QUICK HELP (re: Blackshading/Fans/DRAGON Exposure / Sensor Warming Up)

[George A.]

Hi!

I just thought about writing a self-contained post for the people who are either just getting a Dragon, or are in the process of learning how to deal with it in order to get the best results. I see a lot of footage that doesn't take full advantage of what the Dragon sensor has to offer. If you're a seasoned Dragon shooter, you probably know all about this. If you are new to the Dragon camera, follow these quick, easy tips and you'll end up with great footage, no matter the OLPF you are using. So, without wasting any more time:



1) ALWAYS BLACKSHADE IMMEDIATELY AFTER EACH FIRMWIRE UPDATE

It's not necessary to blackshade often (so don't worry about it) - if you save 4 well-thought-out black calibrations in camera, they will cover 95% of all situations. There are tons of blackshading-related threads on Reduser, so do your research. Start with the great threads created by Mark L. Pederson and David Battistella:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?111628-BLACK-SHADING-For-Dummies-amp-Experts

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?117878-Black-Shading-A-look-under-the-hood&highlight=

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?120910-Black-Shading-(again)-Strategies

I see a lot of problems caused by improper blackshading. Some shooters even tell me they never blackshade, since it's not worth it. It's a big mistake.

Always blackshade after installing a new firmwire. If you don't, you are bound to end up with sub-par results.


2) MANAGE YOUR BLACKSHADE CALIBRATIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FAN MODES

You can find additional info if you browse through the threads I pasted above. Also, check Phil Holland's great pdf here:

http://artbyphil.com/phfx/red/dragon/images/phfx_redDragon_blackShadeTempAndFans.jpg

People are usually relying on the "Adaptive" and the "Adaptive Preview Quite Record" fan modes, and for good reason. It's totally safe to run the camera core at anything between 65C and 70C degrees. Some people prefer to go lower than 65C degrees, but the fan noise increases slightly to run the camera cooler.

In fact, two of my "main" calibrations stored in-camera are for 65C degrees (two different shutter speeds) and the other two for 70C degrees (the same exact shutter speeds, but at a different core temperature).
65C core temperature translates to about 48C or 49C sensor temperature.
70C core temperature translates to about 50C or 51C sensor temperature.

If the temperature of the core goes higher - I switch to the "hot" calibration (50C). If the temperature of the core goes lower, I switch to the "cool" calibration (48C). Of course, you can manage the temperature of the core (and consequently, of the sensor) by varying the fan speeds (bringing the temperature up or down to stay within a chosen calibration, without changing to another one). I personally treat the 70C fan setting (applying the 50C black calibration) as the "quiet" setting since the fans don't need to work that hard, and the 65C fan setting (applying the 48C black calibration) as the slightly "noisier" setting, when I don't care as much about the fan noise. Of course, your (informed) choices might be different than mine.

Follow the "CAL: T/E" indicator and make sure it stays green. Yellow is not a problem, but it's ideal (and easy) to keep it at green. It takes a couple of seconds to switch between different black calibrations, if needed. No big deal. Obviously, pay attention not only to the Temperature indicator, but also to your Exposure Time indicator (related to shutter speed).

Occasionally, sub-par footage happens because people shoot while the "CAL: T/E" indicator is red. Keep it green and you should be fine.


3) ALLOW THE DRAGON SENSOR ENOUGH TIME TO WARM UP

The Dragon sensor needs 5-7 minutes to warm up fully. Turn on the camera when you start prepping it. By the time you finish attaching everything you need to the body, the sensor is already warmed up.

So far, people have been using the EXPOSURE TOOL indicator to check if the sensor is warmed up. With the mount cap on (or lens cap on - you need pure black), people push the Exposure Tool assigned hot button on their camera (wherever they programmed it) and wait until everything is purple. However, it's not ideal, because the Exposure Tool will show purple everywhere when the sensor is NOT fully warmed up - and thus, it's not safe to start shooting. The much better way is to use the new Gio Scope tool.

Let me show you. So, you just turned the Dragon camera on. You keep the mount cap on, and you press the Exposure Tool button. You get this familiar image - purple just on one side of the screen, which means the sensor is "cold":



The Gio Scope Tool shows the same irregular pattern (in reverse) at the same time:



OK. You wait one more minute: the purple (back in the Exposure Tool) is still not everywhere in the picture, although the sensor is getting warmer:



Same idea with the Gio Scope tool: more uniform, but not yet fully warmed up:



So you wait 1-2 more minutes, until purple is everywhere when you check the Exposure Tool:



You might be tempted to say the sensor is fully warmed up and start shooting, but I advise you to wait a few more minutes! The Gio Scope still shows that the sensor is NOT fully warmed up:



After 5-7 minutes (at most), the Gio Scope shows a much more uniform image:



If you are not on the latest beta firmwire and don't have access to Gio Scope, simply wait until the camera gets to your chosen temperature (65C or 70C or whatever you chose to blackshade at), wait a couple of more minutes to be on the safe side and then start shooting.

Again, I see people shooting before the sensor gets fully warmed up. This is far from ideal and the images you shoot will exhibit problems.


4) LOWER THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE TOUCH LCD BY 4 CLICKS

By far, the most common problem I see with sub-par Dragon footage is under-exposure.

Make sure you expose the Dragon sensor well. It doesn't matter if you shoot at ISO250, ISO 500, ISO800 or ISO2000. Make sure you give the sensor enough exposure to create a fat image. Treat it like 35mm, not like a digital camera.

I think people (especially the ones who shot video/digital all their lives) err on the side of under-exposure to avoid clipping the highlights. And they were mostly right - including on the RED ONE or RED EPIC-X (the M or MX sensor). Dragon is different - you can safely err on the side of overexposure. In fact, I personally recommend it. Don't be afraid to have a "fat negative" as they say in 35mm - a "fat histogram" in this case. The clipped whites will still look beautiful, but you won't be compromising the rest of your image, the important 80%-90%, which is where you make or break an image. For the sake of a few specular highlights, I see people underexposing the entire image. It's time to think differently when shooting with the Dragon sensor. Expose well and let the whites fall wherever they fall. It's a general strategy, of course, sometimes you might deliberately underexpose or overexpose for artistic purposes. I'm talking general strategies here.

And back to the main point of this section. In my opinion, a lot of people genuinely want to expose well, but they are tricked by the Touch LCD, which is simply too bright. I recommend lowering the brightness of the Touch LCD 4 clicks:



I also recommend saving this setting across all your presets. The image still looks great after you lower the brightness (there is no compromise), but most importantly, you will not be "fooled" by the LCD anymore. You will have a better sense of when an image needs more light, or when there is too much light.
A lot of shooters (unfortunately) make exposure decisions very fast by simply looking at the LCD. You should never do this, but when you do, at least lower the brightness of your LCD 4 clicks so it doesn't fool you into underexposing. It happens all too often!



It might seem a lot for the beginner, but its not. Get your hands on a Dragon camera, and in 1-2 hours learning it you will be able to easily grasp the things I mention above. These first basic steps will help anyone produce great results and avoid the typical mistakes I see around me.

Thanks!

 

[George A.]

So, in a nutshell:

1) ALWAYS PROPERLY BLACKSHADE THE CAMERA AFTER A FIRMWIRE UPDATE

2) MANAGE YOUR BLACKSHADE CALIBRATIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NEW FAN MODES

3) ALLOW THE DRAGON SENSOR ENOUGH TIME TO WARM UP

4) LOWER THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE TOUCH LCD BY 4 CLICKS


There is obviously MUCH more about the Red Dragon, as it's the case with any high-end camera.

I just wanted to outline a few basic things that anyone should understand about the Dragon sensor/camera in particular, especially if they come at it cold. They are pretty much unique to the camera, and you need to know about them before you start shooting.

Any other similar suggestions I might have overlooked are welcome in this thread. I'm not talking about general exposure strategies and so on - applicable to any camera, really - but more about basic things (specific to Dragon) that any shooter not familiar with the camera must know before they start using it. I'm sure we all agree that a lot of Dragon shooters make these basic mistakes - especially when first using the camera. Let's not blame them - but help them.



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[Elsie N]

Very clear and concise "How to" for blackshading. Personally, hadn't thought to use the Exposure tool or the Gio Scope as affirmation.

Thanks.

 

[Eryc Tramonn]

Very clear and concise "How to" for blackshading. Personally, hadn't thought to use the Exposure tool or the Gio Scope as affirmation.

Thanks.

This is exactly how I work, too, Elsie. I stumbled onto this approach while experimenting with DRAGON, attempting to construct a set of best practices. And this methodology has consistently produced great results for me.

That stated, I ventured into Yosemite this past weekend and under the conditions was not able to allow the camera enough time to rise to operating temperature. After post processing, the resultant images were still awesome in my opinion. So my point is, even if you are not able to follow the above set of guidelines in every situation, you can still achieve spectacular shots. But for the very best results, the process George outlines is where it's at.

 

[Elsie N]

This is exactly how I work, too, Elsie. I stumbled onto this approach while experimenting with DRAGON, attempting to construct a set of best practices. And this methodology has consistently produced great results for me.

That stated, I ventured into Yosemite this past weekend and under the conditions was not able to allow the camera enough time to rise to operating temperature. After post processing, the resultant images were still awesome in my opinion. So my point is, even if you are not able to follow the above set of guidelines in every situation, you can still achieve spectacular shots. But for the very best results, the process George outlines is where its at.

Eryc, very important point to make for those not deep into Dragon culture-of-shooting. I think it is always best to point out that best practices do not preclude the use of good practices, especially when under time constraints.

And I think George's post pretty much outlays, in easy to understand terms, a concentration of ideas spawned by real world experiences and established procedures. Very handy reference.

 

[Nawaf Alsabhan]

So, in a nutshell:

1) ALWAYS PROPERLY BLACKSHADE THE CAMERA AFTER A FIRMWIRE UPDATE

2) MANAGE YOUR BLACKSHADE CALIBRATIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NEW FAN MODES

3) ALLOW THE DRAGON SENSOR ENOUGH TIME TO WARM UP

4) LOWER THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE TOUCH LCD BY 4 CLICKS
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George, those are great and important tips, specially to shooters who never used Dragon before.

Thanks

 

[George A.]

Thanks Nawaf.

On a different note, I haven't had the chance to play with the new TOUCH 7.0 LCD yet, so I don't know if the "4 clicks down" method is needed anymore.
I'll update as soon as I compare the two LCDs. I've heard that the 7.0 default brightness sits a bit lower than the 5.0, but I can't confirm yet.

George




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[Nawaf Alsabhan]

Thanks Nawaf.

On a different note, I haven't had the chance to play with the new TOUCH 7.0 LCD yet, so I don't know if the "4 clicks down" method is needed anymore.
I'll update as soon as I compare the two LCDs. I've heard that the 7.0 default brightness sits a bit lower than the 5.0, but I can't confirm yet.

George
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I think Redtouch 5.0 used to also not be as bright, but one of last years firmware updates changed its default brightness and I noticed it when I exposed wrong in a low light shot.
I'll be waiting for your review on the 7.0 LCD, can't wait.

 

[Nikhil Kamkolkar]

Great tips, George! I can already see a few things I was doing wrong.

Does anyone know what the difference is between a factory blackshade and the user created blackshades? Does RED follow the same process we do as users, except they get to save theirs as a factory setting? OR do they do it some other, fancier, more accurate way?

If the latter, can we propose to RED that they ship with four additional blackshades (or allow for those to be created at a RED facility) that we can save and use for most common situations? Implicit in all of this seems to be the idea that blackshading would be sensor-specific, so then, why can't RED include a library of blackshades for a specific sensor at all possible combinations of temperature/shutter speed on a drive?

I've read elsewhere that other camera manufacturers also do blackshading but need the camera to be sent back. So could we have an option of RED offering the higher quality blackshade, assuming such a thing exists, at one of their facilities, and these get stored in the four slots available on the Dragon?