I recently reviewed the new DJI Inspire 2 drone extensively and did thorough tests in our lab. In this workflow tutorial on how to master drone footage, I will show you how to convert Inspire 2 X5S or DJI Inspire 1 X5R files in order to get the best results from your Inspire footage. Get our Inspire LUT and Inspire Raw to Log conversion presets HERE. Why Convert Inspire 2 Raw Files? I spent a few days filming with the Inspire 2 drone to create a drone film so I could gain some hands-on experience for my review. During the editing process, I quickly noticed that when filming in Raw mode ( = 5.2K resolution), and similar to the DJI Inspire 1 Raw drone, the DJI Inspire 2 X5S produces .dng sequences that I somehow needed to transcode in order to edit and apply LUTs. The problem for me was that I could never get anywhere near neutral colors by simply sliding the color settings in Adobe Camera Raw, or even by using DaVinci Resolve’s “Blackmagic Film Gamma”. I had the same problem with the Inspire 1. Furthermore, to edit properly I needed some kind of proxy footage, so early transcoding was inevitable. Of course, professional colorists can use the Raw files and tweak the colors until they are right to them, but that is not my style – I’m used to neutral Log gamma video files that I can apply LUTs to and color easily and efficiently, preferably directly in my editing app. So, in conclusion, my requirements were to: Convert Inspire 2 Raw (Or Inspire 1 for that matter) to a well-preserving video format in order to edit and colorize later (without having to go back to Raw). Match and get a neutral Gamma on all my video files, ideally right while transcoding, so I can apply LUTs and grade easily. In the test lab, the colors coming from the X5S and X5R (Inspire) cameras appeared to be off by quite a bit in comparison to an Arri ALEXA, so on top of making a workflow tutorial video I also decided to create several presets and LUTs to get closer to Alexa Log C. Inspire Raw to Log Conversion During my test lab analysis, I found that the best workflow for .dng Raw from the drones to be as follows. Note that this workflow works both for the DJI Inspire 2 with the X5S camera as well as the DJI Inspire 1 with the X5R camera. Also note that this workflow method is for Mac users only right now, although if you work with Windows you can probably adapt it. 1. Convert Inspire 2 Raw to Log in DaVinci Resolve Camera Raw Settings in Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Notes about the DaVcini Resolve conversion • Faster than the After Effects method described further down. • Does not remove lens defects like chromatic aberration, vignetting and distortion. • Gives you a generic flat gamma. (Unless you use the DaVinci LUTs) • In my experience, it blows out the highlights a bit. Open DaVinci Resolve (free download). Browse to your Inspire Raw shots. Drag your folder(s) to the media pool. Change your project settings to the resolution of your shots. (Gear wheel at the bottom right –> Timeline Resolution) Go to the “Edit” tab and drag your shots into the timeline. Go to the “Color” tab and select each shot. Then change: Decode Using: “Clip”; Color Space: “Blackmagic Design”; Gamma: “Blackmagic Design Film”; Tick the “Highlight Recovery” box. (optional) Use our DaVinci 3D LUTs to get closer to the Alexa Colors. Then export your files in the “Deliver” tab. To batch convert all clips, select “Individual Clips” and “File” –> “Source Name”. Click “Add to Render Queue” and then “Start Render” to convert Inspire 2 Raw or convert Inspire 1 Raw files. Using the cinema5D DJI Inspire Raw to LOG Conversion LUTs With my conversion LUTs you can get closer to the Arri Alexa Colors and Gamma. To install them: Launch DaVinci Resolve. Start a new project or open an existing one and click on the settings icon in the lower right corner. Click on the “Color Management” tab. Click on “Open LUT Folder”. The LUT folder will open in a finder window. Copy the LUT .cube file(s) into the LUT folder. When copying has finished, click the “Update Lists” button in the DaVinci Resolve settings window. And to use them: Follow the instructions laid out earlier and apply the “Blackmagic Design Film” Gamma. Before exporting, right click each clip thumbnail and select “3D LUT” –> “C5D_Inspire-1-RAW-to-LOG” or “C5D_Inspire-2-RAW-to-LOG”. 2. Convert Inspire 2 Raw to Log in After Effects Converting Raw to Log in After Effects using the conversion presets. [Update March 31st 2017] With DJI’s new firmware for the Inspire 2, there is now an option to select “D-LOG” gamma while shooting in RAW mode. Please note that this option has little to no effect on your RAW files, but it will lock your exposure to ISO 500. If you can shoot at ISO 500, which is a good place to expose RAW correctly, then use the “D-LOG” option while recording RAW. Otherwise, if you want to be more flexible, leaving the “D-LOG” option off while recording RAW is recommended. Notes about the After Effects conversion • Removes color noise from your footage. • Removes chromatic aberrations, vignetting and distortion from your shots by using the embedded Raw lens data. • The Olympus 25mm lens data is currently faulty, so any footage shot with this lens will not look great. Let’s hope DJI will fix this. • This conversion takes a very long time. Expect your computer to run for at least a day for 30 minutes of footage. Open Adobe After Effects CC. Drag and drop your folder(s) containing the Raw .cdng sequences into the After Effects “Project” tab. The Camera Raw App will open. (optional) Go to the Presets tab (second from the right) and select one of the cinema5D RAW to LOG presets. For each shot (folder with .cdng sequences) you import, the Camera Raw App will open individually. Once all your shots have been imported into After Effects, you can drag them to the “Render Queue” tab at the bottom. Select your desired target codec under “Output Module” in the “Render Queue” tab. Select your desired file destination under “Output To”. Click “Render” in the “Render Queue” tab to convert Inspire 2 Raw or convert Inspire 1 Raw files. For the best possible quality, select the Apple ProRes 4444 or 4444 XQ codec. To save space, go for Apple ProRes 422 HQ. Using the cinema5D DJI Inspire RAW to LOG Conversion LUTs With my conversion presets you can get closer to the Arri Alexa Colors and Gamma. To install them: Navigate to your “Library” folder in Mac OS X. If it is hidden you can reveal your library folder by going to your home folder and then selecting “View” –> “Show View Options” and ticking the “Show Library Folder” checkbox. Navigate to “/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRAW/Settings/”. Place all the .xmp files inside this directory. Restart After Effects. And to use them: Follow the instructions laid out earlier. To use the presets, go to the “Presets Tab” (second from the right) in the Camera Raw window of each clip and select one of the presets. “Inspire-*-RAW-to-LOG_0” is the standard preset. “+1” means pushing the shot if it was underexposed. “-1” means pulling the shot if it was overexposed. For shots with overexposed portions of the image you can also choose the “HL” or “HS” presets. “HS” saves your highlights, “HL” blows your highlights and makes the rolloff more smooth. Note that the presets inside the parenthesis “(…)” are NOT always recommended, as they may produce a “flicker effect” in rare occasions. Inspire Raw to LOG presets If you intend to get awesome shots, I’m sure you will benefit from my presets. I’ve spent a lot of time and effort to get them right, which is why we are not offering them for free. The package also includes the C5D instaLUT B1010 (.cube file) for Log footage (ARRI Alexa and Inspire RAW to LOG) and DaVinci presets for fast conversion of Raw and D-Log footage. This is the best way I found to convert Inspire 2 Raw files to a better format. Disclaimer The presets don’t turn your shots into 100% Arri Alexa Log C footage. They were created by hand and they were intended to get your colors and gamma into the ballpark of Alexa Gamma, so third party LUTs can be used more easily and D-Log and Raw can be matched more easily. That said, for me they are a big help and I hope you enjoy them too. GET THEM HERE As I mentioned in my video, the After Effects workflow gives you the best possible quality and I use it all the time, but DaVinci Resolve converts quicker and the files are also very usable in case you need your files fast. If you shot your video in 4K (UHD) on the Inspire 2 you should use Apple ProRes and D-LOG and you won’t have to convert Inspire 2 Raw files at all. I have tested and explained this in my review. 3. Convert Inspire 2 D-Log to Log in DaVinci Resolve Converting D-Log to Log in DaVinci Resolve with the conversion LUTs With my conversion LUTs you can also convert your D-Log footage (recorded in Apple ProRes) to get closer to the Arri Log C look as explained earlier. Note These only work for the Inspire 2 which records in high quality at 4K resolution with the Apple ProRes codec. It is not recommended to use them on the Inspire 1 or any other DJI drone available right now, as the quality and bitrate of those is not high enough to work properly in such a flat Log Gamma. To install them: follow the instructions laid out under point “1.”. To use them: Open DaVinci Resolve (free download). Browse to your Inspire D-Log shots. Drag your shot(s) to the media pool. Change your project settings to the resolution of your shots. (Gear wheel at the bottom right –> Timeline Resolution) Go to the “Edit” tab and drag your shots into the timeline. Go to the “Color” tab and select all shots. Right click each (or all) clip thumbnails and select “3D LUT” –> “C5D_Inspire-2-RAW-to-LOG” or “C5D_Inspire-2-RAW-to-LOG”. Then export your files in the “Deliver” tab. To batch convert all clips, select “Individual Clips” and “File” –> “Source Name”. Click “Add to Render Queue” and then “Start Render”. 4. Convert Inspire 2 Raw to D-Log in After Effects Here is one more conversion preset as a bonus that I haven’t mentioned in my video. It is called “(Inspire-RAW-to-DJI-LOG)”, part of my cinema5D Raw to Log conversion package. You can select it in the presets tab during the After Effects Camera Raw conversion that I explained in point “2.” This allows you to convert Inspire 2 Raw shots into a gamma that is closer to the D-Log look that you get with AppleProRes recordings on the Inspire 2. It should make it easier to match your footage if D-Log is your target gamma. 5. Direct Workflow in Premiere Pro CC Step 1, 2 and 3 There is also a very simple way to use the D-LOG to Log LUT in Premiere Pro CC directly. The LUT contained in the Raw to Log package converts D-LOG to Log and it can be applied in the Lumetri Color Panel. The benefit of this method is that you do not have to convert your files, but you can work on them natively. The downside is that you cannot apply this to RAW, but only to D-LOG footage, shot on the DJI Inspire 2 with the X5S camera. Go to the Lumetri Color Panel in Premiere Pro CC. Under “Basic Correction”, choose the C5D_Inspire-2-D-LOG-to-LOG.cube LUT as “Input LUT”. Choose your look under the “Creative” tab in the Lumetri Color panel. Choose any .cube file of your liking that works with Alexa Log C. Conclusion That’s it. I hope this workflow tutorial on how to convert Inspire 2 Raw files or Inspire 1 Raw files into Log was useful for you, even if you don’t use my presets and LUTs. I tried to make this tutorial informative for everyone, but I must admit that I see my presets as an integral part of my own workflow to get my footage to where I need it to be. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments, and please post links to your work where you used the presets successfully!

Over the last days we’ve conducted several scientific lab tests, reviewed and taken the new Sony A7RII out into the field. In this article we are looking at the  Sony A7RII rolling shutter performance and see how good the sensor is in comparison to several other cameras. Links to our other tests: Sony A7rII Review – First Impressions & Footage Sony A7RII vs A7S Lowlight Review How Good is the New Sony A7RII – First Look in the Lab Rolling Shutter The so called “rolling shutter” is a phenomenon that skews a camera image when fast moving objects are recorded or during fast pans and handheld camera movement. The reason for this is that most sensors read out the image line by line via a buffer. On many CMOS cameras the rolling shutter effect has become a common issue, but some cameras have a stronger rolling shutter than others. When comparing the Sony A7RII to other cameras we can see that the rolling shutter effect is quite severe in 4K (UHD) Crop Mode. See the comparison below: We test the rolling shutter with a rotary chart. It always spins at the same speed and has a scale printed on it. The horizontal shift between the top and bottom line of pixels lets us roughly calculate the rolling shutter latency in milliseconds. In Crop Mode we measured 29ms of latency on the Sony A7RII whereas in Full Frame Mode we only measured 16ms. In HD (Crop Mode) Rolling Shutter is minimal with 7ms, not far off the famous Arri AMIRA camera that has the lowest rolling shutter rating in our tests. Below you can see a chart comparing rolling shutter between several cameras: As you can see the Sony A7RII joins the Samsung NX1 which had the most severe rolling shutter we ever tested. The Canon 1DC and Sony A7s perform a little better and the Panasonic GH4 has the best values among small cinema cameras. Conclusion Rolling Shutter is for many not a purchase criteria. The phenomenon is mostly an issue when there is overly fast handheld movement or you film fast moving objects. However a rolling shutter of 29ms raises concerns. It is the highest measured rolling shutter among all cameras we every tested. As we found out on Friday the Full Frame Mode is quite acceptable in terms of quality and offers a much better rolling shutter behaviour, but we also noticed that it performs badly in lowlight. It might come in handy when a better rolling shutter performance is needed and you have sufficient light available. Comparing the Sony A7RII HD mode with that of the Sony A7s we can see that the Sony A7RII performs much better. So rolling shutter on the new Sony A7RII is both good and bad. If you need a camera with good rolling shutter performance in 4K (UHD) you can either resort to the Sony A7RII Full Frame Mode or avoid this camera altogether and go with the Panasonic GH4 instead. The Sony A7s performs better, but the difference is not huge. Please consider getting your camera and gear through this link. Thank you

What an unfamiliar sensation to write the words “lightweight” and “ARRI” in the same headline. But here it is: Camera manufacturer ARRI just surprised us with the announcement of a new cinema camera: The ARRI ALEXA Mini. A small and lightweight, carbon fibre version of their hugely popular ARRI ALEXA cinema camera. ARRI seems to have been quite busy lately. After announcing loads of cool upgrades for their documentary style AMIRA camera just last week, here’s another piece of gear for filmmakers to drool over. Cinema camera manufacturer ARRI is known for their heavy duty, tank like professional cameras. Even the ENG style ARRI AMIRA with its “documentary style” single-shooter approach is quite a heavyweight at 5kg body weight. The body design of the ARRI ALEXA mini is a lot lighter than all their previous cameras. It is optimised for use with brushless gimbals, multicopters and other specialized rigs. It is compact enough to allow the use of space-constrained rigs, such as gyro-stabilized aerial systems. The ARRI ALEXA mini is not featherlight though, it’s still a solid piece of gear, but at 2.3 kg it is a lot lighter than its bigger brother. Interestingly 2.3kg is exactly the weight of its main competitor, the RED Epic (Dragon) camera. Observing the design and ergonomics of the ARRI ALEXA mini, there’s a startling resemblance to the RED cameras… The ARRI ALEXA mini has an extremely cool set of features, also very similar to the RED Epic line. Interestingly RED’s new camera, the WEAPON was also recently announced. In their press release ARRI prides itself to have made “the most future-proof camera system available today“. The camera will work in a 4K environment, supports 4K HFR technology up to 60p, as well as featuring HDR (High Dynamic Range) capture for upcoming higher dynamic range displays. Most important features at a glance: 35mm format sensor (4:3 or super35) HD, 2K and 4K (UHD) recording options 14+ stops of dynamic range like ALEXA ISO 800 base sensitivity CFast 2.0 memory cards (Like AMIRA) Recording Codec: ProRes 4444XQ, 4444, 422 (HQ), 422, 422(LT), ARRIRAW Up to 200 fps in 2K (60fps in UHD) MVF-1 OLED Viewfinder (with flipout LCD) Built-in radio interface for ARRI lens control motorised internal ND’s (can be remote controlled with iPhone via WIFI) tons of additional features… How cool is that part about the iPhone remote controlled motorised internal ND’s?! The ARRI ALEXA Mini is scheduled to begin shipping in May 2015, with orders being taken from March. There is no word on pricing yet, but from the looks of it this camera won’t be an affordable one (thinking $40k and beyond). A prototype of the ALEXA Mini will be on show at the British Video Expo (BVE) from February 24-26, 2015, in Booth J30. The ALEXA Mini microsite: www.arri.com/alexamini

By now you have probably seen the viral 24 hour music video by Pharrell Williams. If you haven’t you should check out the dedicated website 24hoursofhappy.com that presents you a clock to scrub through 24 hours of individual people dancing and having fun in front of the camera.

Arri just announced a run-and-gun camera that seems to fulfill every documentary filmmakers dream. A complete “compact” working tool with Arri Alexa quality, slow motion capabilities, zoom control and no setup time working right out of the box. You could think of it like an old fashioned video camera that had all the ergonomics and versatility laid out for fast one-man poduction, be it a documentary film or news gathering or old fashioned home videos. Here’s a complete solution that brings back all these qualities but made for “cinema” grade results made by the most reliable camera manufacturer of our time. This is an exciting product, so exciting we know it’s going to cost a lot more than most of us could afford. This is definitely a rental camera, not like a 650D you’ve got lying around in your equipment drawer. This is a serious cinema camera, not only for its sensor design, but also because it brings what the Arri Alexa provided: the ergonomics, quality and workflow that helps filmmakers make the best images possible. In terms of workflow Arri integrated “CFast 2.0” which is an in-camera CF memory slot with super-quick data rates. CFast 2.0 is an open format said to deliver a fantastic price-performance ratio through incredible transfer speeds, long recording times and compatibility with standard IT tools. Costs per GB are brought down and higher-than-broadcast-quality image pipelines are made available even to low budget productions. Here are the key features of Arri’s new Amira: • Ready to pick up and shoot straight out of the camera bag. (including startup) • creative liberation through functional, user-friendly design. • same amazing sensor as Arri Alexa. • records HD 1080 or 2K (with 4K imager). • 14 stops (clean!) dynamic range. • up to 200fps. • ProRes LT, 422, 422HQ or 444 codecs. • Integrated, motorized ND filters. • peaking, false color, zebra. • OLED viewfinder with extendable LCD on the side. • comes with a number of preloaded 3D LUT-based looks for fast grading. And here’s a sentence from the press-release concerning durability that just has to be quoted: AMIRA is a highly durable product constructed of the strongest possible materials. Sealed electronics provide top-level protection against humidity and dust, while an integrated thermal core results in highly efficient cooling. Productions can take AMIRA anywhere, from jungles and deserts to snow-capped mountain tops, sure in the knowledge that it will not let them down. There are many productions this product is perfectly tailored to. You can be sure this camera will take the video and cinema production world by storm.

Even though Arri’s digital cinema camera, the Arri Alexa has been around for several years and is at this time still limited to HD / 2K resolution, many popular productions and reknown cameramen choose this tool to realize high budget projects. It becomes obvious that there must be other ingredients more important than frame size. Arri revealed that they’re working on a 4K camera, but also mentions that resolution is not everything. When the Arri Alexa XT was announced I mentioned how Arri is focusing on image quality and the ergonomics of its cameras so they become a perfectly balanced working tool that helps filmmakers achieve the best. Now that 4K is on everyones dinner plate Arri’s managing director Franz Kraus gives us some food for thought on the topic.