Custom Picture Profiles for XF-300/305

[Martin Campbell]

none of these links appear to be working anymore. I'm still not happy with my XF305 colour settings - can anyone share their best setting?

Looking for something that I can use for weddings, something that will pop the colours slightly and crush blacks a little bit too.

[Larry Becker]

Martin,

You sound like me two weeks ago... I'm currently using Doug Jensen's CP file recommendations from his 305/300 training video. They're in chapter 8 of his video series (I don't think he would appreciate sharing them on the internet). Do you have the set? WELL WORTH THE $$$, and on sale now for $75. It has been SUCH a help to me, a relative video novice, and certainly a novice with the XF300 as my first pro-level video camera.

I initially didn't like his CP settings because I was trying to use them without listening to anything else he was saying - I just ran the camera on full auto and dropped the CP file on it - big mess. I HATED the colors, and it would take me hours in post just to get the colors back to "normal." As robust as everyone says the Canon file format is, it was really being badly abused by the gymnastics I had to put it through to just get back to square 1.

The CP file is one aspect to color, I think - but the others are just as important: you have to have correct exposure, and the white balance needs to be correct. I was leaving the camera on auto everything and, combined with the CP files I was trying, it was an icky mess. I had to get off auto gain, off of auto exposure, and for heaven's sake, off of auto white balance, and doing a custom white balance on a white card or 1/4 warm card (that Doug also sells). Just doing that, I got SO MUCH better color that it is like a different camera.

Doug posted a trailer of his video on his site, and some excerpts of a couple of chapters in his DVD series.The colors of stuff he's shooting are EXACTLY what I was hoping to get out of the XF300, and now I'm much closer. I can now use Colorista II to tweak the color, not beat it into submission... Here's the link to the trailer: Mastering the Canon XF305/300 Camcorders training DVD

It's like editing jpg files - make DARNED sure the exposure and white balance are correct in the shot, or you're going to have a heck of a time getting back to what you need to be there. Have you ever tried to get rid of the color shift (usually to red) in an underexposed jpg? Or tried to fix white balance in a jpg file? Often it is almost impossible without trashing the shot, and that's what I felt I was doing with much of my XF300 footage.

I understand that some of the RED cameras and 4k cameras have some kind of raw video shooting - not sure - but I can't begin to imagine the size of those files. When I open a 16 bit 21mb raw file from my 5DII, it's 120.3 mb - for ONE FRAME... I wonder what a 4k 16bit file would be like... the less than 2k XF300 files are big enough! Makes my head hurt...

ANYWAY, I'm sure I'm telling you what you already know - but just sharing my color journey. You mentioned the links are dead? Here's the VIMEO thread on CP files: https://vimeo.com/groups/canonxf/forum/topic:230636

Regards,

Larry Becker

[Tim Polster]

Martin,

Do you have access to a broadcast monitor? Or at least a decent HD television you can calibrate for a proper video image?

I ask because finding these settings you are looking for is as simple as setting up a well lit scene of different colors and color chart if you have one, plugging your camera into the monitor and tweaking. Move each setting all the way to the extremes to see what it does then find the sweet spot and create a look.

It will take some time but you will learn how much you can get out the camera and best of all, you will end up with YOUR settings. But you have to trust your monitoring because you will be making adjustments based upon its output.

[Stewart Hemley]

Tim, that advice is spot on. It's the best way to learn what happens when you fiddle with all these menu items. I started in video about a hundred years ago, when those nice JVC KY orange 3tube devices were top dogs, Then i slowed down into stills, but last year returned to the movie fast lane. And I was bamboozled by the myriad of things you had to set up before getting the shot. But after the initial shock, you tend to learn the new ways and a great way to do that is what Tim suggested. Even if the TV is not perfect, you'll still get a good idea of what the various menu items do in real life. Have patience, and fun! Good luck.

[Vincent Oliver]

Originally Posted by Larry Becker

You mentioned the links are dead? Here's the VIMEO thread on CP files: https://vimeo.com/groups/canonxf/forum/topic:230636
Larry Becker

It's another Dead link Larry

[Chris Hurd]

Actually we need to be hosting these preset files directly on DV Info Net. There's no need to use a third-party file sharing system; just click "manage attachments" when making a post. I recommend one new thread per individual preset, and one thread "to rule them all" as a general directory.

A preset is like a recipe... it is not intellectual property protected by copyright. If you have one, please share it with the forum -- by posting it here, instead of linking to it at some other site. Thanks in advance,

[Larry Becker]

Originally Posted by Vincent Oliver

It's another Dead link Larry

Hmmm - I'm clicking on it and going right to it... Do you have something turned on in IE or whatever browser you're using that prevents jumping to links? Anyway, just look on the Vimeo XF300/305 group - it's in the sticky section at the top of the forum.

Chris - you're right - they're just recipies. Good analogy. Has there been any thought of making a sticky that would be a good place to list them? I'm reluctant, though, to post something that I believe the author has expressed some reluctance about posting - I'll let Doug do that if he's willing - AND I'd want to post something that I've worked through and understand. I'm not there yet.

I was just looking at the manual again on CP files. I'd forgotten that you can embed a CP profile in a still shot or video in camera AFTER you shoot it (pg. 116)... I wonder if that means you can swap them in and out of a file to see what works? Or if once they're in, they're cooked in for good? Has anyone tried this?

Looking again at everything that's going on in a CP file (Knee slopes? Black gamma?), there's a lot going on here. I was hoping to have, say, one that worked great for bright sunlit scenes, one for interior shots with natural lighting, one for nature shots that would pop the colors a bit, one for low-light church scenes and so on... Some have expressed hope that they could get files that would help them match the output of other cameras they have used/use. Looks like I've got some experimenting to do.

And I need to figure out how to get my Marshall "Professional" 5" monitor (V-LCD50-HDMI) to show more realistic/true colors (it warms them up too much and if I get it to look right on the Marshall, the colors are WAY off in the actual video file - the XF300's monitor does a much better job of matching color. I've spent some time trying to adjust the Marshall to match, but I haven't nailed it down yet. Made it worse, actually, and had to zero it out. But the point about using calibrated monitor to set colors that Tim and Stewart made is, of course where we actually need to be heading. I remember trying to edit my first scanned slides and digital photos before I had a calibrated system. It was HORRIBLE and frustrating and a lot of guess work. Is anyone having better luck than I am with real color representation on an on-camera monitor? Are there calibrated/certified on-camera monitors?

Once I get my video into my computer, I'm looking at it in a calibrated system and I can see how badly I screwed up! - but shooting it and evaluating it in camera, I feel like I'm just guessing.

Larry

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Larry Becker

Has there been any thought of making a sticky that would be a good place to list them?

If you guys can get a thread going with the uploaded files (attached to the
post) and the settings / description, I'll make it a sticky. But we need the
info to live here, not linked to an off-site source.

[Vincent Oliver]

Originally Posted by Larry Becker

Hmmm - I'm clicking on it and going right to it... Do you have something turned on in IE or whatever browser you're using that prevents jumping to links? Anyway, just look on the Vimeo XF300/305 group - it's in the sticky section at the top of the forum.

Larry

I am using Chrome and just get a Vimeo page saying Page Not Found. Never have this problem normally. Can anyone else view the page via the link?

I look forward to seeing some Canon profiles on this site, at the moment I getting a heavy pink cast on most footage.

[Larry Becker]

Hmmmm....might be a Chrome thing? I don't use it so I don't know...

Vincent- just go to Vimeo.com, do a search for XF300, go to groups and then forums. It's the third stickey in that forum. Sorry you're having grief finding it - trying to help, honest!

Larry

Or maybe try typing in the actual address? Chrome might be blocking links that have aliases (or whatever they're called). Go to this: https://vimeo.com/groups/canonxf/forum - and it's the third topic down.

[Vincent Oliver]

Larry,

Thank you for taking the time to post an alternative link, but it still does not work for me. Here is a screen shot of the page, I notice that the htpps:// is crossed out. I also tried the link in IE with the same result.

[Alan McCormick]

This one works for me Vincent (as posted earlier by Larry ) Canon XF Video forum on Vimeo.

I am using Safari though.

[Vincent Oliver]

Thank you Alan, your link works for me too. Will have a good root through the posts.

[Alan McCormick]

Any problems drop me a line - I sent you a PM

[Vincent Oliver]

Thank you Alan, I have sent you an email