Sony PDW-F350 Zebra settings.

[Chismoso]

I rented the Sony PDW-F350 a couple of weeks ago for a shoot in Aruba and I had quite a lot of trouble with the Zebra settings . I had them set at 100% yet still quite a lot of the video was "hot" whan I played it back( especially the skin tones with a few zebras on the cheeks and forehead ).

Can any of you great guy/gals say what the perfect zebra settings would be for these cameras .

Thanks in advance.

[Nino]

You answered your own question, flesh tones should be around 70 IRE with highlights reading of 75. 100 is peak, that’s the top of the IRE scale, way too much for flesh tones.
Most likely in the camera’s menu you can set the zebra at 75.

[Chismoso]

I bet my friend that you were gonna be the first one to reply , I can always count on a great answer from you. Keep up the good work buddy . . . you're one of the best on the board ! ! !

[ncdad]

Yep, 70 IRE for fleshtones. No offence, but did a client pay for you to goto Aruba, and you didn't know how to properly expose a camera?

[SandRat]

... you also have the option of setting one set of zebras to 70 IRE for skin tone and the secondary zebras (polka-dots) for 100 IRE. Then you'll know when your overexposing for darker skin, when there is any white in the frame.

[Chismoso]

Thanks very much "Sand Rat , Nino and others " I have learnt quite a lot from you guys during the past few months.

Question : Is there such a thing as an " I R E chart " that shows the different video levels for things such as Skin, water, and every other thing under the sun ,etc, etc ?

Thanks again in advance . . .:) :)

[Shootblue]

You have to learn to look at things in Grayscale...identify common things that are about that intensity of reflectance. Concrete is typically about 70 IRE, so are faces. Think that white is about one stop higher than zebra. the area where the sky meets the trees/horizon is sometimes about 70. you have to learn to look at relative brightnesses sometimes to guess. "This table is brighter than the carpet", etc.

[Run&Gun]

Learn to set-up your viewfinder to display a proper, reliable image. I rarely use zebra's anymore. I find they get in my way more than they help me, most of the time. There are time that you can't expose for just the skin tones, you have to be able to evaluate the entire picture and make the call...

Side note: I worked on a show(and so did Nino) in HD that referenced 45 IRE for skin tones.

[Canonman]

I rented the Sony PDW-F350 a couple of weeks ago for a shoot in Aruba and I had quite a lot of trouble with the Zebra settings . I had them set at 100% yet still quite a lot of the video was "hot" whan I played it back( especially the skin tones with a few zebras on the cheeks and forehead ).

Can any of you great guy/gals say what the perfect zebra settings would be for these cameras .

Thanks in advance.

The default zebra #2 is fixed at 70 for fleshtones and this is what you'll see when you turn zebras on unless you go into the menu and elect to display zebra 1 only, or both. Zebra #1 is user adjustable.

cm

[must-c-tv]

45 IRE for fleshtones??????

I'm guessing this was for a look, or for something in post-prod ....

Any details would be appreciated.

First time I have ever heard of this....

[Douglas]

Learn to set-up your viewfinder to display a proper, reliable image. I rarely use zebra's anymore. I find they get in my way more than they help me, most of the time.

I agree 100%, but I thought I was the only one. I trust my viewfinder, and that's one reason why I never rent cameras or shoot with other people's cameras. I have to know the viewfinder because zebras are almost worthless in my opinion.

Doug

[Run&Gun]

must-c; It was for Sports Century. The HD consultant on the series said that a lot of series that are shot on film use the equivalent of 45-60 IRE for fleshtones. I don't know about other cameras, but it worked on the 900 with the settings that we were using. Also, remember that this is/was a very controled and styleized(sp?) look for the interviews, but it also worked outside as well.

I'm a firm believer, that in video, wether it's SD, HD, 24P, etc., if you're going to err, err on the side of underexposure. That's the single biggest thing that gives away 24P video as not being true film, is blown highlites/overexposure.

[SimonW]

I have to know the viewfinder because zebras are almost worthless in my opinion.

I wouldn't say they are useless. If you rely on them as a crutch to tell you exposure then they are useless. However, if as Shootblue says you learn to see things in terms of greyscale and learn relative brightness the 70-75% zebras are a very useful guide.

While I love the clarity of the viewfinder on my camera I find that it is very difficult to set the brightness accurately to the -3, 0 and +3ire pluge bars. It seems to want to show all of them as black, or to make all of them including the -3 ire bar visible.

So I find that the zebras are a good way to reinforce what I think I am seeing. Don't forget that on most cameras you can flick a switch on the front of the viewfinder to momentarily show the zebras rather than have them on all of the time.

Lastly, I know of a few people who have told me that they don't need zebras. They have often come back with over exposed footage! Zebras are your friend. Especially if you are using a manky old camera with a bad viewfinder.

[SimonW]

That's the single biggest thing that gives away 24P video as not being true film, is blown highlites/overexposure.
Reply With Quote

Well, I'm not sure what the obsession is with trying to fool people into thinking video is film. I like progressive as a look. Not because it makes it look more filmlike, but because there is something about it that I like more than interlaced. Nobody likes over exposed highlights. But there comes a point where we, and everyone watching the footage, needs to accept that it is video, and that video has limitations of contrast exposure.

Putting a Ferrari bodyshell onto a Mini might fool people for a second until they see it drive along and realise it can't go as fast. But then the Mini used to be a fantastic rally car. Something the Ferrari can never be.

Lastly however there is another factor. Not all film stocks are the same. Colour reversal film for example has the same trouble with highlight over exposure as video. Okay it rolls off nicely, but generally exposing video is like exposing reversal film.

So if you really do want someone to think that your video is film, and they comment that they think it is video because of the highlights. Just tell them that you shot it on reversal film!

[patssle]

I'm not sure what the obsession is with trying to fool people into thinking video is film

nothings better than adding grain and jitter to you're video!