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Creating A Camera Profile For Your Meter

[HIGHLY RECOMMEND WATCHING THIS FULL SCREEN]

Lean how to create a custom camera profile for use with your Sekonic 758Cine. I take you all the way through the process from shooting the chart to processing the footage with Sekonic's new Data Transfer Software v3.0. I have also developed a library of profiles that you can freely download at: ryanewalters.com/SP/sekonicprofiles.html.
If you are shooting with a LOG or RAW camera, I also HIGHLY recommend scrolling to the bottom of the page (ryanewalters.com/SP/sekonicprofiles.html) as I detail the additional steps you need to take in order to ensure that your profile is as reliable as possible. Additionally, I have a list of tips and F.A.Q's that should answer any of your questions.

Until Next Time, Get Out There And Shoot!
Ryan E. Walters, Cinematographer

5 comments:

  1. Here's what I don't get.
    I uploaded 3 of your profiles: RED, DSLR, AF-100
    When I press the exposure button, I get different readings each time for my f-stop. Its roughly a 1-stop difference between all of them.
    So, i'm wondering if something is wrong. Shouldn't they all be reading the exact same f-stop? At least the footcandles read out the same, just the f-stop is confusing me.

    And, I am wondering about film cameras. How would we create a profile for those? (Super16, 35mm, etc)

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    Replies
    1. Michael,

      Thank you for taking the time to download and use my profiles.:) It does sound like something is not working correctly. The meter readings will not be exactly the same, but they should be close. The reason they will not be exactly the same is due to the nature of digital cameras. The only thing that is the same with every digital camera is the fact that at some point they will clip. Unfortunately, everything else- like where the mid tone falls, how much detail they see in the shadows, how noisy they are ... is different. Different cameras and even different camera profiles within the same camera place mid tone at different levels. On a waveform, mid tone can fall anywhere from 35 IRE to 50 IRE. For example, if you are shooting with a camera that can record in Sony's S-Log, the mid tone should be reading at 38 IRE. So that is the bigger picture as to why the settings will never match exactly.

      To specifically address what is going on with your experience, I wonder if the profiles are not loaded correctly, or you are metering differently then I am, as I am getting consistent results now - I have my meter with me as I type this. I'll outline the steps I have taken along with the results. Try this out for yourself, and hopefully it will work for you:

      1. Using the DTS Version 3 software, reset the meter to its defaults. (Options > Reset Meter To Default Profiles)
      2. Take an incident reading and be sure you can come back to this area that you are metering. Note the value. (The reading I get in my office at ISO 800 24 fps and 180 degree shutter is F1.4 3/10)
      3. Now load the following profiles into the meter: Camera 01: REW-5DMKIII-Neutral / Camera 02: REW-AF100-CineD / Camera 3: REW-Epic-Log.
      4. Take an incident reading in the same spot as where you took the default reading.
      5. Now press & hold the ISO 1 button and then press the MID TONE button to scroll through the camera profiles. And note those values - they should be close to the default reading, and they should all be close to one another. (The readings I get are: Cam 01-5D MKIII: F1.4 2/10 / Cam 02-AF100: F1.4 5/10 / Cam 03-Epic: F1.0 9/10)

      As you can see by my results, everything is working properly, and you should be having the same experience. You may be wondering why the Epic reading is "off" by so much, and it has to do with the fact that it is in Log, and that mid tone value, like Sony's S-log is lower then the rest. In practice, I haven't found this to be an issue, as with the MKIII and the Epic I would set the lens to T1.4. And with the AF100, I would do a T1.4/T2 split.

      As for how to create a profile for film cameras, there are two ways of doing that- the first of which is to shoot a chart with the camera and then have it telecined and grab still frames to use with the DTS software. Alternatively, you could shoot your exposure test, and then figure the over / under exposure and manually set those limits directly in the meter (details in the manual) or in the DTS software.

      I hope that helps answer your questions. :)

      Delete
  2. I added an important update about creating profiles with the Sekonic DTS Version 3 software that is important to read, if you are currently using, or creating custom profiles. Read more here: http://www.ryanewalters.com/SP/sekonicprofiles.html

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  3. Yeah, my readings fluctuate something like yours - they aren't exactly all the same. I'll do the exact test you did to see if I get the exact numbers when Im home. :)

    Also, one more question, what if you don't have time to set up a profile for your camera. Such as you end up using a different camera each time that you have never used before and don't have a profile for it yet, but dont have the time to make one on set. Would it be best to use the standard default setting then?
    Thanks!

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  4. As long as they fluctuate in small amounts like what I've posted, then you are fine. If it is by 1 stop or more, then something else is going on. I don't think you'll get the same exact numbers, as you'll be in a different lighting environment then I was in. But you should be able to reproduce the same kind of results, just at different F stop readings.

    If you don't have time to create a profile, then using the standard profile is a good starting place. I wouldn't trust it completely, just do to the fact that every camera, and every camera setting / picture profile, can drastically change how the camera responds - just one of the "fun" parts of digital ... Ideally, you would have the time before hand to test it out and set up the meter. If I didn't have the time, then I'd use a standard default profile- but the first thing I would do is to take a reading of the key light and then set my expsoure accordingly. If that exposure looked appropriate on camera, then I'd use that. Otherwise, I'd adjust the exposure until it did look appropriate and note that T-Stop. I'd then adjust the ISO on the meter until it gave me the same F-Stop reading and proceed from there. Down and dirty, but it would work. :)

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