I've ended up using the Expodisc ... the newer ones are both better and cheaper than the older ones. White paper is (from having tried it quite a number of times) a total crapshoot depending on what paper you use. The spectral reflectivity of paper varies far more dramatically than our eyes can see.

The whole thing about using a good WB tool is simply to get you as close to neutral as possible in capture so that your colors have more even hues and "depth" to work in post. I've tried the AWB on the GH3 and the D600 ... it gets you somewhere, but not nearly where you get to for post-work as if you've got a good WB to begin with. As far as "pros" go, when shooting say a night-scene in late afternoon ... they'll often start with a very clean WB and low sat (well, they almost always shoot low-sat) and then give the total "look" of being a night-scene in post.

You can modify the WB you set with the grid thing in the menu settings ... and I've found I both WB for "neutral" and then set that for preferences which means that oft I get to post on simple things and the color is useful one shot to the next as-is. I'm very picky, btw. And ... for more detailed projects, everything lines up and grades far easier than each shot varying by the cam's AWB ... mish-mash.

The "passport" WB tool is also an excellent one ... want to get that also.

Neil

Re: encoding, I believe that the various parameters are baked into the codec and applied as the files are being written. Just like photos, the camera captures RAW frames and then software changes it to JPEG or h.264. With video, you can bypass the encoding and directly capture what the camera sees via HDMI output.

Hey everyone...

Been following this thread for a while but just joining today because I've recently purchased a GH3 and would love to contribute.

Just a question: does anyone know how the GH3 picture settings are applied, before or after encoding? In other words, if you turn Sharpening to -5, is the GH3 applying this adjustment straight off the lens before encoding, or after the video is already encoded. I've searched extensively for this kind of info, but failed to turn up anything useful so far. Any thoughts?

@naughty_dog My Pleasure. If the only lens you have is the Oly M zuiko 12mm f2.0 - that's a killer wide angle lens. Wish I had it.

Check out what Drew from the DREWnetwork did with that lens. NO stabilizer - Hand held walking shots.

@naughty_dog

1.) The rule for video is double the shutter speed per your frame rate. If you're shooting at 24p then SS = 50. For 60p SS = 125.

2.) ISO should be as low as possible to avoid noise. I never shoot video above 1600 ISO. Way too much noise.

3.) The higher the f-stop on your lens the deeper or greater you Depth of Field. Depth of Field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear in focus.

4.) Your exposure meter should hover around "0" for a balanced exposure. Adjust f-stop and ISO (not above 1600) in tandem to dial the meter into the "0" zone.

For the time being you can set the camera on "P" mode and it'll automatically do the work for you. The problem with this is you've lost control over your camera. Most Pro's, Semi-Pro's and enthusiast shoot all Manual. If you're new to all this and it sounds quite daunting, take your time. You'll learn by practicing as we all have. The most important thing is to "shoot". Keep shooting - anything - everything. Look at the footage and try different ways. Test and repeat.

PM me if you have any other basic questions.

Have fun with your new camera!

As I posted some weeks ago, about wb, please test it and tell me because I think it is the best way and I prefer it from auto or a white paper. Set the wb custom with saturation in +5, and some contrast too, lets say +2. Only to set the wb, then shoot in any settings you like. Please try it and compare it with auto and with white paper, I need your opinion cause I find it the perfect way and I am the only one :P

@olli66 Bringing a piece of paper...that will "work". And it's better than guessing when choosing one of the 4 custom WB's and popping a reading. Really need to use a true WB card. That said, In a pinch I'll grab multiple pieces of paper when I forget my WB card. Stacked together so they become a flat opaque white. One piece of paper could color your WB reading because it's translucent. So...that's a pain in the ***. Use a WB card. ;)

@Vesku A couple critical things about using a WB card is the position from camera and environment you take the reading in. For an interview of a person: Have them hold the card in front of their face, angled or positioned to reflect or represent the color of the room where they are located. Auto WB works... UNLESS the color of your shot changes. I was happy with auto WB too. I learned the hard way relying on auto WB. EG: I was shooting a warm room (tungsten lighting from table lamps). I panned to another person who sat close to a window. (Cool Blue light outside) Boom... the auto WB "automatically" shifted from a cool (around 3400K) to (about 5400K) compensating for the color change on camera and ruined the shot. When running and gunning, outside, night time city shots, I set it manually. At least I'm in the ballpark and can then correct in post.

I've tried setting a custom white balance off a Whibal 18% Grey Card but the image had always turned out way too saturated and the white balance resets with every power off/on so it became a hassle.

@rNeil @olli66 That is probably the most critical adjustment above all before you hit record. White Balance. I used to take that for granted and just use Auto WB. What a mistake...live and learn. Thanks Neil for pointing out what I completely took for granted...in mentioning.

@olli66

It is obvious that -5 is no sharpness. even -4 adds a slight halo with Panasonic 14-42mm kit zoom. I think still that sharpness setting is related also with lens used. Sharpening halo is much less a problem with 100-300mm lens at same setting.

@maddog15

I think you mean iso1600-6400 :).

It is also interesting that GH3 sharpening filter reduces noise too. -4 sharpen has less noise than -5. Sharpen filter in GH3 works so that it sharpen sharp edges but softens a bit texture and noise. -4 destroys video a bit by increasing halos and softening texture. It may be still ok for high iso. I dont shoot much over 1600iso so I use always -5 sharpness.

I newer go below 0 color because it leads washed out colors. -5 contrast already reduces color too.

@olli66 Unfortunately there is no magic setting. I wish there was. I shoot everything using Natural. It has the flattest in camera color setting to my eyes. I want this because I do all my color and grading in post. My settings: -5 Contrast. I want as much dynamic range as possible. Too much in camera contrast can crush your blacks and whites. -5 Sharpness. In camera sharpening can be dangerous. It'll sharpen the image to reveal more "detail" BUT it can also exaggerate and enhance codec artifacts, noise, moire and aliasing. Over-sharpened footage looks too much like reality show tv or "video" to my eyes. Saturation -2. Again because I don't want the over saturated look of video. Plus, as many have noted here, the GH3's Red channel is challenging. -5 Saturation seems to zap everything but that nasty, pasty, chalky red. Noise Reduction 0 to -5. For the most part I don't want noise reduction to soften the image too much. I'd rather have a film grain kinda look vs a softened filtered look. The only time I use "0" is in low light when my ISO is at 16000. The GH3 is just an 8 bit camera and high ISO noise also brings out nasty color noise. I NEVER shoot above ISO 16000. Period. I'd much rather have an underexposed image at 16000 than a properly exposed image at 32000 or 64000. All that "Blair Witch Project" noise is just.... well...unacceptable to me. (Unless of course that's what you're going for.) All these "settings" can be brought back up or down in post. So my goal is to get the best midrange image so I have lots of wiggle room to push and pull.

Check out post from @flablo, @starios, @yak just to name a few. These folks have really tested, tested and tested again. And for me that's the point. Practice makes perfect. Hat's off to them and many others. I've learned much from them.