So Is a7 III Still The Dynamic Range King? (Not tolling, just asking)

[Mark Romero 2]

6 hours ago, Deadcode said:

This is a hard one.

If you overexpose those highlights, it's gone. Try to grade for the interior in this case

If you expose properly, then you can do the HDR style grade.

On you linked samples the guys probably shoot RAW photos in multiexposure using sliders, then stiched them together.

You can download your graded examples from here

And here are the screengrabs:

 

Thanks for taking the time to look at the examples and to grade them. I really appreciate that. They look good.

For the bottom example, did you just raise the shadows and add saturation? or was it more complex than that?

Also, thanks for the thoughts about the idea of them shooting stills on a timelapse and creating an HDR video from that. I thought they might have just used a programmed motorized slider in a couple of passes, and then masked in the windows. But shooting stills in a time lapse might be easier.

[Deadcode]

5 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Thanks for taking the time to look at the examples and to grade them. I really appreciate that. They look good.

For the bottom example, did you just raise the shadows and add saturation? or was it more complex than that?

Also, thanks for the thoughts about the idea of them shooting stills on a timelapse and creating an HDR video from that. I thought they might have just used a programmed motorized slider in a couple of passes, and then masked in the windows. But shooting stills in a time lapse might be easier.

It was more complex tone mapping. Shadows/Highlights, gamut mapping, contrast, saturation, curves, noise reduction...

[IronFilm]

On Thu Mar 07 2019 at 6:34 AM, Mark Romero 2 said:

So in terms of hybrid cameras - and including the BMPCC4K even though it isn't a hybrid camera - is the a7 III still tops when it comes to dynamic range?

Purely dynamic range. Not colors, not ergonomics, not soul, not flame-proof-ness. Just DR.

 

Makes you wonder, which camera has the best "flame-proof-ness"??

[abehalpert]

On 3/12/2019 at 9:21 AM, DBounce said:

That's exactly what I have come to understand. Honestly,  all of the top cameras produce a good enough image for serious work. It's the other components that most of us are missing. Creative lighting, thoughtful camera movement and most importantly... a good story. 

Find a system that works for you and shoot. Work within the limitations. Focus on telling the story. That's get you get better. 

I think the issue is that lighting design (and budget) is crucial for the look of that or any movie. I read an interview with the Hannah Grace DP somewhere where he said he had to baby the camera because of the 8-bit codec. In other words, get it right in-camera.

When I used to AC, I was on so many indy film shoots where the DP pushed the ISO of his/her RED or Alexa past their self-imposed limit (typically 1600) because their lights were too weak after being diffused.

So, I think that having a camera with the highest possible usable dynamic range and maximum ISO would probably help overcome some deficiencies of your lighting budget.

[sanveer]

On 3/11/2019 at 2:45 PM, Deadcode said:

Why does DR matter so much? we are far beyond the level of necessary DR for content creation.

Most of you guys want 15-16-17+ stops DR because you want "Arri like" highlight roll-off.

You can achieve very nice roll-off even with a GoPro Hero 7 with proper grading: (in this case: 10 stops DR from the camera in 14+ stops environment)

I thought the cineform codec on the GoPros was like 12-bit in an 8-bit or 10-bit wrapper.  That's why the ability to push it is pretty amazing. 

Was this photo a screengrab or a screenshot of a photo you took with the camera (12MP RAW or JPEG pic)? 

I mildly edited the photo and saw that it had way more detail that is seen without editing it.