Skin Detail: do you like it?

[Giovanni Speranza]

Hi,

Are you using skin detail? Or do you avoid it? And why?
Thanks

[Jarrod Whaley]

First of all, I shoot on the XL2, which also has a skin detail feature. I'm using a different camera, but what I'm about to say should apply.

In most cases, I don't like to use the skin detail feature, because it softens the image and sharpness is really what most of us are after. That said, however, there are certain situations where lighting conditions (i.e. hard directional lighting) and other circumstances can make a sharp rendering of a person's face look pretty unflattering--this is especially true of HD. The upshot of all this is that it's probably best to use skin detail sparingly, and only in situations where your subject/talent might want to hit you if your big hard film noir lighting makes his or her wrinkles look like the Grand Canyon. :)

[Giovanni Speranza]

Thanks!
Any other opinions?

[Michael Wisniewski]

It's a nice tool to have in the toolbox but there are so many better ways to make someone look good on camera that many times it's just falls out of my toolbox. If someone or the situation is so specific, that the camera has to be "right here", under "this specific awful lighting", while getting a "close up" then, maybe, it might make a difference. If I have any sort of normal freedom outside of those restrictions, then I've got better tools & techniques to work with.

I find the Sky detail setting more useful, and have used it occasionally, but even then, most of my basic video tools & techniques will solve 90% of those issue more elegantly.