Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Introduction
Important information! Please read this guide thoroughly (without skipping pages 7-14 in particular) before
using EOSHD Pro Color!
It is designed to deliver a final look, which can go straight into the edit and out with the finished video.
There’s no professional color grading needed with EOSHD Pro Color so it’s faster to deliver the final result.
This guide is all you need to use EOSHD Pro Color. There is no need to load a settings file onto the
camera or install custom firmware. The required settings are entered using the picture profile menus and
saved in-camera ready to shoot.
There are two main EOSHD Pro Color picture profiles for the new cameras -
See the EOSHD Pro Color Settings section of this guide for details.
It is now the era of high dynamic range video processing and wide color spaces. Sony does in fact include
the technology for these in the A7 III and A7R III, but they are not enabled by default for an easy to use
straight out of camera look.
Furthermore the Creative Styles and video Picture Profiles that Sony has designed lack the auteur’s touch
to say the least, they are in my opinion quite clinical and not very flattering of the talent in front of the
camera. Their profiles don’t seem to have had a filmmaker's vision applied at any stage of the
development process.
With other manufacturers like Fujifilm, Canon and Nikon they had extensive experience in film and cinema
production before Sony began with the Alpha line. They have set a benchmark for color. Canon for
example recognise the need to optimise the green and blue channel for landscapes and places, with a red
tuning in the mids that flatters skintones and brings out a healthy look to people in front of the camera. By
contrast Sony’s default color results in skin tones that too often have a dead-feel or a yellow look, or too
much green, or too much magenta. Finding the balance is difficult and adding a more aesthetic approach
to the underlying color *science* has been my aim with EOSHD Pro Color.
I have been fine tuning color on my Sony cameras for several years. With EOSHD Pro Color I set out not
only to subjectively improve image quality but to fix various issues with Sony’s default settings, like clipping
in luminous blue highlights, reds turning orange and various other ugly results.
After applying Pro Color your camera will deliver realistic but more satisfying color, not over-stylised but
more cinematic than before, more closely resembling an EOS picture profile than Sony one.
Above: Susanna, shot on the Sony A7S II with EOSHD Pro Color 3.0
Even if you understand the purpose of each individual setting, they interact with one another to produce
unexpected results and there are thousands of different combinations. The key is this: What gives
consistently good results across all shooting scenarios?
I spent years testing and shooting to find out. EOSHD Pro Color has been around since the A7S II and is
now on it’s 4th iteration. I have other cameras which have informed the look, such as the Canon Cinema
EOS 1D C and those from the world of high-end photography. The Leica M9 with Kodak CCD sensor for
instance does a deeper blue along with other satisfying traits that can be mimicked on a Sony sensor with
the right knowhow.
With skin and faces you get to see every imperfection with a Sony camera, from dark reds to grey-yellows
under the eyes but the Canon trick appears to be a wider color space and a more forgiving and flattering
approach to faces and skin, in particular with the red channel in the mids. What this tells us is that Sony’s
adherence to absolute Rec.709 broadcast numbers and figures in a lab calibration does not always give us
the most pleasing image to look at.
Pro Color 3.0 is designed to work with the older Sony models such as the A7S2, A7R3, A6500 and more.
Sony cameras which lack advanced picture profile capabilities are not compatible. Please go here for 3.0:
http://www.eoshd.com/pro-color
With version 4.0, there are two EOSHD Pro Color profiles to choose from. I recommend choosing
according to the shooting situation described by each. You can dial both profiles into your camera and
switch between them on the fly. I recommend testing to see which you prefer for a given subject.
Punchy straight out of camera color with medium-high contrast and improved dynamic range in low light
conditions. This will give an energetic and satisfying image for a variety of shooting conditions. Use
especially when you have light that lacks a punch or low contrast situations which need a boost. Contains
the original EOSHD Pro Color fixes to Sony color.
Use when you need maximum dynamic range and highlight retention. Very gentle highlight roll off.
Contains the original EOSHD Pro Color fixes to Sony color.
As an optional bonus there is a further user variation on this profile, where you can tweak color depending
on your requirements. Furthermore there is an EOS Match LUT for post production, which you can read
more about on page 13.
——————————————————————————————————————
• Color Mode
• Color Phase
When Color Mode is set to BT.2020, it will change the hue of skintones and sunlight.
I picked Color Mode 709 for EOSHD Pro Color HDR as it has a pleasing Canon-like pink-flesh-tone for
faces and skintones. It has a bump to the red channel in the midtones.
Color Mode BT.2020 renders an olive skintone and deeper golden hue to natural sunlight. However in
many situations it can give an ugly green/yellow hue to warm scenes and skin, which can be undesirable. I
have dialled it away from green/yellow with Color Phase +4. This is also user adjustable depending on
your preferences. I recommend a value between 0-4. I recommend no adjustment to other parameters in
the profile.
If colour seems odd in Quicktime Player, especially with PP3 set to BT.2020, or on the spacebar preview
with Mac OS Finder it means the display profile conflicts or Quicktime is trying to convert the colour space
of HDR rather than show the raw values for the clip. If you use Adobe Premiere, your NLE should not be
affected, but on Final Cut Pro X you must ensure “Show HDR As Raw Values” is enabled in the Playback
tab of Preferences.
Exposure
Pro Color V4 (PP1) can be exposed at 0 (middle) on the on-screen exposure meter.
For maximum dynamic range Pro Color HDR (PP2) can be exposed at 0 on the meter.
To prioritise shadows and mid-tones expose at +1.5 on the meter (right of centre).
If the image appears too dark with Pro Color HDR (PP2) it can be lifted in post with a simple adjustment to
the exposure controls in your NLE (e.g. in Adobe Premiere CC / Lumetri video effect filter).
The Picture Profiles are located in the Main Menu on page 12/14 (Color/WB/Img.Processing). I
recommend assigning Picture Profiles to a function button for quicker access.
To apply the settings, dial exactly as stated above into the Picture Profiles menu under the PP1 and PP2
presets. You may use a different slot (PP3, PP4, etc.) if PP1 is already occupied with your own settings.
The Picture Profiles apply to all video recordings (4K / 1080p / S&Q) and JPEG photos. They will not affect
RAW photos.
The option is found on page 12/14 (Color/WB/Img.Processing) and I also recommend assigning this to a
function button or the function menu for quicker access.
I recommend using this when shooting EOSHD Pro Color if you are using automatic white balance. You do
not need to make any custom adjustments or tweaks to white balance.
“Ambience” will exaggerate the warm glow of sunlight, room lighting or street light.
“White” aims to enforce a true white balance so if an object in the scene is white, it will look that way
regardless of the temperature of the ambient light in the scene.
This applies:
Please refer to the user operating instructions for your NLE (e.g Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro X) on
how to use the LUT with clips on your timeline.
Metering
If you shoot video in a semi-automatic stills mode such as Aperture Priority (A) your recordings will be
exposed 1 stop darker by the camera’s multi-metering system to preserve the highlights. You will see the
exposure shift between live-view and the start of a recording. If you do not like this behaviour I recommend
shooting in Manual (M) with manual ISO or in Movie Mode. In Movie Mode the P/A/S metering is still
different to the one used for stills but the live-view display represents the brightness of the recorded image
at all times, allowing you to adjust the exposure compensation dial more accurately on a WYSIWYG basis.
In the white balance menu, three custom presets are available and you can apply different white balances
to these to vary the warmness or coolness of the shot in typical interior lighting conditions. This is useful if
the automatic white balance applies a temperature which looks too orange, or too cold.
Step 2. Press “Set” whilst the camera is pointed at an interior light (tungsten or LED lightbulb) until you get
3600K (you may need to point the camera at a darker, shaded area of the room) and assign to Custom 1.
A lower temperature than 3600K will render a clinical, cooler look to interior scenes. If this is your creative
intent, try for a white balance of between 3200K and 2800K.
Step 3. As step 2, set Custom 2 but this time try to obtain 4300K from a shaded area of the room, or from
an area of the room lit also by the light from an exterior window. Repeat for Custom 3 (5600K).
Step 4. You may also need to use a custom white balance of approximately 7500k outdoors, on a cloudy
day. Before recording, set a Custom white balance in the same way as the previous steps but outdoors
under shade or cloud. For sunny weather, try 5600K.
Select Custom 1 for indoor situations / tungsten light. Select Custom 2 for a warmer ambience indoors.
Select Custom 3 for daylight exterior scenes. You may also select a Custom Temperature of your choice or
dial the C.Temp./Filter (Kelvin) for a cooler shot indoors or a warmer shot outdoors. Custom 2 (4300K) can
also be used in daylight if you want a cooler daylight tone than given by Custom 3.
I also recommend assigning the white balance menu to a custom function key so you can quickly toggle
between Custom 1 to 3 during a shoot.
Different light source give a different temperature of light, from the white glare of the sun to the warm tones
of fire or a incandescent lightbulb.
White objects and surfaces, such as a wall painted white, are given an ambient tone that’s different
depending on the light source, and the same goes for everything else. An actor’s face lit by a bonfire for
example has an orange glow. The camera engineer’s intention of white balance is to get rid of the ambient
light temperature and reproduce the subject as they actually are, for example a white wall should be white.
The color of light varies so much that we must always apply some form of white balance to the image. If
we just shot at one white balance, then either interior scenes would be completely orange and outdoor
scenes correct, or outdoor scenes would be completely blue and interior scenes ok.
The camera can automatically adjust for this, but also offer manual control of the color temperature
compensation applied to the image by the white balance system. Filmmakers use different kinds of light to
give different moods, styles and feels to a scene. To stop the camera overriding this mood, sometimes it is
necessary to dial in the exact white balance we want.
On some Sony cameras there is a recently added Ambience Priority white balance mode, which Canon
cameras have been using for years. This prevents the camera from rendering a clinical image and keeps
some of the natural color cast from the light on the subject. It typically produces a ‘warmer’ looking image
indoors, to match what the human eye sees.
The human visual system also has it’s own white balance system, which adapts to the temperature of light
in much the same way the camera does. That’s why if you turn Night Shift on on your Mac, your eyes
adapt to it over time and whites look normal again - until you turn it off suddenly and now the screen gives
out a harsh blue/white glare until your brain once again adjusts to the change.
Different lighting falls roughly into three categories. There’s indoor tungsten or LED light at giving a yellow/
orange cast. Approximately 3200K helps balance this and stops things looking too hot. When we set the
camera’s white balance system to 3200K we are making the image cooler to compensate for the warm
cast. Since it is often important to maintain the ambience of this light (depending on what the script calls
for, at least) I prefer to use 3600K, giving a warmer look that is truer to how the human eye sees the scene.
3600K is also the setting I use for shooting night scenes out in the city, under whatever electric light is
available. Cooler than this and you tend to get a more clinical look which is useful depending on the
creative choices you’re making and the mood called for by the script.
The Sony cameras store up to 3 custom white balance temperatures. Rather than dialling in the numbers
you have to point the camera at an actual scene to set the white balance temperature for that particular
light.
Color Depth
This setting controls the luminance (brightness) levels on a RGBCMY color wheel. In Sony’s terminology,
the lower number (-7) is actually increasing the luminance (brightness) of a color. The brighter the color the
sooner it will distort and clip (for example a bright blue might clip to neon green before it hits the white
point). Using the wider color space of S-Gamut3.Cine also reduces clipping.
To take the example of blue, using -7 will destroy the deep blue hues of a sky. The primaries such as red,
blue and yellow benefit from deeper luminance, whereas colors that tend to be lighter in character such as
magenta (pink) and cyan (light blue) benefit from appearing more pastel.
Reds benefit from an increase in the color depth setting so they appear deeper, and to reduce incidents of
a salmon-tone or orange look items which are actually deep red under bright light.
Saturation
Saturation is related to the gamma curve. A gamma curve with high contrast does not need as high
saturation as a low contrast curve like Hybrid LOG Gamma. The actual saturation level on Sony’s cameras
also depends on which gamut is selected in Color Mode.
Color Phase
Black gamma is used to further adjust the gamma curve of the image. It works on the lower half of the
gamma curve pushing it down for deeper blacks and more contrast, or pulling it up for lighter blacks and
more shadow detail. The reference to Wide, Middle and Narrow refers to what amount of the curve is
affected by the adjustment. “Narrow” gives a steeper curve and “Wide” gives a more gentle one towards
the mids and highlights. This setting cannot be used with Hybrid LOG Gamma.
Knee is a bit like the black gamma control but for the bright parts of the image. It can be used to adjust the
point at which the image reaches the brightest values of the scene and true white.
Detail
If shooting 4K it certainly isn’t necessary to have any digital sharpening in-camera, as it can be done in
post and the image is already very detailed. Extra digital sharpness will lend a more video-style look and
viewer fatigue. It is necessary to turn the detail level to -7 with the option to increase it in post using an
effect filter in your NLE.
Leave all the parameters in the "Adjust” option on the default settings - you only need to dial down the
detail level to -7.
V/H Balance (Default 0) - the digital sharpening algorithm can boost image edges by expanding them
vertically up/down or horizontally left/right.
B/W Balance (Default Type 3) - the sharpening can be adjusted separately for black (low-brightness) and
white (high-brightness) areas. The edges of bright highlights for instance can be left along while the edges
of details in the shadows can be boosted.
Limit (Default 7) - This sets a limit for the B/W balance control. Too much black detail for example can
emphasise skin imperfections and too much white detail can introduce aliasing and strange artefacts to the
highlights.
Crispening (Default 0) - This setting is used to prevent image noise from being emphasised. It works on
parts of the image that have the characteristic film-grain from the use of high ISOs. It is best to turn off all
forms of noise reduction for the most filmic detail reproduction.
Hi-Light Detail (Default 0) - This control is used to emphasise the edges of a brightly lit subject in front of
a bright background.
http://www.eoshd.com/comments/forum/4-eoshd/
This is my home which I check on a daily basis to see what other filmmakers have been doing. The best
YouTube or Vimeo footage will be featured on the blog (of course, with your permission)…
Also available…
EOSHD Pro LOG
It facilitates the use of film looks in post for an instant professional color grade.
Also included is an optimised S-LOG profile. Along with the two Pro LOG profiles, the download includes
25 EOSHD Film Looks (LUTs) for an instant cinematic look in post.