X-T3 Question: 4:2:2 10-bit versus 4:2:0 10-bit gradeability

[Mark Romero 2]

Is there really a big difference in "gradeability" between the 4:2:0 10-bit internal footage and the 4:2:2 10-bit external footage on an X-T3?

Because I shoot primarily real estate and deal with mixed lighting (and can't set up lights), I often have to color correct a lot.

Would shooting in 4:2:0 (which is the chroma level in 4K 60p internally) really hamper my ability to color correct (as opposed to 4:2:2)?

Thanks in advance.

[EphraimP]

I'm no professional colorist. I do, however, shoot a lot of footage with my X-T3 and T4 using a Ninja V. I do feel that the ProRes 422 grades better than the internal backups. I hosed the white balance on an interior shot this weekend, but because I was shooting ProRes I was able to heavily push the temp and tint sliders in Lumetri to dial the color back without the image breaking apart. 

And here's another thing. To get 10-bit out of the Fujis, you've got to shoot HEVC. I would soooo much rather worry about storing chunky ProRes files than editing a mess of H.265 files. And my computer isn't old or slow, either. I built a 16-core Ryzen 9 machine with an RTX 2080 Super and multiple NVMe drives, so it's a reasonably capable machine.

Also, as I've said before, I personally enjoy the benefits of using a larger monitor than the backscreen of the camera to help check focus and framing, and for all of the tools I get that the camera doesn't have. Heck, on Sunday I had my monitor boomed off to the left side of my T4 with a magic arm instead of on top on a ball head. I found I could use the arm as a grip, which widened my posture and made my shoots a little bit more stable. Nothing to do with color grading, I know. But there you go.

[Mark Romero 2]

3 hours ago, EphraimP said:

I'm no professional colorist. I do, however, shoot a lot of footage with my X-T3 and T4 using a Ninja V. I do feel that the ProRes 422 grades better than the internal backups. I hosed the white balance on an interior shot this weekend, but because I was shooting ProRes I was able to heavily push the temp and tint sliders in Lumetri to dial the color back without the image breaking apart. 

And here's another thing. To get 10-bit out of the Fujis, you've got to shoot HEVC. I would soooo much rather worry about storing chunky ProRes files than editing a mess of H.265 files. And my computer isn't old or slow, either. I built a 16-core Ryzen 9 machine with an RTX 2080 Super and multiple NVMe drives, so it's a reasonably capable machine.

Also, as I've said before, I personally enjoy the benefits of using a larger monitor than the backscreen of the camera to help check focus and framing, and for all of the tools I get that the camera doesn't have. Heck, on Sunday I had my monitor boomed off to the left side of my T4 with a magic arm instead of on top on a ball head. I found I could use the arm as a grip, which widened my posture and made my shoots a little bit more stable. Nothing to do with color grading, I know. But there you go.

Thanks for the input.

yeah, i shoot interiors and dealing with white balance is one of the major challenges. And the thought of dealing with h.265 is a bit daunting (although I would probably transcode first).

Thanks again.

[BrunoCH]

On 10/5/2020 at 8:46 PM, Mark Romero 2 said:

Is there really a big difference in "gradeability" between the 4:2:0 10-bit internal footage and the 4:2:2 10-bit external footage on an X-T3?

Because I shoot primarily real estate and deal with mixed lighting (and can't set up lights), I often have to color correct a lot.

Would shooting in 4:2:0 (which is the chroma level in 4K 60p internally) really hamper my ability to color correct (as opposed to 4:2:2)?

Thanks in advance.

There is no difference in "gradeability" between 420 and 422.  The big difference about "gradeability" is 10bits vs 8 bits. F-log is better too. ProRes is better than H265 for hardware but it's another question. 

[dgbarar]

This might be a little off topic and it may or may not help others using FCPX.   Never transcode your H265 files to Proress 422 before importing into FCPX.  Allow, FCPX to generate optimized files upon importing.  The optimized files are ProRes 422.  Do your editing.  Once you have completed your project, delete the optimized media and you will be left with a smaller project file that only has the H265 media.  If you ever need to edit your project, allow FCPX to again generate the optimized media.

Hope this might be of help to others.

Don