jonpais

@Eric Calabros That may be so, but HDR increases the brightness of specular highlights, like the glint of a sword in the moonlight, which is wonderful to behold.

@webrunner5 Just about any camera that shoots log or RAW can be graded for HDR delivery, including both the GH5 and GH5s. The G9 is an example of a camera that does not shoot log. For HDR delivery, a camera must not only have a log profile, but also a minimum of 10 bits. The Sony a7RIII, for example, only shoots 8 bit video.. The Starvis sensor uses quad bayer coding HDR, where two exposures, one short and one long, are combined in a single frame to give wider dynamic range. So for example in a scene with a person standing in a dark room in front of a bright window, you could see more detail in the shadows and highlights.

Yeah, they’re similar in name only. ?

Of course, Rinad should get the Ninja Inferno. ?

@kidzrevil Its survival will certainly depend on content creators. According to Displaymate, your tv is already ‘better than $50,000 Sony Professional CRT Reference Studio Monitors that up until recently were the golden standard for picture quality.’ It is essentially three television sets in one, in that it can accurately display HD, which still accounts for the overwheming amount of content out there, 4K and HDR. I don’t seriously expect HDR to overtake SDR any time soon, but as more and more filmmakers discover it and as better and more affordable solutions arrive, I think we’ll see wider adoption. The number of portable devices that support HDR, as well as video sharing platforms like YouTube and streaming services like Netflx and Amazon that produce HDR programs will also create widespread demand. I’m not a gamer, but I understand they’re also pushing for more HDR games and displays.

@kidzrevil Did you even look over the requirements for HDR? Not rec.2020, but a minimum of 90% of the P3 color space. The LG E7 covers over 100%.

At least get your facts straight, @kidzrevil. Rec. 2020 may be either 10 or 12 bit. Although rec.2020 commonly refers to only the color space, in fact it establishes parameters for resolution (4K and 8K), aspect ratio (16:9), progressive frame rates and bit depth. In order to receive the UHD Alliance Premium Certified designation, televisions must meet the following criteria: 3,840X2160 pixels, 10 bit color depth, the ability to display 90% of the P3 color gamut, a minimum brightness of 1,000 nits, along with a black level of a maximum of 0.05 nits for LCD displays or a minimum brightness of 540 nits, along with a black level of a maximum of 0.0005 nits for OLED, and the ability to use SMPTE ST2084’s EOTF. Manufacturers that don’t belong to the alliance may release HDR sets without certification and among HDR certified sets, some will perform better than others. Finally, saying a television supports HDR does not mean it is actually a true HDR set as defined by the UHD Alliance. To avoid any confusion, I say I own an HDR TV.

Of course he uses Glimmer Glass - Wages developed it. ? That’s like saying Elon Musk drives a Tesla.

just maybe because bh doesn’t send loaners out to two dozen youtubers for review?

@Axel My mistake! It was when 1080p arrived that there were already concerns about seeing lines, wrinkles and blemishes on talents’ faces.

Dustin Abbott has uploaded a video comparing Canon and Sony color. I don’t know what he’s shooting with here, but the color and clarity of his YouTube video are pretty impressive. Edit: I believe he shot this episode with the a6500, which goes to illustrate that regardless of minor differences in image quality - functionality, file sizes, ergonomics and many, many other factors are equally important.

My new grading suite for HDR. ?

Why begin a new thread so soon? Might as well just copy and paste all the wild speculation from the GH5s announcement thread. ? Most of us haven’t even discovered the secret to extracting the best image quality possible from the GH5.

Revised cost alert. ? Any pro videographer shooting V-Log or HLG with the GH5 should probably own the Inferno anyhow, since it unlocks 4K 60p 10 bit. So if like Mark and Ron, you already own an HDR smartphone, the investment is only $145.00 for a converter. hehe And in no way, shape or form am I denigrating the work of Art Adams and the dozens of others who generously give of their time to share shooting, monitoring, grading and delivery recommendations - it is invaluable information - but it’s often so technical that it is likely to scare off some who get dizzy just reading all the terminology. Many shooting today, if they’d read so many technical considerations about SDR - about color gamuts, bit depth, learning to read scopes, how dynamic range and color depth are compressed, chroma subsampling, gamma, log curves, debayering, color volumes - would never even pick up a camera. Remember, when 4K arrived not so long ago, there were just as many, if not more, dire precautions against such things as shooting close-ups of talent, concerns about the additional diligence required of makeup artists and costume designers, and outright dismissal because of the absence of 4K projectors in theaters and 4K televisions in the home. Is it just a coincidence that the ones here most vehemently opposed to HDR are the very ones who insist on 1080p and diffusion filters? ? Do yourselves a favor and watch an episode of Chef’s Table on Netflix in Dolby Vision. Rather than reading pages and pages about taking extra care with specular highlights and large bright areas when on set, why not just go out and shoot some tests yourself, and you’ll quickly discover some of these precepts on your own. Then, there’s a lot of hand-wringing about how the video will be viewed in the home or at the theater - but this is something that has plagued filmmakers and colorists from day one! I shoot 4K, and I usually make my titles small because I don’t like chunky titles and I expect my work to be viewed on a 27” or larger display - so for sure anyone watching my stuff on a 5” ipod is going to be squinting. ? The same applies to highlight roll off when grading HDR10. Should you deliver for 1,000, 5,000 or 10,000 nit displays? Realistically, most HDR sets today fall anywhere from around 500-1,000 nits, so the answer should be pretty obvious, at least for those of us who aren’t shooting for theatrical release. Fifty years down the road, when every suburban housewife has a 10k nit display on the refrigerator door, you can go back and deliver the project in 10,000k nits. Some may not be aware of this, but studios already make several trim passes - deliverables for the myriad distribution options - which is how I’m able to enjoy a Dolby Vision program on a 600 nit display. For professonals, SMPTE has come up with the Interoperable Master Format (IMF), whose purpose is to make versioning simpler by wrapping all the versions in one container. Should YouTubers and wedding photographers be concerned with all this? Probably not.

You guys have obviously not looked at the links I’ve provided... First off, HDR is not just ‘anything above seven stops of dynamic range’. It is also about more than just dynamic range. Concerning the different formats, there are only two you need to concern yourself with: HDR10 and HLG. If you own a recent HDR television, it will automatically recognize whether the material is HDR10, Dolby Vision or HLG. Whether 99% of the universe is ignorant about HDR is irrelevant: we have the information at our fingertips. As far as cost goes, if you’re shooting with a camera with LOG or RAW, you’re already capturing HDR: investing in a recorder (which you might have already), a device like the Mini Monitor and a TV will cost less than a new GH5s. Regardless of what your average Joe says, any sentient being can distinguish between SDR and HDR. And yes, just as when shooting for SDR delivery, you’ll want to take care that there isn’t a bald sky occupying 90% of the frame (unless that’s your artistic intent), or a bright lamp shining directly behind your talent’s ears. My very first HDR YouTube video was never even intended to be delivered in HDR; I uploaded it without any grading whatsoever; the color is off, for sure, but in every other respect, it kills the SDR version.

Here are the steps you need to take to work with BMD's UltraStudio Mini Monitor on a Mac. I've got to take my Mac back into the shop again, they screwed up, so I can't say how or if the Ninja is working yet! (when they put my Mac back together, the Thunderbolt ports weren't aligned properly or something, so I can't plug anything in them)

Update on my Ultrastudio Mini Monitor adventure. The device wasn’t recognized on installation last night because High Sierra introduced new security, so it will be necessary to go into security preferences to allow the driver. Will keep everyone updated.

@HockeyFan12 @DaveAltizer The MacBook Pros aren’t HDR. hehe Words like HDR Ready, HDR Compatible or anything with HDR in the name does not mean anything in and of itself. It is certainly disappointing when even manufacturers like LG, who make among the best HDR displays today, consider it necessary to deceive buyers with garbage like HDR Pro or HDR Effect on their entry level televisions which are not HDR at all. In the very loosest sense of the term, HDR can mean as little as that a piece of equipment will process the signal! ? As far as brightness is concerned, the requirements differ depending on whether the display is OLED or LCD. Brightness is only one factor as well - LCD displays must use full array backlight dimming in order to increase local contrast. MacBook Pros with full array backlight dimming would be chunky as heck - and full array backlight is extremely expensive. Witness Dell’s UP2718Q. Which is why I believe that only when laptops with OLED screens appear will we have some semblance of HDR in notebooks. The UHD Alliance published standards for television manufacturers, but you don’t necessarily want to apply the same criteria to desktop monitors - for one thing, as Andrew pointed out, sitting a couple feet away from a 10,000 nit display would probably fry your eyeballs. ? VESA also recently came up with badly needed HDR standards for desktop monitors, but they are intentionally vague and all but useless in my opinion.

Could be, it’s been a long time since I’ve shot with mine and I never use autofocus continuous. I also live in one of the noisiest cities in the world, so impossible for me to really test myself. It’s 2:00 am here and I can’t get to sleep because of some idiots in the alley below. ?

@Grumble The Ninja Inferno is just a poor man's way to get started grading HDR. The monitor is admittedly too small and is not true HDR. Your three year-old television is not HDR. It cannot be made compatible for HDR. Neither is your computer HDR. To learn more about HDR, read this article.

Dustin Abbott writes: Every time I review a Sigma lens I will be closely looking at the AF (autofocus) performance. I’ve rarely had a problem with HSM motors when it comes to sound or speed (they are amongst the quietest focusing lenses that I’ve encountered and generally quite fast) Source And Lenstip writes: The Sigma A 18-35 mm f/1.8 DC HSM, as its name indicates, is equipped with an ultrasonic autofocus motor called Hyper Sonic Motor. The work of the mechanism is, in fact, noiseless Source And DPReview writes: The 18-35mm uses Sigma's 'Hypersonic Motor' for autofocus, which is fast, essentially silent, and generally very decisive. Source And ephotozine writes: A silent HSM focusing motor powers the focusing mechanism, which is very quick to confirm focus and accurate, even on this pre-production sample. Source

@AaronChicago For now, I’m planning to use the Ninja Inferno as a grading monitor. Not ideal, I know, but we’re not living in an ideal world. And many of us are still editing SDR on less than ideal monitors as it is. ? There is always the Dell UP2718Q, which is certified HDR Premium and has gotten excellent reviews, but as far as I know, it’s not compatible with Apple, it’s pricey ($1,659.00 USD), and I believe that even if it were, you’d be looking at $3,000 for a premium i/o device. I just picked up my iMac from the service center and bought a Thunderbolt 2 cable and USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adapter to hook up the UltraStudio Mini Monitor. I won’t even tell you how much those cables set me back! I’ll be installing the firmware for the device this evening and pray my computer doesn’t crash or anything. Will keep everyone updated.

@zerocool22 the link is broken. Could you please explain what this has to do with video?

@Axel My iMac was in for repair, I'm about to go pick it up now (one of the ports wasn't working properly, nothing big!). After I get home, I'll be sure to try it out, provided I can find a Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt 3 adapter.

I uploaded my very first HDR video to YouTube around a week or so ago and... since then, I've got no desire to ever look back. Every filmmaker is looking for the camera with the highest dynamic range, good low light performance, and nice highlight rolloff... and as a consequence, we keep upgrading our cameras every 6 months to 2 years... a costly enterprise!... however - if your camera shoots RAW or LOG, you are already prepared to edit and deliver in HDR, which has a greater color space than SDR as well as greater dynamic range - and not just a paltry one or two stop improvement. Many balk at investing in HDR because of the supposed expense - but for less than the price of a Lumix GH5s, you can purchase a Ninja Flame or Inferno, a BMD UltraStudio Mini Monitor and the very best 55" OLED television and begin editing high dynamic range video right away. And if, like me, you primarily distribute your videos on YouTube, you'll be happy to learn that the quality is greatly improved as well - fewer compression artifacts and less macroblocking, less noise in the shadows and much sharper looking images. Why sharper? Because of the insanely higher local contrast of OLED displays, images that looked soft and smudgy in SDR are suddenly crisp again. Possibly for the first time in your life, you'll see inky blacks and brilliant highlights. And what about the workflow? Little different from any other really. You simply need to select wide dynamic range for your library and project in Final Cut Pro and away you go. If you shoot with the GH5, HLG is a bit more simple than V-Log, if only because you won't need any LUTs when recording, viewing your footage in the timeline or for delivery. The GH5 already has built-in LUTs for viewing the image while recording and you can use the Atom HDR feature on the Ninja for grading (you can also use Atom HDR when recording). If you prefer working with V-Log, however, there are LUTs available for all of the above. I prefer HLG because in my opinion, there's less work in post, shadows are less noisy and it has a more pleasing highlight rolloff, but you are free to choose whichever you think is best. If you have clients that require rec.709, conversion LUTs are also available.