F55, SLog2 and wildlife filming

[Cees van Kempen]

Pulled the trigger and ordered an F55, which I will use for wildlife productions. Read a lot about the advantages of SLog2. But still wonder what would be wise to do for me, since doing proper exposure seems more crucial when shooting SLog2. Shooting wildlife means that I hardly ever have the chance to do exposure measurements with grey/white card etc. My only tool will be the lcd viewfinder. I will shoot 4K XAVC.

Any wildlife filmers out there with good advise?

[Alister Chapman]

You just have to remember that white should be 59%, so just try to keep you whites etc about 1.5 to 2 stops under where you would expose with a conventional gamma and you should be OK. By the end of the year we should have LUT's available in all modes, not just CineEI.

Also remember that if you are going to shoot log that the grading side of your post workflow should have log based correction tools to get the best results. Grading log with an NLE often results in less than optimum pictures.

If you don't shoot log then you do also have a couple of 800% range hypergammas that give a big dynamic range boost without the post production log requirements. However again due to the large amount of dynamic range squeezed into the top end of the gamma curve you still need to reduce your exposure levels by a stop or more for best results.

[Cees van Kempen]

Thanks Alister.

Post will be done by a professional colorist in DaVinci Resolve. Do I understand well that in that case, and with using the expected LUT for the viewfinder, SLog2 will give me the best results?

Am I correct that the workflow should then be:
- film in SLog2, using a LUT for the viewfinder, but not to be backed into the footage.
- using a LUT in the NLE in order to have a decent looking picture for editing purposes, but exporting without the LUT to Resolve.
- Doing the proper color grading in Resolve to make the final export.

[Marc Plomp]

Hi Cees,
congrat with your new camera,
please can you give your resons why you chose a F55 above a Red Epic?

[Cees van Kempen]

Hi Marc,

It was a close call. But the main reasons are:
- lower power consumption
- ND filters
- decent mic in (xlr)
- option to shoot 4K in a new codec (xavc). Don't fancy the size of raw files.
- local distribitor and local back up in case something is wrong

My concern was the absence of cache record, but that will be solved in a future upgrade.

The announcement of Red's Dragon sensor made me doubt, but I still believe the Sony is a more complete video camera for a lower price (compared to an Epic Dragon with all additional stuff).

[Alister Chapman]

Yes Cees, your workflow sounds about right once we get non baked in MLUT's in custom mode and it will give you maximum dynamic range.

Important to remember not to use the LUT in the grade, unless it's in the very last node.

Sony's 4K raw is compressed 3:1 losslessly and comes out around 1Gb/s at 24/25fps. 4K XAVC is 240Mb/s so the XAVC files are pretty compact.

[Paul Cronin]

Hi Cees,

Congratulations, I have now had my F55 for two months and have worked if very hard shooting all the formats for a big range of clients. The best camera I have ever owned it is so versatile that all my customers benefit, and I have owned a lot of great cameras. I am sure you will use great lens, which in my opinion is needed to really make the F55 shine.

Make sure you sign up to the Sony Professional forum, great info from owner operators.

[Cees van Kempen]

Thanks Paul. I have signed up.

[Cees van Kempen]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

Yes Cees, your workflow sounds about right once we get non baked in MLUT's in custom mode and it will give you maximum dynamic range.

Important to remember not to use the LUT in the grade, unless it's in the very last node.

Sony's 4K raw is compressed 3:1 losslessly and comes out around 1Gb/s at 24/25fps. 4K XAVC is 240Mb/s so the XAVC files are pretty compact.

While awaiting my F55 to arrive I take the risk of asking a potentially stupid question: but what is the differerence between a LUT and a MLUT?

[Mark Kenfield]

Cees, the F55 also now has false colour metering I believe, which should make life easier exposure wise.

[Paul Cronin]

False Color is only with OLED VF or 7" monitor not with the LCD which has become the popular VF.

[Alister Chapman]

A LUT can be many things, it's a generic term for any kind of Look Up Table.

An MLUT is specifically a look up table designed to allow you to view what you are shooting in one standard/colour space using a different standard/colorspace. In F5/F55 terms that means taking SLog2 or Raw and converting it to 709 for the viewfinder or monitor. An MLUT my not comply to any specific standard, it's just there to make the pictures better for monitoring.

Other types of LUT include a "look" LUT, designed to give images a specific look within a single colour space.

An Output LUT would take the output from a device or software and convert it from the input colour space to a suitable colour space for display or distribution. Typically used on the output of grading software to convert to the chosen output format such as 709 for TV or DCI-XYZ of cinema.

An Input LUT or Input Transform would be used to bring footage in to an edit or grading application so that various input formats can be converted to a single common standard for grading so that all the same grade can be used on the footage from any camera (ACES etc).