EOSHD grades the Blackmagic camera raw CinemaDNG files

[Andrew Reid]

[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/bmd-one-660px.jpg[/img]

Above: my first go at grading the Blackmagic Cinema Camera raw output

The above frame is scaled to 660 pixels wide for the blog. [url="http://www.eoshd.com/uploads/bmd-one.jpg"]Click here[/url] to view the full 2400 x 1350 frame in your browser and another full frame [url="http://www.eoshd.com/uploads/bmd-pale-skin.jpg"]here[/url]

John Brawley and Blackmagic Design today released the first raw DNG files from the camera.

Here's my take on how the raw camera stands up.

[Andrew Reid]

http://vimeo.com/47933090

Don't forget to head over to John's site and have a go at grading the raw CinemaDNG frames as well. [url="http://johnbrawley.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/afterglow-dngs-are-out-in-the-wild/"]Download the DNG file clips from John Brawley[/url]

[Andrew Reid]

Nice grades by Sam Morgan Moore here

'The file that can go a mile'

http://www.sammorganmoore.com/backlot/the-file-that-can-go-a-mile

[jcs]

For grading looks like a nice tool. Compared to footage I have shot and edited (+ post sharpened) with a 5D3, it doesn't look any sharper or more detailed. Any way to compare at this time?

[Andrew Reid]

Are you serious!?

[jcs]

Yes- how about a resolution chart shot? Then we can compare apples to apples.

[HurtinMinorKey]

jcs, you don't even have a chance to get sharpness like that unless you are using Zeiss cine-primes too. "Incident on Marmont Avenue" was shot with the Zeiss CP, and it's got nowhere near the detail of the above BMC footage.

[cameraboy]

and here we go again ...
;)

[Shawn_Lights]

You can edit them in Premiere. I used the same workflow I seen Theo use for the upcoming Ikonoskop. Basically open the files in After Effects. Create a comp for a shot. Render out as QuickTime photo JPEG. Import that into premiere and edit. Once you're done with the edit, just go to the file in the project window, right click and replace footage with the after effects file. It'll ask you which comp to replace it with. Select one and then it'll revert to the raw files but keeps your edit. Doesn't take long and no third party software is needed. I did this then graded, worked perfectly.

[jcs]

No need for a subjective debate, here's a reasonable 5D Mark III resolution chart test for an empirical comparison*. Look forward to seeing what the BMC can do. Resolution is very important to many folks- a chart will show us a good deal of info regarding resolution, acuity, and aliasing performance. Resolution has been huge source of debate on this site.

Recall the images I processed showing the non-OLPF removed footage closely matching OLPF-removed footage before it was decided OLPF-removal wasn't helpful. I also showed sharpened 5D3 footage from Tonis' early 5D3 footage was decent, before sharpening was considered an acceptable option (for many folks it wasn't and still isn't). Therefore, it is reasonable to request a resolution chart test for the BMC when it is claimed it is much high resolution than the 5D3, which has been heavily bashed on this site for poor resolution. 2.5K native Bayer isn't enough for 1920x1080: we need to sample at least 2x, or 3840x2160 per photosite (RGB), per Nyquist sampling theory. Again, a resolution chart will show us how far they got via Bayer interpolation.

[url="https://vimeo.com/39517721"]https://vimeo.com/39517721[/url]

* folks can decide for themselves the method of extinction of detail, using the same metric for both devices.

[Shawn_Lights]

[url="http://youtu.be/hzbjoJquKWc"]http://youtu.be/hzbjoJquKWc[/url]

I'm not really good at coloring.

[tabac]

Charts and number comparisons aside, this looks like an immense camera. Looking at it on the dough to image equation.

[Shawn_Lights]

[quote name='tabac' timestamp='1345663490' post='16234']
Charts and number comparisons aside, this looks like an immense camera. Looking at it on the dough to image equation.
[/quote]

Personally I put more stock in the actual image. Not a fan of charts and graphs. The Blackmagic camera just has a lovely image. Even the noise in the low light shots are beautiful.

I agree with you. Great camera.

[MaxAperture Films]

JCS, if you want to pixel peep rez charts, that's cool, but the results seem very clear that the BMD image is light years ahead of [i]all HDSLRs[/i] - with superior dynamic range, color space, compression and Raw manipulation. And downsampling 2.5K capture to 1080 still seems far more appealing than upscaling Canon's 600 lines to 1080, but it's really apples and oranges anyway so who cares. I'm ready to move on from the baked-in sludge that mfr's have been serving up lately, especialy the ones that overprice their "evolutionary models" and tell us it's the next best thing.

[tabac]

[quote name='Shawn_Lights' timestamp='1345664496' post='16235']
Personally I put more stock in the actual image. Not a fan of charts and graphs. The Blackmagic camera just has a lovely image. Even the noise in the low light shots are beautiful.

I agree with you. Great camera.
[/quote]
Yeah the 'Dough to Image equation' was a little joke, cheap camera - great images.

[jcs]

Andrew posted that this device has excellent resolution- a chart will show us the actual resolution: this is truth, and will show us how well 2.5K Bayer is UPSAMPLED to 1920x1080 (not enough photosites to downsample). The request for a chart is based on logic; many of the comments regarding not wanting to see a chart are based on emotion. This is a technical analysis blog post and forum thread. Emotion makes most sense when discussing content (as opposed to technical specs).

[tabac]

I would have thought this the perfect place for 'subjective debate' - a film making forum.

[cameraboy]

2.5K is enough for 1080p resolution (422 not 444)... and no AA filter helps ...

[arknox]

jcs - Give it a break, you are either a Canon fan boy or on something if you think post sharpening a 5D3 is even close to the resolution of the BMC. It just takes half a second looking at one of the "stills" from this camera to see that it wipes the 5D3 off the map. Please...

[lafilm]

JCS - is correct. Opinions are cool...but facts are facts. Let's see the hard numbers. I've had people tell me they still prefer Hi-8 video over Digi Beta...so let's pull out the charts. It still will not stop people prefering apples to oranges and thats cool too...but we'll know the hard numbers. Thats what these forums are for. INFORMATION and EDUCATION.

MaxApetureFilms said:

"JCS, if you want to pixel peep rez charts, that's cool, but the results seem very clear that the BMD image is light years ahead of all HDSLRs."

Respectfully, I could not disgaree more with that statement. To me, this Blackmagic cam looks very video-ish. Like the new Sony F700. Like the Kineraw S35. The Canon DSLR's full frame look like movies (cinema) to me.

Now please wait till I put on my bullet proof vest before you start shooting :)