Sony A7III SLog2

[Dave Del Real]

Sorry, I know this subject has been beaten to death but has anybody had any success with SLog2 on the A7III? I’ve been bouncing between Slog2 and HLG3 but leaning more towards Slog2 with Pro color. HLG3 in 2020 is nice but weird in the green/blues. Was using SLog2 and Sgamut3.cine but I think Pro has richer colors. Just wondering how it’s been working out for others, I just think I’m still not getting the most out of this camera.

[Mako Sports]

I prefer HLG 2 wit r709 in both the A7iii and FS5. Slightly cleaner noise floor.

I shot some slog 2 test footage today with both cameras, as converting slog 2 to slog 3 (or any cineon log curve) makes it a bit easier to grade. I will post results in a bit.

[Dave Del Real]

Nice, thanks. Look forward to seeing your results.Nice, thanks. Look forward to seeing your results.

[Mark Romero 2]

3 hours ago, Dave Del Real said:

Sorry, I know this subject has been beaten to death but has anybody had any success with SLog2 on the A7III? I’ve been bouncing between Slog2 and HLG3 but leaning more towards Slog2 with Pro color. HLG3 in 2020 is nice but weird in the green/blues. Was using SLog2 and Sgamut3.cine but I think Pro has richer colors. Just wondering how it’s been working out for others, I just think I’m still not getting the most out of this camera.

Firstly, what NLE are you using?

What has been your grading workflow with Slog 2 and s.gamut3.cine?

Are you using one of Sony's official luts to change SLOG 2 into Rec 709? 

I don't know about using SLOG 2 with pro color... I know when using it with the Cinegammas it can lead to some super saturation of the highlights, and I have found when using Cinnegammas that cinema color is a bit nicer. But again, don't know if it has that affect when using SLOG 2 as the gamma.

Lately, I have been pretty happy with the colors when using Color Space Transform in Resolve to change the gamma from SLOG 2 into Arri Log C and the gamut from s.gamut.3 in to Arri Gamut, then grade in the arri color space, then use the Arri to Rec 709 lut at the end of the node chain. Because SLOG 2 is generally overexposed while Arri Log C is exposed closer to center, my first node often just has various LGG adjustments to bring the exposure down. Then the color space transform. Then a node for color balance and grading, then a fourth node for the Arri to Rec 709 LUT.

[Mako Sports]

The only HLG 2 shot is of my dog. Everything else was shot in slog 2 and remapped to slog 3 then converted to Rec 709 in post. 

Doesn't have as much DR, but the HLG is really easy to work with.

[Deadcode]

Slog2 with sgamut3.cine is awesome, and works like a breeze with ACES.

You can download the proper ACES IDT from colorizer.net

If i dont want to colorgrade, eoshd pro color v4 hdr is the winner

[Rinad Amir]

3 hours ago, Mako Sports said:

The only HLG 2 shot is of my dog. Everything else was shot in slog 2 and remapped to slog 3 then converted to Rec 709 in post. 

Doesn't have as much DR, but the HLG is really easy to work with.

Ohh Takata belts ? i remember them days getting pulled by gards and asking why in the world id have them instead of ordinary seatbelets on my 9 

[Dave Del Real]

4 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Firstly, what NLE are you using?

What has been your grading workflow with Slog 2 and s.gamut3.cine?

Are you using one of Sony's official luts to change SLOG 2 into Rec 709? 

I don't know about using SLOG 2 with pro color... I know when using it with the Cinegammas it can lead to some super saturation of the highlights, and I have found when using Cinnegammas that cinema color is a bit nicer. But again, don't know if it has that affect when using SLOG 2 as the gamma.

Lately, I have been pretty happy with the colors when using Color Space Transform in Resolve to change the gamma from SLOG 2 into Arri Log C and the gamut from s.gamut.3 in to Arri Gamut, then grade in the arri color space, then use the Arri to Rec 709 lut at the end of the node chain. Because SLOG 2 is generally overexposed while Arri Log C is exposed closer to center, my first node often just has various LGG adjustments to bring the exposure down. Then the color space transform. Then a node for color balance and grading, then a fourth node for the Arri to Rec 709 LUT.

Been using FCPX to edit then to Resolve for color. Yeah, I did notice the highlight saturation too when using Pro. Might have to try SLog2 with Sgamut3.Cine again with the workflows described here. Totally forgot about ACES, will try that too.

[Attila Bakos]

1 minute ago, Dave Del Real said:

Been using FCPX to edit then to Resolve for color. Yeah, I did notice the highlight saturation too when using Pro. Might have to try SLog2 with Sgamut3.Cine again with the workflows described here. Totally forgot about ACES, will try that too.

Colorizer.net is my stuff, thanks @Deadcode for mentioning it. I also have Fuji film simulation LUTs specially designed for S-Log2/S-Gamut3.cine, if you're interested. (I used an A6300 for the conversions.)

[Mark Romero 2]

I am curious as to what the benefits are of working in ACES as opposed to RGB (which the tools in Resolve were designed for).

I am not at this time good enough / knowledgable enough about ACES to see a difference when I try to use it.
 

[Attila Bakos]

25 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

I am curious as to what the benefits are of working in ACES as opposed to RGB (which the tools in Resolve were designed for).

I am not at this time good enough / knowledgable enough about ACES to see a difference when I try to use it.
 

You might want to check this tutorial on mixinglight: https://mixinglight.com/color-tutorial/getting-know-aces/

[Deadcode]

31 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

I am curious as to what the benefits are of working in ACES as opposed to RGB (which the tools in Resolve were designed for).

I am not at this time good enough / knowledgable enough about ACES to see a difference when I try to use it.
 

All your current problems can be solved by using ACES. You have been fighting with SLOG so long now. 

Actually im suprised that ACES just came in to the picture with the Panasonic S1 on these forums

[Dave Del Real]

Picked up the ACES IDT and LUTS from Colorizer. Saved some footage with it, thanks for the heads up. I'm also liking HLG2 in 709 - wish I had tried that sooner.

[Evgeniy]

HLG is not a log profile, so it shouldn't be used as such. 

The reasons to avoid shooting in Slog2 or 3 would be compression artifacts, which can be avoided by using an external recorder. Slog 2/3 with S-Gamut3.cine will give you a much better result than Pro color and especially 709, which is horrible on Sony cameras. 

[Mark Romero 2]

22 minutes ago, Evgeniy said:

HLG is not a log profile, so it shouldn't be used as such. 

The reasons to avoid shooting in Slog2 or 3 would be compression artifacts, which can be avoided by using an external recorder. Slog 2/3 with S-Gamut3.cine will give you a much better result than Pro color and especially 709, which is horrible on Sony cameras. 

A couple of questions...

The reasons to avoid shooting in Slog2 or 3 would be compression artifacts, which can be avoided by using an external recorder.

So exactly what would be cleared up by recording externally? Macro blocking? Banding? Noisy Shadows? All of the above? None of the above?

Slog 2/3 with S-Gamut3.cine will give you a much better result than Pro color and especially 709...

So don't use S-gamut when shooting Slog 2???

[Dave Del Real]

59 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

A couple of questions...

The reasons to avoid shooting in Slog2 or 3 would be compression artifacts, which can be avoided by using an external recorder.

So exactly what would be cleared up by recording externally? Macro blocking? Banding? Noisy Shadows? All of the above? None of the above?

Slog 2/3 with S-Gamut3.cine will give you a much better result than Pro color and especially 709...

So don't use S-gamut when shooting Slog 2???

I would stay away from SGamut - too much green and difficult to adjust in post. Not sure about the external recorder thing, so far it seems a minor improvement over internal recording and not enough to justify the purchase and/or extra weight. (I know you're not asking me but thought I'd chime in)

I think I'm sold on SLog2/SGamut3.Cine and the ACES IDT/Luts from Colorizer. HLG2 in 709 is okay but it seems gritty or something, I can't quite put my finger on it. Not bad, just probably not my first choice since my new found workflow with SLog2.

[Mark Romero 2]

18 minutes ago, Dave Del Real said:

I would stay away from SGamut - too much green and difficult to adjust in post. Not sure about the external recorder thing, so far it seems a minor improvement over internal recording and not enough to justify the purchase and/or extra weight. (I know you're not asking me but thought I'd chime in)

Thanks for the input. Did you find any tutorials that were good on ACES workflow?

[thebrothersthre3]

HLG seems to have less banding issues and artifacts, not sure why you'd use Log over it if you want the best in camera quality. Unless you are delivering to someone who expects Slog2. 

 

[Deadcode]

42 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

HLG seems to have less banding issues and artifacts, not sure why you'd use Log over it if you want the best in camera quality. Unless you are delivering to someone who expects Slog2. 

 

Only beginners and Premiere users are crying about banding issues with slog2 ?

[androidlad]

15 hours ago, Rinad Amir said:

Ohh Takata belts ? i remember them days getting pulled by gards and asking why in the world id have them instead of ordinary seatbelets on my 9 

You must be based in Dublin ?

So am I.