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Driftwood Quantum X Settings, Series 4: Cluster v2, Mysteron, Sedna, Orion...etc...
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  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    UPDATE: Currently re-encoding to include a 400% crop comparison after the 200% one. The settings will be presented in the same order and fashion as before for the 400% crop as well.

    @jrd @itsguy

    Here, I made this from the files linked on the page in my last post reference that page for the settings used). Each side is a 480x540 crop scaled to 960x1080 (in other words, a 200% crop).

    One side is FW 1.1 stock and the other Sedna AQ1 A. Partway through they switch. Look for the clarity of the text near the upper left in particular.

    Password is Driftwood1

    I didn't check the filenames to see which was which, but I was pretty sure about the right answer after I watched it once on Vimeo.

  • sir_danishsir_danish

    Today I decided to give "dynamic" (-2,-2,-1,-2) a try, as some users here seem to recommend it. Sedna C is my standard hack for a while now and I normally shoot everything in "smooth", because I feel, it gives me more room to play with the footage in post. Well, I should have sticked with smooth, because what I got from dynamic is pretty ugly, at least regarding my latest indoor shots. I don´t know, if there was something wrong with the white balance (manual, with white card) or if it has to do with how dynamic + Sedna C handle skin tones in darker areas... There are yellowish/greenish areas in the shadow parts of the subject´s face. Some other parts of the girls face have an almost purple tint, very subtle though. I´ve got two GH2, both of which show the same result with Sedna C and "dynamic". Does anybody have some advice for me? I need to get the best out of skin tones and I believe, Sedna C is still the best choice for that purpose.

    test1.jpg
    294 x 300 - 50K
    test2.jpg
    544 x 189 - 68K
    test3.jpg
    240 x 572 - 80K
  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @sir_danish Just to clarify, do you mean advice on how to process the footage you shot to get skin tones you prefer, or advice on how to shoot in the future?

  • exilenorthexilenorth

    @Itsguy sometimes I wonder just how far the patches have progressed, then I open one of the set.ini files. oldest to newest. Then you realize how much work has gone into these evolutions. Vitaly ,Driftwood,stonebat, thepalalias ,LPowell the information gathered from this blog..... Can I see the difference easily, but there is one issue, the box lens that came with the gh2 IS GARBAGE. I use only Canon FD primes,there in lies the change. For the most part, Orion versions work extraordinarily for me. CBR and VBR....... I am sure the next evolution will wobble our eye balls. Keep working...you will begin to see more of the change.

  • jrdjrd

    @thepalalias

    At the risk of looking foolish (or possessing very bad eyesight), I see more detail in the left side shot (at the beginning of the clip; later it goes to the right side). However, the quality of the noise also alters the look of things. The noise appears to be very different, from one shot to the other.

  • meemee

    @Itsguy I've only used Mysteron for one day of shooting, and not on HBR, but going by its similarity to sedna and orion I think it is the right side in your screen grabs. I'm guessing this on overall smooth look and lack of overly green green rather than detail. It's 4am here though, so my tired eyes aren't at their best ;) As for shooting the messenger, I think allot of folks here tend to say things in a dry frank way., which may come off as them being offended or argumentative if your not used to it. For the most part I think members of this forum don't get their panties in a bunch too easily, but also don't hold back if they don't agree with something. Your tests are useful and I personally like side by side tests since I am less keen on the technical jargon, so it's nice to see direct visual examples. It is after all all about visual when all is said and done ;)

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @jrd That is part of the difference. The clip was shot as ISO 3,200 and the way the two settings handle the noise is very different.

    @mee Remember, the stock settings and Sedna AQ1 A switch positions about halfway through. Glad the direct visual examples are helpful!

  • meemee

    @thepalalias, I was referring to Itsguy's side by side screenshot. In the video you posted I am going with right side first then left side for Sedna. Again I am going by smoothness, not sharpness.

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @mee I won't give answers until later tonight, but I will say that (in general) Sedna is not smoother than Stock (sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't), but it is consistently more detailed.

    @itsguy I looked at your comparison photo and understand the reasons for your original question. Allow me to emphasize something about the settings. I have more experience testing 24H than HBR, so my comments will apply to that for now.

    The places where you will notice the greatest difference between stock settings and the highest quality Driftwood intra offerings are in the places where the codec is limiting the detail of the original scene. If the stock settings are able to handle it adequately, then you won't notice much of a difference. Noise, detail in lower third of the histogram and edges obscured by noise (and therefore softened by the factory settings) are all examples of details that are better preserved with the hacked settings.

    Also, in high motion scenes where any encoding artifacts are present with stock settings, it is easy to see an improvement with the hacked settings. The JPEG you showcased does not seem to be an example of this - the detail is neither dark enough, nor noisy enough nor fine enough for the difference to be very obvious without grading. Hopefully my 24H example is somewhat clearer.

  • ItsguyItsguy

    @exilenorth - thx, I'm sure I'll find my settings soon. @mee - I think you called it! Cheers.

  • ItsguyItsguy

    @thepalalias - very useful. thx all.

  • sir_danishsir_danish

    @thepalalias: Sorry for being unclear, I mean how to shoot in the future. I was just testing today, as there will be a "real" shooting by the end of this week. I thought, I should give dynamic a try, hoping that the skin tones could make me a lucky man. But I didn´t expect so many different colors in just one face. Yellow, purple, red, a bit of green... I switched back to smooth and everything (mainly the indoor shots) looked much better to my eyes.

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @sir_danish Personally, I am happiest with either smooth or standard for skin tones (when I first got it, I was happy with cinema but the yellow tinge to the highlights really started to frustrate me quickly), so I think you are on the right track.

  • jrdjrd

    @thepalalias

    "but I will say that (in general) Sedna is not smoother than Stock (sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't), but it is consistently more detailed."

    That was my observation; the noise is finer and smoother on the less detailed clip. If I'm right, this may not be such bad news: the hack noise may be cruder, but it may also look more like film grain(?), though at this scale, it's hard to tell.

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @jrd Good thoughts. I added a 400% crop in addition to the 200% one in order to make the differences even more visible. It comes at the end of the video now.

    Password is still Driftwood1

    http://vimeo.com/perlichtman/sednaaq1vsstock-mysterytest

    (I changed the link format this time to avoid a second embed of the same file on the same page).

  • meemee

    @thepalalias you got me thinking twice now, but until I get some sleep I am done looking at super zoomed grain ;)

    In the mean time, since I mentioned I only shot with Mysteron one day, here are a couple shots from that day. On the first video please excuse the less than perfect horizon. It was starting to rain so it was rushed to protect the camera. The second shot was from a boat, but it was parked in calm water. Unfortunately I forgot Vimeo's one HD a week policy for basic users, so I will have to wait a bit to upload the HD version for the second video..

    Shot using Mysteron on GH2 with 14-42 kit lens at 720p 60fps (vimeo reduces the frame rate to 30fps).

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @mee The shots are ungraded, right? Either way, the light in the boat shot is very rich and it makes me wish I were the to see it, too. :)

    Also, hope you get some good sleep - my intent was not to make you second-guess yourself, just to address the difficulty telling at the original magnification that you mentioned.

  • johnnymjohnnym

    @mee Nice boat.

  • peternappeternap

    @thepalalias That's pretty convincing evidence, thanks!

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @peternap Glad it helps. I've been trying to find better methods for both testing and illustrating the differences. Each test session teaches a lot more.

    Case in point - the big test we did recently here in L.A. taught me a ton about what to look for in the testing and how to better control the testing. However, the # of variables involved means that the final results (for that first test) will be too varied to be a useful comparison - it will end up being more of a showcase.

    However, the people that participated have all volunteered various resources to help with the next round - one which I plan to also use the upcoming Driftwood releases in as well!

  • allenswrenchallenswrench

    Playing with Mysterion last week in between meetings at a conference. No color correction and a stock 14-42mm lens.

    Eurostars Tower Madrid from Alen Mecan on Vimeo.

  • DeShonDixonDeShonDixon

    Isn't Canis Majoris supposed to be released today?

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @DeShonDixon Yes, but he never said in what time zone. :)

  • driftwooddriftwood

    *** NEW **** VY Canis Majoris - see new thread. 'Night' First in the series is released tonight. I have over 7 settings for Canis to try out on people some of which I have been using in shoots in the last few weeks... The first is now out on its own thread.

  • driftwooddriftwood

    This thread will be closed shortly. @Vitaliy_Kiselev

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