Soft Image, having trouble getting a sharp picture

[Elliot Pollaro]

Hi we are doing tests with this Red camera we may be purchasing and we have noticed that we aren't able to really achieve a sharp focus. Its a RED one (non-MX) I have attached 2 images of what we have shot with it in 2k. I have heard about back focus issues I'm not sure if thats what this is in our case or not. The lens is a 18-50mm. We are having trouble as well getting the color to "pop" it seems dull. When we try to color correct the colors still don't seem to pop out. We shot in the sun and it was bright out with blue skies. I have seen the images RED can achieve and I know that there must be some small problems. I did a Color reset on the camera today which could have fixed that issue. The sharp image is our main concern. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Images attached. Hi res versions are on the links below:

http://www.pollaromedia.net/e1.png

http://www.pollaromedia.net/e2.png

Thanks.

 

[Lauri Kettunen]

Do you have Redcine-X? If so, export a frame as a .R3D file, post it here, and thereafter I'm sure you'll get a lot of feedback.

 

[Tom.Wong]

make sure your RCX is set to full debayer when you are looking at it.

and 2k looks soft. plain and simple. even more so on a non mx, mx resolves better.

 

[ericyoung]

The camera does not put any sharpening in by default. Try adjusting the Sharpness in Redcine-X Look Control from 0 up to 1 or 2. The highest setting is obviously the sharpest, but can introduce some undesirable artifacts if you look closely. There can be quite a delay before the image updates on a laptop or slow computer.

Also, 2K is definitely not the best resolution to shoot at for sharpness unless you specifically need overcranked slow motion, you should shoot at 3K or 4K or higher. Remember when 2K is debayered it is slightly below HD resolution, so it will definitely look softer compared with 3K or 4K.

Focus looks a little off on the picture with the child.

You can grade it with a bit more contrast (S-curve) which will help a lot with apparent sharpness and colour saturation.

In Redcine-X (are you using Build 470) your viewer window is set to "Fit Both" so interpolation may be contributing to softness. Try viewing at 100%

 

[paulherrin]

check the backfocus. do a black shading calibration. shoot 4k... don't drop your ISO below 320 (use ND's instead) make sure any filters are high quality and clean. pretty simple stuff. you shouldn't have any problems getting a sharp image with great colors. if you're worried about the camera, contact red support.

also, check your monitoring or EVF... if you're using a small monitor, your focus is probably off.

 

[Elliot Pollaro]

http://pollaromedia.net/RED/A001_C015_0624V3.0000473.jpg - debayered

http://pollaromedia.net/RED/A001_C015_0624V3_001.0000473F.R3D - direct file link

http://pollaromedia.net/RED/

 

[Lauri Kettunen]

In my eys, your file seems to be just ok taking into account it's a 2K crop. Not the sharpest 2K image I've seen but still it's not bad. Sorry if I ask a really stupid thing first: Is it possible you are viewing 1/8 resolution in Redcine-X? If so, with 2K images set it rather to 1/2. Another issue, did you adjust the gamma curve? Thanks to the dynamics of the camera, the image may appear as if it had very low contrast when you open it in RedCine-X.

Here's a screen shot of the settings of a really quick color grading:

Here's the image exported as a tif-file. The focus is perhaps bit in front; at least the focus is not in the eyes. Perhaps this creates an impression of softness?

and here is the RMD-file, which you can import to RedCine-X yourself.

http://www.wildcine.fi/RCX-settings.jpg

 

[jimhare]

Looks about right for 2K. I don't use 2K unless I have to do 100FPS since it only uses the middle of the lens. Even if I'm shooting for SD I still use a minimum of 3K capture.

3k looks fantastic and 4k is unbelievable.

 

[James T Mather]

Also - if you are outdoors using ND filters - don't forget to use a hot mirror or infra red light will cause a magenta cast (which can desaturate your greens and blues) and also make the image soft.