LUT in-camera

[ScottMcIntyre]

I'm not sure if this has been brought up 100 times, but to my surprise I wasn't able to find any leads by searching RU for LUTs in camera. Does anyone else think this would make sense? If you were incorporating a LUT in your post-production pipeline to have the ability to load a LUT in camera? Shooting REDlogFilm and loading LUTs onto monitors - Is this better as the monitor would be calibrated to colour suite standard? Or would having the LUT from the source capture be of greater benefit?

If RED were to ever incorporate a feature like this, it would also be great to save LUTs with mags so they could be loaded easily throughout post-production.

Not really a complaint, more of a suggestion. (Lots of those around)

DRGN4LIFE

 

[Ben Scott]

My dream is that there would be a 7" replacement for the 5" monitor that could have an sd card to save camera settings/presets/calibration maps/LUTS etc, and a fast CF card slot for recording proxies.

I have no idea if that is possible or on the horizon

 

[Brian Merlen]

Its possible to create a LUT in redcine, save it to mag, and load it in to the camera. As for the real time proxy creation also possible by using an off board recorder (when shooting at speeds). So either option is a possibility you just need to work with what we have now and today, which has limitations. You can create a LUT in camera by plugging in values, I have worked with a savvy DP that didn't want to wait for us to take out a mag, load a LUT, and put it back in, so he just plugs in the values himself until he is happy. So different workflows for different folks. The only real limitation is the fact that proxy creation has to be done at speeds. For off speed shooting your basically stuck doing the encode thing no matter what...


PS I personally always advocate for getting a fat/wide negative. Shooting with a LUT loaded is nice cuz you can see an idea of the final image, but if the LUT is extreme it can easily be clipping the sensor, so then you expose for the LUT. But if the post guys don't like the LUT you can potentially be setting yourself up for trouble. I would at least advocate for trying to keep the negative wide/unclipped and checking both with and without LUT on your shots just to make sure your not setting yourself for future head aches since say your LUT image is exposed right but your non LUT image is unusable and then post hates your LUT. Some DPs like to force the LUT no matter what so they purposely clip the non LUT version cuz they know what they are doing and can dictate to post their demands, but most gigs I do works the other way around and post calls the shots the second we wrap since DPs never get called in for color sesh.. It depends on clients needs I would imagine...

 

[Björn Benckert]

Its possible to create a LUT in redcine, save it to mag, and load it in to the camera. As for the real time proxy creation also possible by using an off board recorder (when shooting at speeds). So either option is a possibility you just need to work with what we have now and today, which has limitations. You can create a LUT in camera by plugging in values, I have worked with a savvy DP that didn't want to wait for us to take out a mag, load a LUT, and put it back in, so he just plugs in the values himself until he is happy. So different workflows for different folks. The only real limitation is the fact that proxy creation has to be done at speeds. For off speed shooting your basically stuck doing the encode thing no matter what...


PS I personally always advocate for getting a fat/wide negative. Shooting with a LUT loaded is nice cuz you can see an idea of the final image, but if the LUT is extreme it can easily be clipping the sensor, so then you expose for the LUT. But if the post guys don't like the LUT you can potentially be setting yourself up for trouble. I would at least advocate for trying to keep the negative wide/unclipped and checking both with and without LUT on your shots just to make sure your not setting yourself for future head aches since say your LUT image is exposed right but your non LUT image is unusable and then post hates your LUT. Some DPs like to force the LUT no matter what so they purposely clip the non LUT version cuz they know what they are doing and can dictate to post their demands, but most gigs I do works the other way around and post calls the shots the second we wrap since DPs never get called in for color sesh.. It depends on clients needs I would imagine...

No yo can not do that all you can do is to load a "look" file into the camera that is not equal to loading a 3D lut. what you want is for the lut to hit after the camera internal color processing. So that you can balance the colors etc under the lut. A 3Dlut also maps colors in 3D space in ways that is not possible to mimic with the simple rgb curves etc that is avialable in RCXP or in camera so. the only way to work today if you want to use luts is to put a lut box on the SDI out.


The right and simple thing for red to do would be a +1 module version 2. and give it a built in 3Dlutbox, small memory slot and an extra SDI out. That way the DP could have the normal monitor out with normal colors and the +1 out could display picture with lut if wanted both to touch screen and and 3rd party monitors.


And yes Arri now got 3Dlut import in amira.. think that will make that camera sell like hotcakes.

 

[Brian Merlen]

Thanks for the clarification/correction! I guess the looks are only 1D, huh?

Regardless I think its still important if your shooting/exposing with a look/lut to check it without the look/lut applied too just to make sure your not painting yourself into a corner... and then post freaks out if they don't want it that way...

 

[ScottMcIntyre]

I think it's important to see what your final product is going to look like. A LUT can stylistically push your image in a distinct direction, like a pro-mist or other filtration. Having the ability to view RAW/REDlogFilm/LUT would be beneficial because it's another tool in your digital workflow. It would also be good for clients to see this, and I totally get that you can load this onto a monitor like FSI,etc. But it would be nice if the camera had that function. The new Gratical EVF from Zacuto is probably the best solution as you could throughput to your monitors with a 3D output LUT, but who know when that thing is going to drop.