The importance of firmware updates and why Panasonic are too late with V-LOG for the GH4

[Fritz Pierre]

Already very happy with the GH4....will buy a 2nd body the moment they release V log FW...with the new Metabones speed booster this will be a serious tool at any level and if Panasonic is going to release, it they'll get it right...

 

[Jordan Drake]

Playing with V-Log L a bit more, I've found that it responds wonderfully to Alexa LUTs. This is great, since I won't have to wait months for V-Log L LUTs to become available for the shoots where I don't have time to manually grade (also, I'm not a great colorist by any means!)

[johnnymossville]

Playing with V-Log L a bit more, I've found that it responds wonderfully to Alexa LUTs. This is great, since I won't have to wait months for V-Log L LUTs to become available for the shoots where I don't have time to manually grade (also, I'm not a great colorist by any means!)

​That is great news!   Alexa's color, is generally my favorite.   Approximate that and we are in for a treat. 

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Playing with V-Log L a bit more, I've found that it responds wonderfully to Alexa LUTs. This is great, since I won't have to wait months for V-Log L LUTs to become available for the shoots where I don't have time to manually grade (also, I'm not a great colorist by any means!)

Jordan could you kindly give us a Tiff Frame Grab from an ungraded V-Log scene, preferably with skin it it. Just a Grab.

If you could give us the same grab with the Cine D profile or any other normal profile (if you've compared both and have test footage to grab them from) then that would be even more appreciated. 

Kindly, Keep up the great work. Thanks for keeping us informed and joining EOSHD. 

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Playing with V-Log L a bit more, I've found that it responds wonderfully to Alexa LUTs. This is great, since I won't have to wait months for V-Log L LUTs to become available for the shoots where I don't have time to manually grade (also, I'm not a great colorist by any means!)

​Thank you so much for keeping us up to date with your discoveries! I look forward to seeing your tests with VLog in 10-bit.

[johnnymossville]

v-log shot.   I know it's just a jpg but I can't wait much longer to play around.   haha

[Jordan Drake]

Jordan could you kindly give us a Tiff Frame Grab from an ungraded V-Log scene, preferably with skin it it. Just a Grab.

If you could give us the same grab with the Cine D profile or any other normal profile (if you've compared both and have test footage to grab them from) then that would be even more appreciated. 

Kindly, Keep up the great work. Thanks for keeping us informed and joining EOSHD. 

​I hate to say it, but I've agreed not to share any V-Log L files while I'm testing. I think the screencap below is your best bet at seeing how the files respond to your workflow.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

But doesn't it mean you shouldn't share it on YT too? or is it just OK to share as long as it's not the original file? A Tiff wouldn't be an original file, arguably an altered compression sample like YT 

Anyway Understood if it's not possible. Thank you again Jordan

[deezid]

Some testgrading of your screenshot @Jordan Drake 
Used my old 2013 BMCC Teal/Orange LUT for this.

[johnnymossville]

Looks really good Deezid. 

[Jordan Drake]

I know it's not too much new information, but you can see my thoughts on V-Log in this video starting at 13:45.

 

 

[Julian]

Jordan, you're saying 'they are giving it away free of charge', is that confirmed? There have been some rumors about V-Log being a paid upgrade.

Footage looks great. I just wish Panasonic could be a bit more clear about their release plans. Especially now a lot of early users are saying 'it looks finished', why be so mysterious about it Panasonic...

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

So when is V-log going to be out? 

Sorry, I had to.

 

V-LOG Footage looks nice & flat. I am afraid too flat in fact.

[Marco Tecno]

With the pro-activity shown by samsung, I think it's rather odd they are not getting a similar profile ready for nx1, in a fw upgrade!

[jonpais]

Can anyone tell me if V-Log requires an external monitor/LUT to judge proper exposure, or are the camera's histogram/zebra stripes adequate?

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

I was wondering, what does LOG actually, technically, mean? A logarithmic luminance/chrominance curve right? Isn't it simply raising the shadows and bringing down the highlights with an inversed S-curve applied on the raw data before compression so that you can squeeze more DR into the final file? 

I know there's definitely a variation between the different LOG curve implementations in each brand  (S-log vs C-log vs Log-C vs V-log) but that's not what I am asking about I am after the general meaning of a Log gamma in a camera, technically but not in a complex language. 

What about Picture profiles, if one specifies an inverse S curve within the camera settings, a Log one, doesn't that also count technically as a Log gamma? Say like Taking the NX1 cinema profile then taking down all contrast, it's a pretty LOG like image, with an inverse S curve that shows high shadows and low highs, what about cinestyle in Canon DSLRs? What about Cine-D with Contrast all the way down? Wouldn't these be Log Gammas? (keeping aside how good or bad they perform) 

What constitutes as a Log Gamma? 

 

[Julian]

Good point Ebrahim. I get the idea that extreme flat 'picture profiles' (like Cinestyle, heavily modified Cine-D) fall apart much faster when grading compared to 'real' LOG profiles (LOG files sometimes look almost black and white because they are so flat. Still, with a LUT applied, the same footage can be extremely vibrant). Like the LOG profile actually contains more 'hidden' information. That's just an assumption though, not sure if possible at all...

 

 

 

[Antonis]

Alister Chapman has a lot of information on the way Slog works here:
http://www.xdcam-user.com/2014/12/ultimate-guide-for-cine-ei-on-the-sony-pxw-fs7/

He also talks a bit about Slog2 and the importance of using LUT's before grading, here: 

 

 

[johnnymossville]

Here is the image using Panasonic's own Varicam35 VLOG to V709 LUT.      Didn't touch the image at all other than apply the LUT.        I'm really liking this!!!!!

 

 

[Ed_David]

The Arri Alexa log-c is extremely flat - Alister hits it well.

It's a log curve that bends as it gets to hightlight handling.  The curve feature was first created with Panavision and Sony with the Panavision Genesis.  I think.  It allows a camera to put more paint into the bucket and expand it later in post.

It's basically like a super smooth knee function.  Excited for the GH4 v log function - that's great news!