Tag Archives: PXW-Z280

PXW, Scene Files and Luts

Picture Profile Settings For The PXW-Z280

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Sony’s new PXW-Z280 is a great compact camcorder. Having now spent even more time with one I have been looking at how to best optimise it.

It should be remembered that this is a 4K camcorder. So Sony are packing a lot of pixels onto the 3 sensors. As a result the camera does exhibit a little bit of noise at 0dB gain. No camera is noise free and we have become spoilt by the large sensor super 35mm cameras with big sensors, big pixels and very low noise levels.

Use -3dB Gain to reduce noise.

So I did a little bit of work with various settings in the camera to see if I could minimise the noise. The first thing was to test the camera at -3dB gain. On many cameras using negative gain will reduce the cameras dynamic range due to a reduction in the highlight recording range. But on the Z280 using -3dB of gain does not seem to adversely effect the dynamic range, but it does significantly reduce the noise. I found the noise reduction to be much larger than I would normally expect from a -3dB gain reduction. So my advice is – where possible use -3dB gain. The Z280 is pretty sensitive anyway, especially in HD so -3dB (which is only half a stop) is not going to cause problems for most shoots.

I fell that the cameras standard detail corrections result in some over sharpening of the image. This is particularly noticeable in HD where there is some ringing (over correction that gives a black or white overshoot) on high contrast edges. Dialling back the detail levels just a little helps produce a more natural looking image. It will appear a touch less “sharp” but in my opinion the images look a bit more natural, less processed and noise is very slightly reduced. Below are my suggested detail settings:

Z280 Detail Settings For HD.

Detail -12, Crispening -15, Frequency +18 lower.

Z280 Detail Settings For UHD(QFHD).

Detail -5, Crispening -11, Frequency +16

White Clip and Knee.

In the SDR mode the Z280 has a range of standard Rec-709 type gammas as well as Hypergammas 1 – 4. Like many modern digital camcorders, by default, all the SDR gammas except HG1 and HG2 record at up to 109%. This might cause problems for those going direct to air for broadcast TV. For direct to air applications you may need to consider changing the white clip setting. The default is 109% but for direct to air broadcast you should change this to 100%.

If working with the STD5 gamma (Rec-709) and a 100% clip point you will also want to modify the knee settings. You can either use the default auto knee or turn the auto knee off and change the knee point to 87 and slope to +25 to bring the highlights down to fit better with a 100% clip point. HG1 and HG2 are broadcast safe gammas, so these are another option for direct to air.

Hypergamma.

As well as Rec-709 gamma the camera has Sony’s Hypergammas. If using the Hypergammas it should be noted that the optimum exposure will result in a slightly darker image than you would have with normal 709. As a guide you should have skin tones around 60% and a white card would be around 75% for the best results. Exposing skin tones at 70% or brighter can result in flat looking faces with reduced texture and detail, so watch your skin tones when shooting with the Hypergammas.

The Z280 has four Hypergammas.

HG1 3250G36. This takes a brightness range the equivalent to 325% and compresses it down to 100% (clips at 100%). Middle grey would be exposed at 36% (G36). This gives a nice reasonably contrasty image with bright mid range and a moderate extension of the highlight range.

HG2 4600G30. Takes a brightness range of 460% and compresses down to 100% (clips at 100%). Middle grey is exposed at 30% (G30). This has a darker mid range than HG1 but further extends the highlights. Generally HG1 works better for less challenging scenes or darker scenes while HG2 works for high contrast, bright scenes. Both HG1 and HG2 are broadcast safe.

HG3 3259G40. This takes a brightness range the equivalent to 325% and compresses it down to 109% (clips at 109%). Middle grey would be exposed at 409% (G40). This gives a nice contrasty image with reasonably bright mid range and a moderate extension of the highlight range.

HG4 4609G33. Takes a brightness range of 460% and compresses down to 109% (clips at 109%). Middle grey is exposed at 33% (G33). This has a darker mid range than HG3 but further extends the highlights. Generally HG3 works better for less challenging scenes or darker scenes while HG4 works for high contrast, bright scenes.

Color and The Matrix.

If you don’t like the standard Sony colors and want warmer skin tones do try using the SMPTE-240M color matrix. You will find skin tones a bit warmer with more red than the 709 matrix.

To change the saturation (amount of color) you need to turn on the User Matrix and then you can use the User Matrix Level control to increase or decrease the saturation.

Many people find the standard Sony look to be a little on the yellow side. So I have come up with some settings for the user matrix that reduces the yellow and warms the image just a touch.

AC NATURAL COLOR SETTINGS:

Matrix: ON. Adaptive Matrix: Off. Preset Matrix: ON. Preset Select: ITU-709. User Matrix: ON. Level: 0. Phase: 0.

R-G: +10. R-B: +8. G-R: -15. G-B: -9. B-R: -5. B-G: -15.

So here are some suggested Z280 Picture Profile settings for different looks:

Note that these picture profile are similar to some of my FS7 profiles, so they will help match the two cameras in a multi-camera shoot. Use each of the setting below with either the HD or UHD(QFHD) detail settings given above if you wish to reduce the sharpening.

AC-Neutral-HG3.

Designed as a pleasing general purpose look for medium to high contrast scenes. Provides a neutral look with slightly less yellow than the standard Sony settings. I recommend setting zebras to 60% for skin tones or exposing a white card at 72-78% for the best results.

Black: Master Black: -3.  Gamma: HG3 .  White Clip: OFF. 

Matrix: ON. Adaptive Matrix: Off. Preset Matrix: ON. Preset Select: ITU-709. User Matrix: ON. User Matrix Level: 0. Phase: 0.

R-G: +10. R-B: +8. G-R: -15. G-B: -9. B-R: -5. B-G: -15.

AC-Neutral-HG4.

Designed as a pleasing general purpose look for high contrast scenes. Provides a neutral look with slightly less yellow than the standard Sony settings. I recommend setting zebras to 58% for skin tones or exposing a white card at 70-75% for the best results.

Black: Master Black: -3.  Gamma: HG3 .  White Clip: OFF. 

Matrix: ON. Adaptive Matrix: Off. Preset Matrix: ON. Preset Select: ITU-709. User Matrix: ON. User Matrix Level: 0. Phase: 0.

R-G: +10. R-B: +8. G-R: -15. G-B: -9. B-R: -5. B-G: -15.

AC-FILMLIKE1

A high dynamic range look with film like color. Will produce a slightly flat looking image. Colours are tuned to be more film like with a very slight warm tint. I recommend settings zebras to 57% for skin tones and recording white at 70-75% for the most “filmic” look.

Black: Master Black: -3.  Gamma: HG3 .  White Clip: OFF. 

Matrix: ON. Adaptive Matrix: Off. Preset Matrix: ON. Preset Select: SMPTE WIDE. User Matrix: ON. User Matrix Level: +5. Phase: 0.

R-G: +11. R-B: +8. G-R: -12. G-B: -9. B-R: -3. B-G: -12.

AC-VIBRANT-HG3

These setting increase dynamic range over the standard settings but also increase the colour and vibrance. Designed to be used for when a good dynamic range and strong colours are needed direct from the camera. Suggested zebra level for skin tones is 63% and white at approx 72-78%.

Black: Master Black: -3.  Gamma: HG3.  White Clip: OFF.

Matrix: ON. Adaptive Matrix: Off. Preset Matrix: ON. Preset Select: ITU-709. User Matrix: ON. User Matrix Level: +25. Phase: -5.

R-G: +12. R-B: +8. G-R: -11. G-B: -7. B-R: -5. B-G: -17.

AC-VIBRANT-HG4

These setting increase dynamic range over the standard settings but also increase the colour and vibrance. HG4 has greater dynamic range than HG3 but is less bright, so this variation is best for brighter high dynamic range scenes. Designed to be used for when a good dynamic range and strong colours are needed direct from the camera. Suggested zebra level for skin tones is 60% and white at approx 70-75%.

Black: Master Black: -3.  Gamma: HG4.  White Clip: OFF.

Matrix: ON. Adaptive Matrix: Off. Preset Matrix: ON. Preset Select: ITU-709. User Matrix: ON. User Matrix Level: +25. Phase: -5.

R-G: +12. R-B: +8. G-R: -11. G-B: -7. B-R: -5. B-G: -17.

AC-Punchy Pop Video.

A punchy, contrasty look with strong but neutral colors. Maybe useful for a music video, party or celebration.

Black: Master Black: -3.  Gamma: STD5 .  Auto Knee Off. Knee level 87. White Clip: OFF. 

Matrix: ON. Adaptive Matrix: Off. Preset Matrix: ON. Preset Select: ITU-709. User Matrix: ON. User Matrix Level: 20. Phase: 0.

R-G: +10. R-B: +8. G-R: -15. G-B: -9. B-R: -5. B-G: -15.

cameras, PXW, Review

Out and about with the PXW-Z280.

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DSC_0037-1024x576 Out and about with the PXW-Z280.
Sony’s 4K PXW-Z280 handycam.

I have recently returned from a trip around Canada. While I was there I spent some more time shooting with Sony’s new PXW-Z280 handycam camcorder. This neat little camera continues to surprise me. I used a pre-production sample to shoot parts of an airshow in the summer and it worked really well. It was so easy to use, I had forgotten how much quicker it is to work with a camera with a 17x zoom lens compared to a large sensor camera with a very limited zoom range or prime lenses.

The Z280 uses 3x state of the art EMOR Stacked multi layer sensors. Each is full 4K, so you have full RGB 4K, unlike a single chip camera where the chroma resolution is much reduced by the bayer layout of the pixels. The 3 chip, full resolution design also means no aliasing in the color channels as is often typical of single chip designs.

The color splitting prism is more efficient than the absorption color filters on a single chip design, so more light gets to the pixels. The multi layer sensors have very good on-sensor processing so even though the pixels are rather small you get good sensitivity, low noise and good DR. The Z280 is approx  650-700 ISO with the base gammas so very close to an FS7 with it’s standard gammas and the colors match an FS7  extremely well. The picture look really nice.

DSC_0046-1024x576 Out and about with the PXW-Z280.
3x 4K sensors, 17x zoom and variable ND filter is a great combination on the PXW-Z280

From the testing I have done in the cameras dedicated HDR mode, where you can choose between HLG and S-Log3, with S-Log3 the DR of the Z280 appears to be around 13 stops, which is really quite remarkable for this type of camcorder. The sensor readout is very fast so rolling shutter is minimal.

When you factor in the Z280’s f1.9 lens, compared to an FS7 with the Sony F4 zoom or many other zooms that are typically around F4 the Z280 with it’s f1.9 lens does better in low light and offers similar DoF when both are wide open. Of course you can change the lens on an FS7 and use a faster lens, but then you won’t have anywhere near the zoom range of the Z280.
 

Like any small compact camera, it isn’t 100% perfect. Overall the lens is pretty good for a low cost 4K zoom, but like many 17x zooms it does have a touch of barrel distortion when fully wide. As well as the LCD It has an excellent OLED viewfinder that is much, much better than those typically found on Sony’s smaller cameras. It has Timecode in/out and genlock, all the XAVC-I and L codecs as well as MpegHD. There is a full suite of wifi, LAN and network functions for streaming, ftp and remote control as well as the ability to offload files from the cards to a USB drive or memory stick without a computer. It’s a modern camera designed for the modern news or documentary shooter and a big step up in terms of image quality from the PXW-X200 IMHO.

A full review and sample video will be coming in the very near future with lot’s more information.