XF605 Clarity and Focus Questions

[reynoldss19]

Hi everyone, I have a youtube channel with my brothers and we use an XF605 camcorder. However, we feel there are a few tweaks that can be made to really max out what this camera can do. It is the same camera as the channel "Good Good" and we would like our picture to look like theirs. Again, it just feels there is one more level that the clarity and focus of the whole picture this camcorder can reach. Please let me know if anyone has any ideas for that!

Thanks!

Sam

[rs-eos]

You're going to have to describe in better detail what issues you're running into.   And, what you've already tried to address said issues.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

Fully agree with Ricky.  What is the content?  What are you shooting?  Indoors, outdoors.  Are you using lighting, mics, tripod, etc.  What settings etc.  What are you using for post production?  Please give us a full picture of the environment, the challenges and what you want to improve? 

[reynoldss19]

We are shooting golf content outdoors. The lighting we use is just natural sun. External RODE mics. Right now we shoot in Rec 709 Normal because it gets the camera to its base ISO setting of 200. We had been shooting in CLOG3 but the base for that was 500 ISO. We shoot 30 fps usually around 1/100-125 shutter speed. I understand the rule of double the frame rate to get your shutter speed, but we enjoy the kind of blockiness that it brings to our videos when we give the shutter speed a little extra boost. Exposure is on Auto. Overall challenges are that the picture we get is great, but we know the camera can get an A) clearer shot and B) more focused and concise shot for our videos. Still feels like there’s a tiny bit of grain as well. I am attaching a link to one of our videos so you can see what ours looks like, compared to what we want it to look like. THANKS!

https://youtu.be/EVxqDckfCdw - what it looks like

https://youtu.be/d4l5_XMIGyQ - what we want it to look like

[rs-eos · Accepted solution]

Here are three things that jump out at me regarding the latter video:

• Most likely making use of a circular polarizer (CP) filter.  The foliage and grass lack any harsh glare; leading to a much more lush look.
• A bit more contrast, but that is something they may have adjusted in post.
• This particular footage was captured on an overcast day, so lighting was more even.  Though for the content involved, I'd imagine they may also have footage with bright sunny or partially cloudy conditions as well.

In terms of Rec 709 vs CLog3, because you can be capturing in very high dynamic range situations, I strongly suggest using the latter.  It will though involve more work in post, but you can get more dynamic range that way.  And don't be afraid of the ISO 500 value.  If you crank ISO lower in CLog3, you'll be reducing the dynamic range that will be captured.  Note that the dynamic range won't be stellar, but it will be better than capturing Rec709 in camera.

Finally, I still don't understand what is meant by "clearer shot and more focused and concise shot".  Do you have more specific examples? A wild guess would be it may be camera technique and not some sort of setting.

[reynoldss19]

Thanks for the response! Is the CP filter the same as the ND filters that are already on the camera? I’ve done research on the CP filters and it sounds the same but not sure.

[rs-eos]

No, Neutral Density (ND) filters are different.

[reynoldss19]

And my apologies it is actually BT 709 normal

[rs-eos]

BT 709 and Rec 709 are the same thing; can be used interchangeably.