Turn your Nikon Z6 into a cinematic beast - for free!
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- Free LOG video in 10 seconds, for free!
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00:51 Make Your Custom LOG Profile For FREE!
05:14 How To Shoot With Simulated LOG
06:57 How To Grade LOG Footage In Davinci Resolve
two important things that these kind of videos assume that the viewers already know are the importance of Exposure and lighting.
No matter which editor/picture profile/ log setting you use. If your image is not properly exposed and illuminated then no picture profile and log will save you. Yes this sounds really basic but so many people make mistakes while setting the exposure and lighting for the scene and then expect the editing software to save the footage just because the camera operator has chosen to use a log or flat picture profile setting (that is a wrong expectation on the camera operators part).
Make sure you use all the exposure tools such as histograms and if available, waveforms and vector scopes, and expose to the right as long as you are not clipping highlights (For moving scenes where lighting is changing, consider using a good quality variable ND filter to adjust the highlights on the fly). And try not to challenge the dynamic range of the camera and just light up the scene properly.
100% - if LOG is just a crutch, it won't help you. Take the time to do the work to set things up as best you can - then ad the LOG as a little extra sauce on top!
Thank you for putting this up. This was really helpful :)
Thank you for the encouraging comment, I'm glad you found it helpful!
Good luck with those settings in an 8-bit video file. They might be okay with a well lit, contrasty scene (bright sunny day) but definetely not on an overcast day or indoor without artificial lighting. Trying to correct such a file will produce an unsharp file and bring up a lot of noise in the shadows. If you want to shoot flat, buy an external recorder like the Atomos Ninja V and shoot 10-bit log or 12-bit RAW. If you don't want the hassle with the external recorder, simply use the Portrait picture profile and do yourself a favour to learn how to light a scene and/or, if the ambient lighting is out of your control, use a polarizing filter to cut off your highlights (like on a bright sunny day).
Make no mistake, using a Ninja V will give you far superior results to this method! Simulating LOG (as shown here) is not ideal for every shooter or every situation - and neither is external recorder. Use the tools and methods that make the most sense for your use case!
What about cheaper Freeview Nlog recorders?
Very helpful. Would try this settings. I was going for the $200 upgrade or the additional monitor .
Nice idea i will definitely try this thanks
You’re the king! Thank you!
You're welcome! *high five*
This is great! Thanks for giving a cost effective solution. I'm going to give it a whirl on my gear.
Glad it was helpful! Its not perfect, but I like using it.
thank you, very informative. I am new to video. I care for the color calibration or presets I can manipulate (like in Lightroom). What's the best program that is not super complicated? Thank you so much
Hi Agata! Most programs have their own unique way to go about colouring your footage - yet they are all pretty similar once you are used to them.
I use Davinci Resolve (I have the studio licence but the free version is 98% the same) for any more important colour grading. It may be a little intimidating to start but once you watch a few tutorials, it's easy. Very powerful.
I use FXP when I want to edit fast, the colour grading isn't as powerful - but still very capable. Much easier to get started in. Complex grades get... complex.
Note: I noticed that apple photos now lets you colour edit clips with all their photo editing tools now! That is crazy. I'm not sure what the workflow would look like, but this would be great for people who edit a lot of photos!
Just discovered this video, will have to try this on my Z6II. Thanks for doing this video!
Thanks for the comment Wayne! The process will be virtually the same on all z cameras.
@@DallasJyl Thanks for responding. I made some adjustments yesterday but when I took the camera out with the 24-70 S lens, it feels so heavy, compared to the Sony FX30. I think I will just leave it in the "studio" setup and continue to record on the Ninja V as those files look great and require no editing. I'm learning the FX30 and I'm getting better at understanding how to use it in Log mode.
The Nikon may get replaced with another Nikon, if they fix the issues in the mark 3 version or on the Z8. If not, I'll probably sell it and just stick with 1 camera or get another Sony although, I would prefer to have a Nikon.
This is a new idea to get the color being graded by your own preferences without the camera to set anything for you. It is all because Nikon Z6 doesn't have a nice log option. But I get it, will try it in my case with some LUTs and let you know. Thanks a lot for this info.
Your welcome David! If you find one that works particularly well I would love to hear about it :)
This is very helpful, thanks! Would you happen to know how it compares to other profiles such as ZLog and Beatlog? My main quip with the regular flat profile is that the reds are always too saturated
I have not compared these profiles yet.
Interesting that you find the reds to strong, we always found that Nikon colour science was biased toward green (we always end up white balancing in post toward magenta) wile Cannon was biased toward reds!
😊
To the people saying just buy a ninja v you need the upgrade to output ProRes raw directly from the image sensor to a external monitor it’s not a one or the other thing I got the upgrade years ago for this exact purpose.
This is so helpful!!!!
I'm glad you found it helpful Ratul!
Tbf I did this on the D7200 and then the D500. And all it did was give me more to do in Post. I find the built in profiles of the z6/Z6ii to be more than enough. Even doing wedding videos in darker venues I've never thought "I could do with shooting in LOG here"
Yes, this can be done with almost any camera of any brand. When comparing the simulated LOG profile on our D7000 and our Z6 though, there is no question that the Z6 does a much better job with keeping data in the compression despite the file sizes not being much (if any) larger. We often struggled to get skin tones looking good with a simulated LOG out of our d7000 - where the Z6 it is no problem!
You also make a good point that LOG is not a good fit for every situation. Like JPG vs RAW images there are situations where JPG is not only the winner of preference, but a necessity - fast turnaround workflows such as sports for example.
Thanks! It's been weeks of media consumption looking for the way of getting the best possible quality for postprod from the int 8bit. since I don't plan on getting the ninja V. I will try this and see how it goes, just looking for the best dinamic range and freedom for colorgrading.
I will try it out as well ☺️
Glad I could help smtz!
Hi from Japan. Thanks for the great video! I have been thinking about introducing Log videos with my Z6II, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
Thank you very much for uploading this video!
Thankyou for the kind comment!
It's videos like this that make me realize I'm a very different shooter. If I wanted to film log, I would use a cinecamera. I use the standard profile and increase the saturation and contrast with a custom curve. Get the see exactly what the image is doing in camera.
Its akin to the RAW vs Jpg debate. The reality is there are lots of circumstances where jpg is the superior option to be using for photography. RAW and Jpg are just tools with different strengths and weaknesses - the same is true true for RAW vs compressed or LOG vs Baked-in colour curves.
Don't let this video convince you to to use a workflow and settings that work better for the way you shoot and your needs!
Thank you!!!
Your welcome!
Very helpful video! I have the Z6II and the Ninja V for my real estate videos and have struggled getting decent video quality (I'm primarily a photographer and learning how do video). I applied your settings to the Z6II and got much better video. I have tried 4K and 1080 - the 1080 has looked great thus far. Not having the best results with the Ninja yet and any tips are appreciated!
Wow, thanks for the feedback! I'm glad its helping!
You should be able to get far better results our of your ninja than this setup - if you are shooting in N-log use Nikon's LUT as a starting place: downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/products/520/N-Log_3D_LUT.html (or just google it)
You don't need the LUT for it to work, and can just use the same method I outlined in the video to get decent results, but sometimes they are handy. Especially because some LOG profiles will have funky colours without the LUT that can be hard to get right.
I apologize for my ignorance, but what settings do you recommend for the Z6ii and the Ninja for best dynamic range video?@@DallasJyl
very good!!!!!! thank you!!!
Your welcome!
Do you normally shoot with these settings on the Z6? I usually use the Ninja V shooting NLOG. LOVE the image quality and it grades beautifully in Davinci resolve especially if you overexpose and bring it down in post. But I’m looking to maximize what I can get internally
Yes, I use this pretty much 100% the time. I don't have a Ninja - but am confident that NLOG will be abundantly superior for any colour grading. This simulated LOG method has the advantage of being light and fast.
Right. Does the 8 bit color seem to hold up well with this modification of the flat profile? Can you push the grade ASSUMING you nailed your white balance and have solid exposure in-camera?
@@joemonteithcinematography7477 IMHO yes. I find I like the look look I get much better than with a Nikon image profile. Though nothing like RAW - obviously. It certainly holds up better than the compression of 8 years ago. I think you will notice it in the luma noise before the chroma noise.
I would recommend shooting some tests to grade and see how you like it before you commit to using it on something important.
Overall a nice and useful video, but a couple of things to think about to improve the quality of future videos. First, the word is 'hist-o-gram', not 'hist-ora-gram'. Then, what the histogram shows is not 'exposure'. Exposure is a word much misunderstood and the misunderstanding is spread by misuse in web explainers such as that. 'Exposure' refers to the light energy density at the focal plane, while the histogram shows processed values in the output file. In film days we used to call this 'density'. Which brings us to the final thing, by flattening the processing profile you are not making it 'unprocessed'. The only thing 'unprocessed' is a raw file. In a processed file, all kinds of decisions about things like white balance, colour space and such like are baked in and cannot be unbaked. In a log file the 'density' (or value) is coded proportional to the log of exposure, your flat profile, not quite, but it still provides a good basis for grading.
Thanks for the thoughts Bob!
The key to this working very well is to set the ACTIVE D Lighting to Extra High.
This makes sense to me - but TBH I had to go take a look in my camera settings to see what they were on! lol - it looks like I do indeed have them set to Extra High!
Hello!! thanks for the review. why do you think it gives redness to faces and skin?
Hmm... I haven't had this issue. Which this LOG you are technically loosing some colour value information in favour of luminance information - but I have been impressed overall with how well the colour information is retained.
This is awesome. I'm learning so a lot about my camera. So much to take in but short videos about single topics like this are really helpful. Thanks!
And while I can excuse any number of Canadian speech patterns, it's histOgram, not histoRA-gram. ;)
lol, ya that's a bad habit of speech I ='m struggling to get rid of!
I've used this method before and it is useful. You do have to be careful though. I once realized after a day of shooting the sky was banding horribly in the majority of my shots. Couldn't see it on the small camera monitor but when i got it on my computer screen i realized a lot of the footage was ruined
Yikes! I've never had trouble with banding on my z6 - but this method on my D7000 was really hard to work with.
Thanks !
Thanks for saying thanks! I appreciate it :)
Liked this enough to subscribe.
Man, comments like this humble me. Seriously. Watching ONE video and subing? I'm honoured!
Is that similar to Prolost setting with Canon DSLR back in the day where Canon Mark II was the leader of DSLR cinematography?
Ah someone recognized it! lol - Yes, that is exactly what it is based on - but updated for the newer Nikon settings :)
Great video! I have nikon z5 and i not understand why peoples not use this flat profile.
Thanks for the comment Роман! Ya, this should work great on any Nikon Z camera - like the Z5.
External recording isn't that expensive, Atomos ninja v is about 400$, and it uses sata ssd, which is cheaper than any cards, 1tb is only 100$. You can record in prores 422 hq 10bit in nikon N-log, which is free. That 10bit log footage has much better editing room than the 8bit internal recording. Editing prores is also very easy on the computer, infact, it is much smoother than the internal h.264 codec, due to less compresstion.
Fair points yuzuan.
Expensive is always relative to the individual. For many the $200 upgrade to get RAW is a great deal, to others $600 for a Ninja V (roughly an additional 1/3 additional expense on the cost of the Z6) will be far too high. For many, an external recorder isn't practical for their situations, but others the Ninja V is a great way to go! Just like the standard picture profiles in the Z6 will be sufficient for most creators, N-LOG will be more than enough for those who want some more room in their colour grade - and its much much better on storage to!
I got the Ninja V for the 10 bit files but sadly lugging that around to record is cumbersome. I can see the quality difference on my talking head videos but would love to have that on all my videos. This lack of 10 bit files internally pushed me to pickup the Sony FX30. There is some downsides to going this route, such as a smaller screen and losing some photo capabilities however, the portability makes up for that. The FX30 has some smaller lens which works for me doing travel videos for YT. I wish Nikon would make some smaller, lighter lens but that might mean going to an APSC camera in their Z line but, currently none is a D500 sort of enthusiast or pro-sumer type camera. I’m curious to see what Nikon brings in 2023.
To be honest, I tried this but you have to dial in these settings exactly as you would want them in post production. Otherwise these settings will be just baked in your footage and you will introduce more noise when you try to bring them back. For example: adding more sharpness back.
This is not a real N-Log profile as you cannot leverage the dynamic range in a way that you don't introduce extra noise when you work with it in post.
But it would be so nice of Nikon to offer us an N-LOG profile with a firmware update, wouldn't it?
This is good but yeah I definitely would just get a dedicated video camera like a bmpcc or even a second hand Red. We working photographers already buy a ton of stuff we don't need so don't bother with that "I can't afford it nonsense" 😂! I find that my z6ii with 3 lenses for photo and a used Red 4k camera with 2 lenses for video serves all my needs and then I don't need one camera to be a jack of all trades. Best long term strategy. Post is also a cinch, the workflow is actually better optimized this way 👍
Thanks for the thoughts Moreseun! If you got the budget for it, a Ninja or a Blackmagic would be better in most cases. But for those who just fairly price in to a z6 - this a workable alternative in a pinch!
Can I upload videos to Davinci directly? Because is 8 bit. And can I make correction that is really good? I am a beginner. I have nikon z6. But I didn't know how everything is functioning. Please some advice!
Yes, I basically never bother to create optimized media or proxies in Davinci for my z6 or z30. It would work a little smoother, but for me it isn't worth it most cases.
Especially as a beginner, it will take a of practice to get good at correcting the footage. My advice is to start testing it out, and practicing to find out if it is right for you or not!
Hope that helps!
@@DallasJyl Thank you! You start something and then you come across videos where they say, you need this and that... I feel like giving up right away. Because how much money should I invest? How much to learn, and everyone sells tutorials. I am glad that you answered me and gave me hope... and the strength to persevere. If I have a question... can I ask you again? Thanks again.!
Thanks, I have a z7 and have never liked using it for video, because the FL profile is still to saturated for my liking. I use Filmora 11for what I do because I can edit a lot faster with it. It is not the greatest in color grading, but is way easier to use for what I do than Resolve.
Тоже пользуюсь filmora
Thaks a lot !!!! nikon D5500 yeahhh
Glad its working for you! I'm not sure what the D5500 compression is like, but If the colour is giving you any trouble, you may beed to bump the saturation in the colour profile back up a tad. I had to do that to get better results with the D7100. :)
Will this play well on D850 record via HDMI to Ninja V as ProRes HQ?
Thanks.
I haven't tried that comp personally. But if you don't have N-LOG as an option - this will be second best. It should get even better results when paired with a Ninja V - as long as your HDMI output is clean, and not down scaled.
A quick google search, it looks like the D850 has 4:2:2 8 bit output - so that looks promising.
Just do a few tests before you shoot something to important. I made that mistake first time I tried these settings on my D7000 and on my Z6 - and I had some settings wrong that almost ruined my footage!
@@DallasJyl The only Nikon DSLR can get n-log is D780 which was released a few years after D850 and right before Z series. I have been recording ProRes 422 HQ via HDMI from my D850 with flat profile. I can't control my lighting, and more often than I want, highlight is just overblown. I finally bought a VND and hoping this may help.
I'll try your method later.
It could seem like a good alternative but actually I think this is way worse. Log profiles are usually a good idea when recording 10 bit video, however that's not possible in nikon Z cameras internally and when stretching the image it will generate more problems of areas without information... Well that's what I think at least
It is a bit of a compromise, and not for everyone for sure!
I tried saving new presets but every time I open them to check if the the settings were saved properly, all the sharpening settings are not where I left them. Quick sharp seems to be affecting the other sharpness settings. Anyone know what I did wrong or how to fix it?
Ya, I find quick sharp a bit confusing too.
The top quick sharp setting adjusts all 3 sharpness settings at once (based on their default values for the picture profile).
However, the 3 settings below can be adjusted individually instead.
Does this help at all?
@@DallasJyl Yes. I figured it out. Thank you for this tip!
I use a Z7 II and it has no true LOG recording in camera. So this is really useful! I always suspected that creating a custom profile like this would help but I wasn't sure :)
Though I assume that getting an external recorder like a Ninja to get 10 bit color and true LOG files would yield better results. But are they 500 bucks better?
Hey, your welcome - I'm glad it was helpful!
I expect in many instances a Ninja would easily be worth $500 more than this method. But - only if you actually need it, have the cash for it, don't need something else more, and are willing to to be tied to that external monitor and its batteries whenever you need 10 bit.
I'm confused, so log is not raw file? Then if we have a simulated one like you did, isn't it log too?
RAW has not compression in the video file - it contains everything - all the colours, details, lighting, etc. exactly as it was captured by the camera's sensor.
LOG is similar to a "flat" image profile that endeavours to protect the high and low luminance values being captured by your camera. Typically LOG is still captured to a compressed video file - though often in more fine-tuned loss-less compression that preserves more of the details & data. "True LOG" has a proper logarithmic formula that can be "decoded" through an official LUT. As you can see in some of the comments here, LOG is a very mushy topic that is hard to get a good definition of from google.
Just as some have argued that "this isn't actually LOG" you could make an argument that this is - though very sloppy - real LOG.
Why did you set decrease Sharpening -3, MidRange to -5 instead of 0? Doesn't make sense...
Good question. This surprised me at first as well.
Essentially what I found was that 0 is the "normal" level of sharpening given in camera. And the default processing in camera adds a level of sharpening.
If you look at an unprocessed RAW photo out of camera, you will see it is not as sharp as you might expect. When I've looked at the default settings applied to a RAW photo in various photo editing software I always find they add sharpening by default.
Already shot one entire wedding with this profile thanks a lot also I don't need much light for the scenes thanks
Glad to hear its working for you Angel!
You may have a NYKon, but I have a Nikon!
lol - I have only ever seen the occasional person on the net say it Nick-On - around here everyone says Nye-Con... Is it a euro thing? In fairness, I don't think Nikon Japan knows how to pronounce it in English either!
Buy a black magic assist. Simple.
Do you have Active D Lighting set to high?
I guess I forgot to talk about that in the video. I have it set to very high right now. I also often use de-noise in post as necessary. But I haven't experimented with turning it off and using post denoise exlusivly.
Very interesting… the only question I have is IF you are shooting 4K or 1080p ?
I bought into the whole Filmmaker’s Kit when the Z6 came out (waiting a year for the ProRes update) and shot thru the Ninja… but Apple never supported this profile so I played Nlog and/or used the Sony CIN profile (since Sony still makes the video chip for Nikon) and tried Color Grading in FCPX… Eh!?!
Since I am ONLY working under studio LED lighting - I am not seeing a significant difference between my (flat) 1080p and the “bitage” I shot at 4K ProRes RAW and spent hours tweaking… to look as good as my 1080p !?!?!! 🤨
I have even converted my ProRes RAW into Blackmagic’s Log and messed around a bit with Da Vinci’s far more powerful Color Grading interface/training support but 3Xs more “bitage” clogging up my NAS… 🤬
I’m gonna a try your Log profile and see how it looks… I’m just curious if I will still have the latitude to adjust 1080p (which gives me back 120 for more natural slow-mo) still need to shoot 4K ?
Thanx to anyone who can comment! 😉
Seeing the comments, my studio setup will always use my Aputure 300D / 120D and Intellytech panels (for fill) in a dark studio… so maybe I really don’t need to shoot 4K if all my actors are in theatrical makeup and wearing ornate costumes… I just need to triple check my lighting for each take! And simplify my shooting by sticking with this profile in 1080p or 4K 🧐
This video is a mess, because I was holding the camera in the shoot so had to use other cameras (action cam, lg v30 phone, nikon d7000). I usually shoot the "talking head" sections of my videos in 4k, and any other sections in 1080.
I honestly haven't noticed much difference at all between the 4k and 1080 for grading. From what I can tell the bit rate for 4k is simply x4 the 1080, so the colour data per pixel would be exactly the same. ... Though I did read something from nikon the other day that suggested that the 4k on these cameras was recording at medium quality, which suggest that you may get better colour information and less noise from a high quality 1080 setting. I haven't tested it for myself yet though.
I would be curious to hear how it goes for you!
I’m still messing around with Audio for a couple more months… then I’ll get back to video on my Z6 shooting. I wasn’t aware you could even tweak 1080p (assuming they only 4K could support the metadata needed to colorgrade) As mentioned, I have been using the Ninja V to produce ProRes Raw which does allow for metadata to be use to manipulate the video AND compression so you aren’t using as much disk space… but it’s still MBs to GBs and I found myself merely trying to match the 1080p that I “test” shot but had the BEST color from the get-go (after carefully setting up my lighting and ensuring the WB matches my LED)
Since I really ONLY targeting my work for smartphones and tablets… I’m really starting to think my Log and Colorgrading is overkill… and I’m not sure one can mix 1080p and Color Graded 4K in an edit and show a consistent result???
Thanx for tip! Really looking to try it!
Sorry to say Nthg like this work. Please guys upgrade the firmware. It changes the entire game 😅
Historagram?!
Lol, Ya a, bad habit in my pronunciation of that word!
Are you really sure that -3 value is neutral (=raw, not processed by the camera)? More probable that your camera is tweaking with, say, constract and downgrading it to -3, which doesn't makes sense, because you are losing information
Nothing you do in the custom profile will eliminate i-camera processing. But yes, reducing contrast certainly does preserve more information in the highlights and shadows. From experience, videos with standard profiles certainly clip highlights and shadows sooner then this simulated LOG profile does.
Well yes, but actually no.
What you really need is an Atomos Ninja V. That will replace all these manipulations, give you tons of features, and record better and longer.
The premise of the video is literally about avoiding buying a Ninja V... The V is an amazing tool, but not for every situation - or budget.
Dude! You're giving us advice on cinematic video with a video that's out of focus with sound that's ass! COME ON MAN!
Thanks for the feedback. Cheers.
lol flat is not log homie
Which is why I call it a simulated LOG rather than a true log. When you do a google search and you will find nothing but confusion on this topic. How would you explain the difference?
why you stop
Thanks for your support Mohamed! I'm taking a break wile I get a client project setup. Once I get things rolling I will be back at it more regularly!
Anything you would like to see?