Color shifts with ND

[Christoffer Glans]

Been testing my firecrest NDs and I've noticed some color shift.

No ND


ND 0.6


How is the Komodo generally behaving compared to older sensors like the Dragon 6K (which I used these for with less shifts)? Is it the NDs that doesn't work with Komodo or what is going on?

I've also noticed that Komodo tends to shift towards green tint a lot, especially when underexposing.

[Kyle Wright]

I've also noticed that Komodo tends to shift towards green tint a lot, especially when underexposing.

Strange. There's a post on the Komodo Users Facebook group saying the opposite, that Komodo is very magenta compared to other RED cameras.

[Christoffer Glans]

I got mine this week and today I have been doing some more controlled testing and noticing the same thing. The more it is underexposed the more it shifts green. And it seems to do it whether I'm underexposed with ND or with aperture.

Not sure why this is happening. Maybe there should be some tweaks to the firmware or something, a tint adjustment might neutralize it, but hard to know if Red won't chime in on it all.

Strange. There's a post on the Komodo Users Facebook group saying the opposite, that Komodo is very magenta compared to other RED cameras.

Most won't white balance two cameras before comparing. Too many do the "straight out of the camera" kind of comparisons with no proper preparation that you would normally do when trying to match two cameras. It's a bit frustrating that so many do "tests" but so many don't even seem to know the basic technical knowledge of cinematography. So much bad info out there.

[Adrian Jebef]

EVERY PIECE OF GLASS YA STICK IN FRONT OF A CAMERA IS GONNA SHIFT COLOR.

Lens, filter, diffusion, pola. All of it. Filters suck. ND filters suck sooooooo baaaaaad. They blow. Polas are the woooooorst! I know you don't want my advice but here it is: Polas are for losers. Don't ever use them again. Want to shoot at a 1.3 outside in the blazing desert sun? Of course ya don't. Cause that's lame! Ya want yer spot to look like every other lame commercial on the tube? Of course ya don't. That's why ya shoot 50D outside.

But seriously ND filters suck. Even the good ones (and Firecrest are better than most) will shift color. And not plus or minus green kinda color shift. No. That's not how filters work. Filters work by filtering out wavelengths of light. Filters aren't a computer. They don't subtract in a binary manner. They literally SUCK the LIFE out of your image. There is no LINEAR response therefore you CANNOT put back in what you SUCKED out.

If yer ever curious as to HOW FING BAD filters are for color fidelity in your images make sure you shoot a color chart without the filter and then with the filter. Also make sure you jack up that saturation in Post.

[Björn Benckert]

Simple test is to do the same exposure with shutter, Nd and iris and then see what sticks out.

[Christoffer Glans]

EVERY PIECE OF GLASS YA STICK IN FRONT OF A CAMERA IS GONNA SHIFT COLOR.

Lens, filter, diffusion, pola. All of it. Filters suck. ND filters suck sooooooo baaaaaad. They blow. Polas are the woooooorst! I know you don't want my advice but here it is: Polas are for losers. Don't ever use them again. Want to shoot at a 1.3 outside in the blazing desert sun? Of course ya don't. Cause that's lame! Ya want yer spot to look like every other lame commercial on the tube? Of course ya don't. That's why ya shoot 50D outside.

But seriously ND filters suck. Even the good ones (and Firecrest are better than most) will shift color. And not plus or minus green kinda color shift. No. That's not how filters work. Filters work by filtering out wavelengths of light. Filters aren't a computer. They don't subtract in a binary manner. They literally SUCK the LIFE out of your image. There is no LINEAR response therefore you CANNOT put back in what you SUCKED out.

If yer ever curious as to HOW FING BAD filters are for color fidelity in your images make sure you shoot a color chart without the filter and then with the filter. Also make sure you jack up that saturation in Post.

For sure, it's just that the difference is much more notable on Komodo than my 6K Dragon.

Personally, I usually just shoot with a faster shutter (as long as it's not super bright outside) then add post motion blur. Movements are rarely so extreme that it "artefacts" the post motion blur and you don't filter out anything. On top of that you get a perfect image for post stabilization and other things.

[michael fetner]

Then what is your suggestion for shooting f2 midday if you don't use ND's

[Adrian Jebef]

Then what is your suggestion for shooting f2 midday if you don't use ND's

Do what you want. Just be aware that most ND and Pola filters will drain the color response out of your image. Doing some simple tests before you shoot can be very helpful.

[Christoffer Glans]

Then what is your suggestion for shooting f2 midday if you don't use ND's

If you have normal motion you could just put the camera at ISO400 and the shutter until you have good exposure, then just apply RSMB motion blur in post.
This is often a solution for VFX shots, so why not non-VFX shots when you don't have NDs? I think that much of the extreme idea of always keeping the shutter at 180 comes from the days of 35mm film. I'd say that the only rule is to never go higher than a 225 shutter. 225 is good for slow-moving or almost static shots, more than that you will get that awful video feel that everyone hates. As long as you go up to 180 or 225, you will always have the option to add motion blur as long as the motion isn't so high that it creates artifacts.

[Adrian Jebef]

:For sure, it's just that the difference is much more notable on Komodo than my 6K Dragon.

Interesting. Next time shoot both side-by-side. I normally notice color/tint shifts in off-whites and skintones. It would be intriguing to see both cams black balanced and then white balanced in a mixed lighting scenario to see where their RGB levels line up. (note to self for my next red prep lol)