specific settings -- they are blanked out. But since I don't have any other cameras to try to match to I don't have any worry.

I'm also thinking that the image in J-log seems perfect -- although of course slightly flat. My thinking is that starting with such an image provides maximum freedom to grade, to use a LUT, or do both. From what I've read, the only in-camera adjustment I would TRY is to reduce sharpness to eliminate even a trace of edge-enhancement because it is such a clear marker of "video."

It's not that I myself care to have a film look. Frankly, I like the look of 4K video.

But, after working with the Digital Bolex I do agree it comes very very close to Kodak Vision 3 film -- which at $3K is remarkable. But, it is as close to physically unusable as is a pin-hole camera.

Link: https://youtu.be/MgaTLPJISbo

Thx Steven, good to have you on board to help make more sense out of this camera. :) For shooting weddings I am happy with the preset I have used so far as noted at the start of this thread but I know this camera is capable of delivering more and I want to make use of it depending what project I am doing.

That's why I started this thread to see if other users have had good results with certain presets in particular situations, to give an example, I have been hired by a interior redesign office who wants me to shoot one of their projects which is a redesigned interior of a pharmacist store, I am determined to use the jvc for this purpose, mainly because I want to shoot in 4k and this camera does not add any additional crop on the sensor in that mode like the gh4 does so I can shoot wide enough with a fast lens, like my 12mm f2.0 or my 15mm f1.7.

The only thing that worries me a bit is in what mode to shoot in, the preset I use for weddings is not the one I want to use to shoot architecture with as it is too contrasty and saturated, I want to maximize DR and keep enough detail in the shadows and highlights, I have done some test shots in jlog and added a JLog1 to Rec709 Daylight 3D lut in after effects which brought the color back nicely but also introduced quite some noise, I also am not sure how to interpret the histogram or at which percentage to set the zebra's while shooting Jlog in order to get my exposure right.

Until I fully understand how to shoot and edit Jlog I probably will be using a ITU709 gamma combined with Cinema subdued color matrix and stretch the black toe.

@Noa - If you want max DR, J-Log has the most with an 800% range. I use the auto-spot meter to set min and max exposure as close to 0% and 800% as the scene will get.

But for shadow detail, I prefer to use ITU709, boost Gamma and Black Stretch in-camera, and recover the superwhites in post. Here are my typical Camera Process settings:

Detail: 0
Master Black: 0
Black Toe: Stretch
Stretch Level: 3
Knee: Manual
Level: 100%
White Clip: 108%
Gamma: ITU709
Level: 3
WDR: off
Color Matrix: ITU709
Color Gain: -6

I also set Histogram Top to 100% so I can see where the highlight knee sets in. Histogram Bottom at 5% to make sure the shadows don't get too milky.

Thx lee for your feedback, I have not figured out how the spot meter works as I only use zebra's and the histogram for my exposure. Once you have established the brightest and darkest areas with the spotmeter, what do you do then with the percentage values you get?

Regarding setting knee to 100%, I have noticed that setting the knee to 85% it also handles highlights better, not sure if setting the knee to auto has a better overall result.

About setting the white clip to 108%, what advantages does that give over 100%?

The default spot meter mode puts a green max exposure square and a yellow min exposure square on the LCD. Green and yellow % readings on the right tell you how close your max and min exposure levels are to 400% and 0%. The green and yellow squares constantly seek out max and min exposure areas in the frame, so you never need to manually set the position of the spot meter. I adjust exposure till max is near 400%, Black Stretch till min is a little over 0%, and Gamma to put the mids where I want them.

I use zebras as well, with Bottom set to 100%. With that and the Histogram, I know exactly where the highlights are crossing the knee (at 100%). Setting White Clip to 108% enables the camera to record the full range of superwhites. These settings scale the gamma curve to match HDTV Rec709 100% white and 108% superwhite levels, which is useful for reviewing footage and having it look good straight out of the camera. Also, I prefer to keep the gamma curve straight all the way up to 100%, rather than compressing it with a knee starting at 85%.

When grading this kind of footage, however, the first thing you want to do is recover the compressed superwhite detail. An NLE with a waveform monitor is essential to make sure the superwhites don't get clipped off at 100%. I use Color Finesse in After Effects, with a preset that reduces overall gain to 91% and expands the DR of the superwhite region. That's an oversimplification of the grading process of course, but the key point is that compressed highlights in ITU709 footage can be recovered with the right tools.