Matching Xl2 and Xl1s at DVinfo.net

Eb Samba · October 15th, 2006, 04:45 PM

Hi
Some of the gigs I normally do are weddings and I have always use my XL2. Next weekend I will be using both XL2 and XL1s. My question is how do I get the XL1s to match the XL2 when using the wedding preset. I will be shooting in 16:9 and 30p. I have only use the XL1s once and I want to get the XL1s to match the XL2 as close as possible using the wedding preset. Thanking everyones input on this post.
I will also take this time to thank the person who came up with the wedding preset.
Eb

Jarrod Whaley · October 15th, 2006, 06:03 PM

The 16:9 part is going to make matching the two somewhat harder. The XL2 will give you a more detailed picture than the XL1s to start with, and then when you crop down that 4:3 XL1s footage to 16:9 (either in-camera or in post) and cut it with native 16:9 XL2 footage, I think it'll probably stick out pretty badly. Shooting 4:3 on both cameras would give you more cuttable results, but at that point you're throwing away one of the XL2's major strengths. Tough call.

A similar problem: there are a few things you can do to get an XL2 to approximate the look of an XL1s, but it's much harder to get the XL1s to live up to what the XL2 is really capable of.

If you just really have to use these two cameras together and want a really consistent look, most if not all of the tweaking will have to happen on the XL2. You could bump up the saturation, turn down the sharpness a bit, and make sure you're using video (normal) gamma and color matrix settings. Turn the coring down and see if the grain begins to resemble that of the XL1s. You'll also want to crush the blacks just a tiny bit (but not too much--just enough to hide some of the XL2's extra detail in the shadows) and set the knee to high. Finally, bump the red gain up a little bit. You should be fairly close.

You could also try to do some of these things in post--particularly any of the color tweaks. It just depends on which of the two routes you are more comfortable with.

Ash Greyson · October 15th, 2006, 08:18 PM

I have a preset floating around for the XL1s match, maybe it is posted somewhere, I dont have it handy. You need to tweak BOTH cameras to match. Use the XL1s for tighter shots and the XL2 for wides. In addition to the setting Jarrod mentioned you will need to turn down the pedestal and setup level, shift the color phase toward red and turn down the green and up the blue...

ash =o)

Eb Samba · October 15th, 2006, 11:42 PM

Thanks Ash and Jarrod for the valuable tips.
I will sum it up as this

Wedding Preset to match the XL2 with the XL1s
Prest Name: MatchXl2 w/Xl1s
Gamma Normal
Color Matrix Normal
Knee High
Black Press
Noise Reduction off
V. Detail Normal
Color Gain +2
Color Phase +1
Red Gain +2
Green Gain -1
Blue Gain +2
Sharpness -4
Corring -2
Setup Level -4
MP -4

30p, 4:3, WB-18% graycard, use the xl2 for wide angle and xl1s for close -ups.

Note: the XL2 is superior over XL1s on picture detail. It must be saturated a bit more. I will use it for wider shots.
Note: the on XL1s I will need to turn the reds down toward green and the saturation down a bit and the sharpness up all the way.

Jarrod Whaley · October 16th, 2006, 01:30 AM

That looks pretty good to me, Eb, except for one thing... instead of turning the sharpness all the way up on the XL1s, maybe just kick it up a little tiny bit. You'll start to get an extremely noisy image with overly-defined edges on things if you go too high with the sharpness.

October 15th, 2006, 04:45 PM	#1
Eb Samba Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Providence,RI Posts: 26	Matching Xl2 and Xl1s Hi Some of the gigs I normally do are weddings and I have always use my XL2. Next weekend I will be using both XL2 and XL1s. My question is how do I get the XL1s to match the XL2 when using the wedding preset. I will be shooting in 16:9 and 30p. I have only use the XL1s once and I want to get the XL1s to match the XL2 as close as possible using the wedding preset. Thanking everyones input on this post. I will also take this time to thank the person who came up with the wedding preset. Eb

October 15th, 2006, 06:03 PM	#2
Jarrod Whaley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: chattanooga, tn Posts: 721	The 16:9 part is going to make matching the two somewhat harder. The XL2 will give you a more detailed picture than the XL1s to start with, and then when you crop down that 4:3 XL1s footage to 16:9 (either in-camera or in post) and cut it with native 16:9 XL2 footage, I think it'll probably stick out pretty badly. Shooting 4:3 on both cameras would give you more cuttable results, but at that point you're throwing away one of the XL2's major strengths. Tough call. A similar problem: there are a few things you can do to get an XL2 to approximate the look of an XL1s, but it's much harder to get the XL1s to live up to what the XL2 is really capable of. If you just really have to use these two cameras together and want a really consistent look, most if not all of the tweaking will have to happen on the XL2. You could bump up the saturation, turn down the sharpness a bit, and make sure you're using video (normal) gamma and color matrix settings. Turn the coring down and see if the grain begins to resemble that of the XL1s. You'll also want to crush the blacks just a tiny bit (but not too much--just enough to hide some of the XL2's extra detail in the shadows) and set the knee to high. Finally, bump the red gain up a little bit. You should be fairly close. You could also try to do some of these things in post--particularly any of the color tweaks. It just depends on which of the two routes you are more comfortable with. __________________ -->jarrod whaley. www.oakstreetfilms.com

October 15th, 2006, 11:42 PM	#4
Eb Samba Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Providence,RI Posts: 26	Thanks Ash and Jarrod for the valuable tips. I will sum it up as this Wedding Preset to match the XL2 with the XL1s Prest Name: MatchXl2 w/Xl1s Gamma Normal Color Matrix Normal Knee High Black Press Noise Reduction off V. Detail Normal Color Gain +2 Color Phase +1 Red Gain +2 Green Gain -1 Blue Gain +2 Sharpness -4 Corring -2 Setup Level -4 MP -4 30p, 4:3, WB-18% graycard, use the xl2 for wide angle and xl1s for close -ups. Note: the XL2 is superior over XL1s on picture detail. It must be saturated a bit more. I will use it for wider shots. Note: the on XL1s I will need to turn the reds down toward green and the saturation down a bit and the sharpness up all the way. Last edited by Eb Samba; October 16th, 2006 at 12:43 AM.

October 16th, 2006, 01:30 AM	#5
Jarrod Whaley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: chattanooga, tn Posts: 721	That looks pretty good to me, Eb, except for one thing... instead of turning the sharpness all the way up on the XL1s, maybe just kick it up a little tiny bit. You'll start to get an extremely noisy image with overly-defined edges on things if you go too high with the sharpness. __________________ -->jarrod whaley. www.oakstreetfilms.com

October 15th, 2006, 08:18 PM	#3
Ash Greyson Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 1,689	I have a preset floating around for the XL1s match, maybe it is posted somewhere, I dont have it handy. You need to tweak BOTH cameras to match. Use the XL1s for tighter shots and the XL2 for wides. In addition to the setting Jarrod mentioned you will need to turn down the pedestal and setup level, shift the color phase toward red and turn down the green and up the blue... ash =o)