Mike...

I tried to post the .suf file, but, the DVINFO server wouldn't accept a non-image format. If there was a place on DVINFO.net to post it, I most certainly would have. Perhaps Chris can set something up.

Bill I shot with your setting and it looked very nice. Yes a little too much red but hard to tell until I get some full sun. Amazing how well peaking works with this setting.

Attached are 6 PP's I have been testing now with Bill’s added. I have been used Steve Thomas setting with great results on two jobs.

Thank you to every one with the technical skills to properly help set up PP settings.

Attached is a excel file with the 6 settings.

Hi Bill, what if you changed the file extension (.jpg, jpeg etc.)and then we could just rename the extension to .suf? Or will it zip maybe?

Thanks
Mike

Do the blacks seem overly crushed with Bill's settings. I would think you'd want to record a little more latitude and adjust contrast in post. But that's just me. It definitely fixes some of the green cast issues that I was seeing.

B

Michael it would be nice to just up load off the S&S card the profile but it does not work like the A1. When you upload on the EX1 it changes all camera setting to that saved profile not just Picture Profile. Be careful if you do this and have set up a clip naming sequence since this will change and you could have duplicate clips with the same name. I find it better to just enter the setting one at a time it goes fast with the joy stick.

If someone finds a quicker way I am all ears.

Ben...
I don't think you mean latitude. You really mean "headroom"? This setup is designed to maximize latitude, minimize headroom. Proper exposure becomes critical. Use zebra to set exposure, not auto.
I agree with you. Blacks may appear slightly crushed. Be sure you're viewing the images with a calibrated monitor, since I've pushed the blacks all the way to 0 IRE. If this bothers you, you can back off of the BLACK setting 1-3 steps, or to your taste. OTOH, if you edit in Vegas, you can recover about 5% on either end, clipped or crushed, with the Levels FX and 32-bit processing. Keep in mind that I set things up for 0 RGB-255 RGB(computer RGB) with no pedestal. If this is headed for NTSC broadcast, at a minimum, one would need to convert to studio RGB (RGB16-RGB235)

Agreed. I really like the look of this setting. But from what I shot inside my house tonight, it's a little to red. I'd be nice to get that tweaked a little.

Thanks for your work on that Bill.

Try it now -- I've added the .suf extension as a valid file format for uploading to the forum.

Just for comparison sake I took a little video of my family room with Bill's settings.
The 1st picture is just the stock settings while the 2nd picture is Bill's.
This is at night and I had the cameras gain set to 9db.

1 - http://homepage.mac.com/justin.carls...m-sample-1.jpg

2 - http://homepage.mac.com/justin.carls...m-sample-2.jpg


In the stock settings it looks like it blows out the highlights a little more and exposes more of the blacks.
While in Bills settings it's reversed. Other than having the reds a 'little' too red for my taste, I'm very happy with the overall richness of the colors!

thanx, Chris.

With a still shot like this use slow shutter and leave gain at -3db you will get much better image.
Also WB does not look right for a good comparison.

Picture profile Recipe TC2
 

I've reworked my original profile based on some feedback and observations I received. It was suggested I use a CINE profile for gamma, reds have been dialed down, black level was raised, slightly. Overall, this is an improvement, I really like this profile, altho' my test was quick. I've posted a framegrab, so the comparisons are here:

factory setting(PP Off):
http://www.dvinfo.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=801&c=2

My TC1 profile:
http://www.dvinfo.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=802&c=2

My TC2 profile:
http://www.dvinfo.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=826&c=2

And the recipe is:
Matrix ...............on
Select................hisat
Level..................0
Phase.................-5
R-G...................75
R-B...................0
G-R...................-18
G-B...................-32
B-R...................-27
B-G...................13

Gamma Level..............-40
Gamma Select.............CINE1
Black..........................-12
Black Gamma..............0

Once again, please set your white balance before using. Let me have feedback on your use of the profile.

By the way, Chris, I tried to upload the .suf file and the server still won't let me.

What's the size of a typical .suf file in kilobytes?

Please send one to me via email so I can experiment with the uploader...

chris at dvinfo dot net

edit: rec'd -- thanks bill!

Test: .suf file upload...

Looks like it was successful, so this issue is now fixed.

Bill, thanks so much for the profile, it looks pretty good. Especially outside since I had a nice sunny day (finally!) Anyways keep em coming if you guys have time! You've helped me out so much!

Glad you like it, Jeremiah.

Can someone suggest a PP for shooting still life under halogen floods

Bill your second settings seem to give the best image I have seen so far!

After shooting yesterday with some full sun I agree Bill this is the best Picture Profile so far. Thank you for your time and sharing.

Sorry - this must have been discussed here before, but I only have my EX1 since yesterday so couldn't check at that time. So far we're having two ways of PPs delivery - settings filled up in the Excel spreadsheet, or the .suf file. While the first meethod is obvious to recreate, where in the directory structure does a .suf file go so that it can be loaded by the camera when the BPAV structure is deleted? Should I copy it to the root od my SxS card (i.e. above any existing BPAV directory)?

Just to make sure.

Piotr...

Page 106 of the US user's manual describes the location needed to store a PP file. Basically, go to MENU/OTHERS/CAMERA DATA, then select either STORE or RECALL. There will be no PP files written to your SxS card until the first time you execute a STORE command. After that is done the first time, you can view the file structure by inserting the SxS card in your laptop or Express34 card reader.

Note that the .suf file records every user command available for the camera, including things not in the PP files. So, when you use the file Chris posted, you'll get all my camera settings. The .suf file Chris posted for me has most of the other profiles posted by Paul Cronin on it, as well.

I should note, also, that if you're plugged into a firewire connector, the CAMERA DATA menu is greyed out and you can't access it. Simply unplug the firewire cable.
(By the way, never plug/unplug a firewire cable with the camera turned on)

If you only want to insert a single profile, study the .suf file in a text editor. It's in ASCII format, so, you can see where each PP starts and ends.

Best of luck.

Can't this become a sticky?

It already is.

As a memento for those disappointed with the EX1 out-of-the-box look, I am posting two grabs of the scenery that those of you who followed my last year's V1E measurebating may remember:

- the left one is completely unoptimized, PP off, bad WB (ATW on), no ND requiring the auto iris to go up to 16, thus inducing bad diffraction softening

- the right one is using Bill's PP2, with ND on and manual iris at 5.6 or so

Good job, Bill!

PS: I thought I own this update to you guys; even without a PP, engaging ND filter to allow the iris go down to 5.6 made my first setup look a little better, thanks to getting rid of diffraction softening (you need to see it in full res to appreciate it). Also, the picture with Bill's PP2 looks even more vivid, thanks to some change in lighting (later into the day, the sun lower). Comments welcome!

What I dont get is why Sony would set the cameras colour balance wrong? Unless there is a reason?

Mark, I guess it's not "wrong" - it's just that ATW is slow, so unless you have plenty of time for it do adopt (or set the WB manually using the white/gray cards), you'll be much better off by using the right presets...

PS: by "the right presets" I don't mean just the on of the PP currently in use, but also those assigned to the "Memory A / Memory B" of your WB hardware switch.

I always either use a colour meter or a white balance to a card first!

Using Bills settings I get a true look. In fact the best of all profiles I have seen. However when colour correcting in post. First using colorista to further white balance if neccesary. Then color finesse in HSL mode I can get a really nice effect with the cameras own color balance. The thought crossed my mind I wonder if the camera is set this way for Colour grading. Probably not.

help
 

ok i'm a little confused...
I'm using a mac
So I should download the .suf file from chris..
If so how do I do that, when I try it wants to save as a php file.
Then what o I do with it and how do I put this into the camera...

Piotr. I just realised how my original post reads! I shouldnt have said colour balance. "Although that describes it correctly" .But the standard colour settings of the camera. Because you have to balance them to get right!

Yes Mark, I think I did get you right - and hope you got me right as well (sorry, English is not my native language).

Piotr. I meant Bills settings. The colours here

Matrix ...............on
Select................hisat
Level..................0
Phase.................-5
R-G...................75
R-B...................0
G-R...................-18
G-B...................-32
B-R...................-27
B-G...................13

Yes, I like Bills last profile TC2.

This seems to work good in bright light.

Bill, how do you feel about having possibly three of these profiles.
bright, moderate, and low light?

They all would remain on CINE1, but I imagine all that would need to be changed is the gamma and black levels for each profile.

Steve...

Makes sense to me. As I said earlier in this thread, I dropped the CINE1 gamma levels from 0 to -40 to get the middle gray values at 50% IRE on the WFM. The STD3 profile was much closer. I had to drop the LEVELS to -15 to get middle gray at 50%. I was set at a fixed f/4.0 and 1/60 sec exposure for my tests. Knowing that, if one stays with the CINE1 preset, my recommendation is that you experiment with different GAMMA LEVELS, varying between 0 and -40, depending on what suits you for varying light conditions.

The other CINE presets were quite surprising at how MUCH they stretched the blacks and compressed the hi-lights. Having seen that, I doubt I'll use them much.

Isn't black stretching and compressing whites to avoid blow-out and to give a flat low contrast film look middle what most users are after?

I'm thinking the same...

Yes it is; however, in low-light situations (or with dull scenery) you would want it the other way around: compress blacks so that noise in the shadow is minimized, and elevate the knee point (stretch highs) to get as much brighness into the picture as possible.

Of course I do agree that in an ideal world (and ideal camera that never introduces gain noise or black/white clipping), shooting flat and only grading in post would be preferrable...

Been playing with the different CINE choices. Cine 1, 3, and 4 all work with the color profile I generated, but, provide different levels of black stretch. I also reset the gamma level to zero when I use cine1, 3 or 4 to open up the blacks. See Adam Wilt's opinion of each cine, progressive levels of black stretch, except for Cine2, which is a flyer.

Bill, are you saying that your new profile is:

Matrix ...............on
Select................hisat
Level..................0
Phase.................-5
R-G...................75
R-B...................0
G-R...................-18
G-B...................-32
B-R...................-27
B-G...................13

Gamma Level.............. 0 (changed from -40)
Gamma Select.............CINE1
Black..........................-12
Black Gamma..............0

If so, this will probaby help the crushed blacks. I noticed the blacks were a bit crushed in your last -40 gamma setting. Well, at least in low light.

Steve...

yes! You lose a little dynamic range, but, it takes less CCing in post. And selecting a CINE1, 3,or 4 setting, depending on how much black stretch you want/need.
I think part of the lesson, here, is that the color matrix settings are good for a truer color, however, the way Sony applies gamma curve settings is a learning process for me.
One thing about my old settings is that the auto iris tends to underexpose unless one manually adjusts the iris for 100% zebra. It seems to be equivalent to something less than 1/2 f/stop since adjusting the level in TLCS by +0.5 is too much.

Your observation that light level effects things is right on.

Thanks Bill.
I'm going to make three TC files.
TC1 (CINE1)
TC2 (CINE3)
TC3 (CINE4)

Matrix ...............on
Select................hisat
Level..................0
Phase.................-5
R-G...................75
R-B...................0
G-R...................-18
G-B...................-32
B-R...................-27
B-G...................13

Gamma Level.............. 0 (changed from -40)
Gamma Select.............(CINE1, CINE3, or CINE4)
Black..........................-12
Black Gamma..............0

Thanks for your time Bill.

Steve...

Already done that...here
pp1: Steve Thomas' PP
pp2: original TC1
pp3: TC2 Cine1
pp4: TC2 Cine3
pp5: TC2 Cine4
pp6:TC2

note; you have to rename the suf file to "setup.suf" before loading it onto your SxS.