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Driftwood Sedna q1 vs Red Epic 5k
  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    Here's a comparison video between my friend's r3d EPIC and my gh2 with driftwood's sedna q1 hack. we're planning a feature and wondering if it'd b better to shoot on 3 gh2's or one EPIC.

    first impressions were that the r3d footage made the gh2 footage look like I'd turned my contrast all the way up in the gh2 I couldn't believe how contrasty the gh2 footage looked in comparison. and I used smooth -2,-2,-2,-2

    anyone have any experience using an ultra con filter to flatten the gh2 image?

    also, noise @ 320 in the darks on the gh2 was pretty bad. about 2 times worse than the epic. maybe it was the iso bug we'll have to test again. or maybe i need to turn noise reduction up it was pretty much a dealbreaker as far as planning to use the current gh2 to make the feature

    good news was sharpness was on par with the 5k image. In fact, I actually added sharpness to the epic footage to match the gh2.

    is there anyway to flatten out the gh2 in the matrix?

    UPDATE: turns out my friend's monitor was exaggerating the difference between the cameras. I color corrected, sharpened and denoised the clips to match each other. Check out the vid and let me know which u think is which:

    and here's the evidence that it really is epic footage vs. gh2 footage

  • 52 Replies sorted by
  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    Hey BannedinDV i didn't notice it was you. How u doing my man! hah, yeah doing a basic edit with the r3d footage which was all I'd done when I started proclaiming how easy it was to edit r3d in cs5.5 (cs6). But now i'm in the grading and fx process it's just 3 times harder than just working with gh2 footage or 60d footage. And I don't see 3 times the benefit to using the r3d. i want the video process to be fun and spontaneous and the larger the format the harder (more expensive it is) to get that done. So yeah the last video we shot we kept the epic in the car cause it's just not as fun to shoot with and I think it shows in the vid. Our new vid is getting lots of great response and I don't think it would have been any better with a shot on r3d logo @ the end and I know it would of been impossible to shoot and edit in 24 hours like we did this vid:

    you know what i'm talking about cause u shot that beautiful vid on the beach with a 5d and I asked if u'd used your epic ;)

    anywho, we gotta have couples dinner soon! cheers, Jayson youtube.com/AWDEfilms

  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    till u color correct then things slow to a grind

  • bannedindvbannedindv

    I thought the Epic workflow was easy with CS5.5?

  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    Ok just wanted to update everyone on the gh2 vs Red Epic 5k situation. We've since shot a music video all in red 5k and 2k and man do i wish we'd shot it on the gh2 instead. The post workflow has been grueling.

    Also, not using driftwood Sedna anymore, perfectly happy with the images from CBrandin 44mb hack.

    Maybe we should do a CBrandin 44mb vs epic 5k video

    Also, @ our last shoot we ended up keeping the epic and gh2's in the car the whole time and shooting everything on our 60d's because we don't have an i.s. lens for the gh2 and are waiting for the 35-100 b4 we buy one.

    I'll post the 2 music vids later this week when we release them

    cheers, Jayson http://www.youtube.com/AWDEfilms

  • nomadnomad

    Looking forward to that.

    We'll test Epic under extreme conditions on Easter: the famous fire wheels of Northern Germany. Might take my GH2 with Mysteron too…

  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    @nomad hah yeah we better take advantages of those limitations while we can cause Jannard said the dragon sensor will leave us with nothing to complain about ;)

    also, stopped by @bannedindv house today he only lives about 2 miles away. He let me borrow his ultra con filters so hopefully we'll have a new test comparison up later this weekend.

  • nomadnomad

    You wrote: "also, remember limitations are an artist's inspiration so maybe having limits to work around with the gh2 will lead to good things." Definitely! It will teach you good planning, careful lighting and knowing what you want from the start – virtues that will help you even with a RED ;-)

    Orson Welles said that the lack of limitations is the enemy of art.

  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    oh and another big factor is the weight of the camera. epic gets heavier and heavier as the day goes on, and requires an ac. with the gh2 you can just have 3 cameramen with 3 camera's and they can handle the camera alone. so that's a big factor too.

  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    @nomad yeah there's no doubt that the r3dcode is more flexible than the gh2's avchd, i definitely matched the r3d to the gh2 and wouldn't b able to match the gh2 to the r3d not that i would want to deliver that flat of an image but maybe i'll upload a vid that demonstrates that point. in the end we'll probably end up shooting the majority of our movie on gh2's. it's a pychadelic horror movie in the woods with some practical effects and definitely some vfx since we can. also, remember limitations are an artist's inspiration so maybe having limits to work around with the gh2 will lead to good things.

  • x_worpig_xx_worpig_x

    @LumixUser Cool thanks

  • x_worpig_xx_worpig_x

    @LumixUser do you 5DtoRGB? or just edit straight MTS files?

  • brianlucebrianluce

    What kind of film are you doing? VFX = RED. GH2's will be more versatile and efficient.

  • dbpdbp

    If hypothetically the GH2 and Red shot identical footage straight out of camera... The red would still be worth the extra money to me for the codec alone.

    The hacks are great and all, but GH2 footage still can't be pushed that much. Nothing like I imagine Red Raw can. Hell, it still a massive difference pushing around 10 bit 4:2:2 AVC-Inta 100 footage.

  • peaceonearthpeaceonearth

    @nomad well spoken! It's just one the point. GH2 is a very usefull high standard leatherman. You can always have in in your pocket and it will work for many many tasks. But it's no substitution for professional tools to build a house.

  • nomadnomad

    RED cameras (there's not only the Epic) are all about flexibility. As long as you stay 1080 for your final product PLUS as long as you have controlled lighting, know your camera very well and are responsible for the final look all on your own, you can get very close.

    But that's not why producers and directors want a RED. Many come from the traditional film business, where you have an impressive amount of flexibility working from a scanned negative. You wouldn't believe how many directors change their mind about how their footage should look like once they sit next to a colorist in the grading suite. If you start changing the image massively in post, the footage from a GH2 falls apart quickly – the R3D does not. Plus, if you have very expensive sets, actors and crew on a set, the price difference of the camera gets less and less important. So, in the end it's horses for courses. I'm sure well see a lot of good indie films from talented young people who plan their look carefully before shooting and know what they are doing with a GH2.

  • BenibubeBenibube

    1 = EPIC 2 = GH2

  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    @LumixUser i'll post it in the a.m. gonna go to bed and watch 3 amigos on dvd in .7k :)

  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    @disneytoy what's p-log?

  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    @CraftyClown is right

  • woodybrandowoodybrando

    @namtot if you'd just spent $40,000 on a camera you'd b doing some tests too. especially when producers are telling u they'd rather shoot movies on the gh2. now they're crazy benefits to having an epic here in hollywood right now. the r3d footage is way more flexible than the gh2, slow motion is beautiful and most of all folks here hear u have it and want you on their next shoot. but for us shooting our own projects, wanting to really b run and gun. We need to know if we can invest our time and money into shooting on a gh2 when we have an epic @ our disposal. so thats why we're testing the two, for us it's not apples to lettuce, it's 1 really amazing apple or 3 pretty damn tasty apples :)

  • bwhitzbwhitz

    It's pretty crazy how similar the color of both cameras are... I wonder if the sensors are coming from the same place?

  • disneytoydisneytoy

    When we have P-log, that will be a good comparison. I'm more concerned with how highlights roll off. The reality is shadows and blacks are almost always crushed in grading.

  • andyvia68andyvia68

    For difference price.......no comment.gh2 for ever....little space and small weigth.result identical!

  • CraftyClownCraftyClown

    @fatpig Woodybrando confirmed 1st shot is GH2 :)

  • fatpigfatpig

    first shot looks nicer i think, for that reason im going to ASSUME its the Epic, but HOPE its GH2. So? :)

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