Match look of sdx900 with canon xl2?

[Stephan Löhr]

Hi !

 

Is it possible to match the look of the sdx 900 with the canon xl2 ?????

I shoot a film with both canon xl2 and panasonic sdx900 but i want to make their gamma and color be similar.

What camera settings do i have to change?

 

 

thanks in advance,

 

Stephan

[David Mullen ASC]

That's impossible to answer since both cameras can be set-up for a "look", but since the SDX900 has many more subtle menu features to adjust the image, you'll probably first try and match the Canon XL2 to the SDX900 as best as you can, and then adjust the SDX900 to match the Canon. I would feed both cameras to a monitor, maybe a scope & waveform, and switch between them and make adjustments until they match as well as possible. Of course, you don't want to degrade the SDX900 image too much to match the Canon XL2...

[Tim J Durham]

Hi !

 

Is it possible to match the  look of the sdx 900 with the canon xl2 ?????

I shoot a film with both canon xl2 and panasonic sdx900 but i want to make their gamma and color be similar.

What camera settings do i have to change?

thanks in advance,

 

Stephan

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi,

I've just spent the last ten days shooting a pilot with an SDX900 and using an XL-2 as B-camera.

There's no real way to get them to match exactly, although you can get close with lots and lots of

experimentation which would, as David said, include dumbing down the SDX900. I didn't have time for that so my solution was to set-up the SDX900 as I usually do and the XL-2 for a post effect.

 

To me, there's no real point to spending the extra money to rent such a great camera and then try to match it with a (much) lesser camera. Use the two cameras for the strengths of each in their own way. You can't help but notice the difference in quality so make the difference part of

the look.

[Michael Nash]

There are really only a few major parameters that define the look of any video camera; gamma curve, color quality, and resolution/detail. Maybe sensitivity and noise as another. Everything else is really just a refinement of those major aspects of the image.

 

Get the master gamma curve and black stretch to match first, then work on the color bias (best controllable in the matrix). Then play with the detail settings until they look the same.

 

Much of this you can modify in post, especially dumbing down the higher quality SDX image to match that of the XL2. But one thing that's hard to do in post is knock down the resolution of the image while still retaining the edge enhancement (softening or blurring the image in post also softens the edge enhancement). To that end, I might experiment with subtle diffusion filters on the lens (like a Soft FX or similar) to soften the incoming image, then let the camera add edge enhancement.

[Tim J Durham]

Much of this you can modify in post, especially dumbing down the higher quality SDX image to match that of the XL2. But one thing that's hard to do in post is knock down the resolution of the image while still retaining the edge enhancement (softening or blurring the image in post also softens the edge enhancement). To that end, I might experiment with subtle diffusion filters on the lens (like a Soft FX or similar) to soften the incoming image, then let the camera add edge enhancement.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At this point, I would seriously consider renting (using) two XL-2's. If you can't let the SDX900 shine, why spend the money?

[Rik Andino]

At this point, I would seriously consider renting (using) two XL-2's. If you can't let the SDX900 shine, why spend the money?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Ditto on what Tim says...

 

What's the point of renting a high-end camera

Just so you can make it look like a prosumer camera

Save yourself some money and rent two XL2

And spend the money somewhere else...

(maybe renting an extra camera so you can have three)

 

 

Or just work on a one-camera set-up...

If this is a film and not a live-event that needs complete coverage....

You can just shoot with one SDX900...

And from personal experience it's easier to work with one-camera setups.

 

 

Eitherways

Good Luck

[Guest AshG]

You can get close but, as others have stated, at the expense of the 900... It is always tough to match a 2/3" cam to a 1/3" cam...

 

 

 

ash =o)