Micro SD video footage is better than SSD footage ?

[Zoran]

Hello there, I’m finding that the h.264 footage on the micro SD is much clearer and sharper than the same footage on the Cine SSD which is in PreRes. Has anyone else come across this ?

 

[Tesla]

It should make no difference, although I have no experience, just an EE engineer. Copy the file from the SSD to the SD, do they look the same? Another test, record for 2 minutes with the SSD , remember the file size, then do the same with the SD. The files should be about the same size if they record at the same bit rate. You don't have to fly for this test.

 

[Reuben]

Hi,
Although at first glance the MicroSD footage (Which is already color corrected and ready to go) looks great it doesn't have the latitude ProRes and CineDNG does. ProRes and CineDNG are massive files because they contain much more information that can allow you to show much more detail in bright or dark areas and adjust colors, and the overall look of the shot. This also allows you to color correct more accurately when matching to other cameras used in a shoot. If you give the h264/5 footage to a color grader they'll struggle, but the ProRes (that looks flat and soft) can be worked to achieve a much better final productnthat is richer and sharper than the compressed Mp4. The trade off is time and space. If you need to punch something out quickly and it's all aerials, then the footage from the Micro is great. If you are working on a larger production with multiple cameras on the ground, then ProRes / CineDNG RAW is amazing and offers you so many more options as a final product. We almost always shoot our ground shots in a log format for the same reason.

Just gotta be able to justify to file size and time it takes in the final invoice!

Hope that helps

 

[Reuben]

It should make no difference, although I have no experience, just an EE engineer. Copy the file from the SSD to the SD, do they look the same? Another test, record for 2 minutes with the SSD , remember the file size, then do the same with the SD. The files should be about the same size if they record at the same bit rate. You don't have to fly for this test.

I think the question his about the different recording formats, not the recording destination. I agree that whether it's and SSD or Micro, the final look shouldn't change at all. It's all 1s and 0s. One is just faster than the other

 

[Brett8883]

Right. It’s a different processing pipeline and the ProRes is less processed so it won’t look as good straight out of camera.

 

[srandall25]

No one seemed to actually really address what you're seeing and why. The h.264 footage will look better out of the box because it includes added sharpening and noise reduction, along with a predetermined color profile grade. The ProRes does not include sharpening and noise reduction out of the box. Once you professionally grade the much better quality (higher data) ProRes, do some noise reduction, add sharpening, then you'll see a much better end product with more detail in the ProRes, or CinemaDNG for that matter.

 

[Zoran]

Thank you. Much appreciated!

 

[Giri]

Everyone else is correct - the raw video is a lot less processed, although you can get it to look as good if not better than the footage from your MicroSD card if you color grade it and add some sharpening and possibly dewarp the footage