GH4 Color Profile Tests - feat. "Supertone"

What are the best settings for the GH4? This is a common question and one that doesn't have an easy answer since every scene is different and every setup has different factors that need to be weighed.
As a general rule though, I've been shooting with Cinelike V with small adjustments since it gave me the best results in some preliminary testing but I thought I'd revisit the subject now that the Supertone settings have become so popular.
Supertone Settings: www.supertone.d...
If you'd like to help support my channel, please consider contributing at SubscribeStar: www.subscribes...

[@Epictutorials]

Love Cinelike V - renders more accurate skin tones than the supertone setting. Great video.

[@_tographer]

+Epic Tutorials for iPhone, iPad and iOS Thanks! I've been doing some more testing with Supertone and I think I'm sticking with Cinelike V until V-Log coms out, then I'll give that a shot.

[@helloapple556]

Hi, do you have any idea why my Gh4 video photage coming out dark when I export to my Mac book pro 16 inch. I have done the perfect settings and followed the instructions of KZbinrs regarding Gh4 setup. When I record and the video photage coming clear bright and beautiful on camera monitor, however when I export the videos to Mac book, it’s coming darker. How to resolve this issue... as I read many articles some says it might be because of a Mac book screen color caliberation.. but I think it’s not .. because when I make video or photo on IPhone 10s, it’s coming exact clear in my Mac as what looks in mobile phone .. I don’t know what’s the issue... I have roof light on, 2 led lights on, 400-800 ISO, aperture 3.6, shutter 50, auto white balance.. cina D, everything at 0. I don’t know where’s the problem.. plz any suggestions or solutions. Thank you

[@ARainDogToo]

Thanks for this. Very helpful. Question: Since Cinelike D is meant to provide the base with the highest flexibility for post-production, is it fair to evaluate its image presentation "as-is" relative to Cinelike V and Supertone? Wouldn't the best analysis delve into what each mode allows in post?

[@helloapple556]

Hi, do you have any idea why my Gh4 video photage coming out dark when I export to my Mac book pro 16 inch. I have done the perfect settings and followed the instructions of KZbinrs regarding Gh4 setup. When I record and the video photage coming clear bright and beautiful on camera monitor, however when I export the videos to Mac book, it’s coming darker. How to resolve this issue... as I read many articles some says it might be because of a Mac book screen color caliberation.. but I think it’s not .. because when I make video or photo on IPhone 10s, it’s coming exact clear in my Mac as what looks in mobile phone .. I don’t know what’s the issue... I have roof light on, 2 led lights on, 400-800 ISO, aperture 3.6, shutter 50, auto white balance.. cina D, everything at 0. I don’t know where’s the problem.. plz any suggestions or solutions. Thank you

[@JWS1968]

You hit the nail right on the head in this video. I've been using the GH4 for two years now and the options to shoot 'flat' are cancelled out by how little you can push and pull the image in post before it just falls apart. It does take a little more care and attention to what you shoot in camera, white balance needs to be spot on and lighting on set needs to be spot on but the final image will be so much better. it forces you to be better on set and not be so lazy.

[@generationalrecipes1196]

I have a very blueish out put when in video mode .Can you help me please correct IS PROBLEM?

[@dslrcinemamovies3310]

you are god sent... I have been using cine D forever and I finally see the mud... I'm going out to shoot now and will have something posted tonight..

[@phutloose]

Very informative! Thanks for taking the time to share!

[@JROSS1998]

I changed my profile to cinelike V & all the settings are on 0, what should I make the settings?

Seems like an entire generation use to like desaturated, low contrast, blurry images... and considere that cinematic. I have seem a lot of "cinematic". Now a lot of people just use the Natural profile. Don't you think?

[@justincasehd7524]

the shadow from your nose is brightened 2x in cinelike d. i've never worked with it so idk what it takes to add the color back in but dynamic range is pretty important

[@robbyboyo]

Nice tests. I find natural the best. Agree with your cinelike D conclusions.

[@glennsak]

Supertone is way to contrasty for my taste. Everyone is different I guess.

[@_tographer]

+Shaka Yeah, I've stuck with Cinelike V. Gives me what I want.

[@pawemarczuk8402]

For "Supertone" you need to switch to portrait profile then set contrast +5, sharpnes +1, noise reduction -3, saturation -5 Then you need to fing in menu "Hilights Shadow" option set hilight to -5, and shadow 0 and that's it

[@helloapple556]

Hi, do you have any idea why my Gh4 video photage coming out dark when I export to my Mac book pro 16 inch. I have done the perfect settings and followed the instructions of KZbinrs regarding Gh4 setup. When I record and the video photage coming clear bright and beautiful on camera monitor, however when I export the videos to Mac book, it’s coming darker. How to resolve this issue... as I read many articles some says it might be because of a Mac book screen color caliberation.. but I think it’s not .. because when I make video or photo on IPhone 10s, it’s coming exact clear in my Mac as what looks in mobile phone .. I don’t know what’s the issue... I have roof light on, 2 led lights on, 400-800 ISO, aperture 3.6, shutter 50, auto white balance.. cina D, everything at 0. I don’t know where’s the problem.. plz any suggestions or solutions. Thank you

[@helloapple556]

Hi, do you have any idea why my Gh4 video photage coming out dark when I export to my Mac book pro 16 inch. I have done the perfect settings and followed the instructions of KZbinrs regarding Gh4 setup. When I record and the video photage coming clear bright and beautiful on camera monitor, however when I export the videos to Mac book, it’s coming darker. How to resolve this issue... as I read many articles some says it might be because of a Mac book screen color caliberation.. but I think it’s not .. because when I make video or photo on IPhone 10s, it’s coming exact clear in my Mac as what looks in mobile phone .. I don’t know what’s the issue... I have roof light on, 2 led lights on, 400-800 ISO, aperture 3.6, shutter 50, auto white balance.. cina D, everything at 0. I don’t know where’s the problem.. plz any suggestions or solutions. Thank you

[@assholenews2104]

hey are there more color profile like supertone or just more options

[@iDealMedley]

i tried shooting standard everything at -5 and nr at 0 manage to get some amazing skin tones in post

[@pawemarczuk8402]

I wonder what will be the best profile for really low light situation (with iso 1600 or 3200)? If v log will be to dark? If c like d will bring lots of noise in shadow? You should do test like that, will be rally helpfull

[@StatK]

Loving your channel man! Very informative videos, keep up the great work!

[@_tographer]

+Stat-K Thanks!

[@FullTekAuto]

I like Cine V and Vivid

[@trapawardz]

heyy I have a gh4 and and when I render my clips it still look like my footage is slow but when I look at the clips in the gh4 it play in real time can u help me on this if u can

[@PhilippeOrlando]

Have you tried Natural with -1highlight and +1 shadows?

[@alfredwards]

Hi! For internal recording i think cineD crushes color information. CineV is too contrasty. Have you tried with natural? It gave me excelent results

[@iDealMedley]

Natural is the best to me.

[@davidalanmedia]

Great tutorial, I was shooting in Cinelike D up to this point but didn't like how midtones looked however so much better than the standard profile. Definitely going to give the Cinelike V a try. I wanted to ask if you were comfortable shooting footage that was really dark like a night club or theatre production with this style and specifically what the noise looked like in the shadows or flat textureless surfaces and if you did anything else in camera to control it other than noise reduction software in post. Thanks Dave.

[@_tographer]

+David Robillard Low-light shooting is not the strength of the GH4 and most of my work involves some lighting. If I were to shoot in a low light situation, I'd probably rent a sony a7s or a7sii. Those cameras are much better suited for low light and pretty cheap to rent. If you have to use a GH4, just buy a fast lens and a speedbooster and try and keep your ISO at 1600 or lower. Some picture profiles might help a little but probably not enough of a difference to make a huge impact.

[@Stoffe3D]

Hi! Thx for the video. Are you shooting in those cine v setting in the video? Or have you tweaked them a little?

[@thenerdherdforum]

Thanks for the excellent comparison!

[@_tographer]

+The Nerd Herd no problem, glad you liked it!

[@jonathanpaparas8937]

Hi, great video. I just have problems with my gh4, I use olympus12-40 2.8 lens, but I always find noise in blacks, it reduce a little when I setup at 800ISO, do you have any tricks for this? I always have to make a magical color correction to get perfect image.

[@_tographer]

+Jonathan Paparas I try and shoot at iso200 or iso400 if that helps

[@joudry]

master pedestal? and 16-235 ?

[@IsmaelRodriguez45]

great video! was looking for a topic like this, since i dont have all that color correction/magic bullet/fancy software... was looking for best settings straight from the camera. the only question i have is did you shoot, 60fps or 24 fps?

[@_tographer]

+Ismael Rodriguez 24, I only shoot 60 when doing slow mo

[@anthonydoriand]

Thank you :)

[@punculis]

Hi, why sharpness+1? everybody says -5 )

[@_tographer]

Edgar Punculis Usually I'll shoot around -1 or -2 on sharpness but it also depends on the lens I'm using. Most of the time I prefer to get the sharpening close in camera so I can avoid additional render time in post production but some people really like to dial it in themselves after the shoot. If you can afford the additional post work, shooting at -5 might be for you but I've found -5 to be too soft most of the time and I always end up sharpening it later on anyway.

[@punculis]

***** I see, actually I agree with you, but what about noise levels,specially in low light situations some people says that sharpness increase noise level?

[@_tographer]

Edgar Punculis Adjusting sharpness would increase sharpness across the entire image so noise would get sharper as well but this would be the case in post production too. If you sharpen your image later, the noise is still going to get sharpened. If you were to shoot in low light and noise was your primary concern and you were less worried about sharpness, you probably would want to shoot at -5 sharpness just to keep that noise as invisible as possible. This isn't usually the case for most of my shooting which is why I typically have my sharpness up higher than -5.

[@Patrykos87]

Can you write for me which lens did you use for recording?

[@hennidapoet]

How do you get supertones? Do this comes on the camera or is it just user based settings?

[@_tographer]

+henasee henry User settings, it's based on the Portrait mode

[@KDThePharaoh]

Stronz Vanderploeg.

[@BAMBAM-ks9uo]

Hiya great video, do you tweak the cine v settings or use out of the box setting?

[@_tographer]

+BamBam Gaming I typically shoot Cinelike V all -3s

[@fangshizhu9383]

Really great video! I got a GH4 and really like it except the colors. I notice my GH4 always tends to have a yellow & green skin tone, which gives people a jaundiced looking. Any idea how to fix this? Probably by setting the picture style?

[@_tographer]

+Fangshi Zhu depends on the lighting and also depends on your color grading. If your color is off, you should be able to tweak it in camera with picture profile settings or in post with a little color correction.

[@fangshizhu9383]

Thanks for replying. I shoot at home studio using a Sony A7R ii and Canon rebel t3i and my GH4. I set up a standard 3 point light interview scene and customized the white balance using a 18% grey card for all the cameras. The Sony and Canon gave me pretty accurate color profile but the GH4 also has a very yellowish bias no matter which color profile I used. I was able to correct the color in post but I would like to get it accurate straight form the camera if possible. Have you ever tried to compare GH4 color with other brand? Thanks!

[@samhostettler]

I'd imagine that's a white balance issue

[@FrankCastleTIG]

Any thoughts on the James Miller ciniv settings? -5 on everything except +1 hue, I think, and +15mp and idynamic and ires set at standard.

[@_tographer]

+ChrisDillon Haven't tested it but I'll look into it. I usually like to keep my settings simple so that things don't get missed when using multiple cameras, the more settings you tweak, the more likely you are to mess something up on accident.

[@CodeHarryy]

I've g7 is there any way to hack it to get supertone and others like..

[@pawemarczuk8402]

I have both GH4 and G7 camera and the profile setting are exact the same. For "Supertone" you need to switch to portrait profile then set contrast +5, sharpnes +1, noise reduction -3, saturation -5 Then you need to fing in menu "Hilights Shadow" option (it's in 3/5 video options) set hilight to -5, and shadow 0 and that's it

[@allirogorilla]

Hi, Pawel - You said you have the G7. I'm looking into it myself - any major con's I should look out for? I'm not getting a GH4 because my limited budget and I like shooting at night so I thought the G7 with it's less noise in lower light would be more suitable to my needs.

[@pawemarczuk8402]

I never tested both cameras for noise but I hear it to. I happy with the image quality, for me looks same as from gh4. Downside of this camera is that body has no silling so I never remove from my bag when I'm outside and it's raining, max brirate for 1080 is only 28M when gh4 is 200M, but in 4K both cameras are 100M, to remove memory cards you need to remove camera from tripod bcause slot is where battery is, and only thing that I wish this camera has as well is option to set angle instead of shutter speed. But that's only small things and camera for that price is great choice and you won't regretted

[@allirogorilla]

Thanks, man

[@allirogorilla]

Paweł Marczuk Thanks!

[@JimRobinson-colors]

I don't know if you still feel like this Stronz. But to my eyes the Supertone looks horrible - Watching this demo - your skin has virtually been sucked out of any color and depth with the Supertone. The contrast is way over done too. I would suggest that when doing an evaluation of a setting - Do it on someone else. We tend to look at ourselves just slightly different then we do others. Also really harsh key light with no fill doesn't help. If you took the same test and replaced the setting titles with A,B,C or D - I really wonder what other people would pickas the best of the 4?. To me that would be a true test. With a softer light and a sharper lens - with your footage I would pick Standard over the others ( for straight out the camera ) I do know that Cinelike D is pretty easily graded-

[@_tographer]

+Jim Robinson Yeah after more tests with supertone, it just isn't for me, crushes the blacks too much and does some weird stuff with skintones. still been sticking with cinelike V and v-log L when I record externally.

[@KDThePharaoh]

Stronz Vanderploeg

[@DuroSamples]

Boss the super tone look very contrast. I shoot in D and I don't set it like what you had here on screen which is horrible. I have plenty dynamic range and flexibility.. That Super-tone look like something you do in post, so you are stuck with crushed blacks with that high contrast. Not very smart to use. You should have graded the shots to see what you get out of them..

[@_tographer]

+Salvador Peláez agreed, supertone is fine for people who want that specific look baked in but I don't use it - I usually shoot cinelike V or v-log L

[@DuroSamples]

I saw your other video with V-log L and that sucker has a LOT of color issues and patterns, specially on your green T-shirt. The Cinelike D with all those crazy settings is very ridiculous, Why would they do that? I leave it as is and looks way better. Even the standard with a tad less color works fine. I don't like blurry images so messing with the sharpness to me is pointless since they go after in post and try to sharpen and its not very pretty. Even celluloid movies are SUPER sharp where the subject is in focus, even with shallow DOF. Cheers and thanks for your video.

[@PeteWoronowski]

Very helpful video, Thank you Subscribed to your channel. Cheers, Pete

[@davidp158]

I like how Supertone renders skin tones in your video, but I would have to see a test with better lighting to draw a conclusion. For me, the lighting is way too contrasty, and the colors in the scene are too limited to see what Supertone offers over CineV. It is interesting to see how Supertone desaturates and evens out skin tones, yet holds the red wall color. For my work, CineD is far more flexible in post for grading, but I see posterization of skin tones in your video sample. By now, we have all had time to experiment with V-Log, which has extended dynamic range, but really nasty color artifacts that can not be fixed in post. I seriously hope Panasonic resolves this, as I'd love to use V-Log. Until then, I find CineV and CineD to work for me. I may give Supertone another try, but in my initial tests I didn't like the dynamic range.

[@_tographer]

+Dave Patterson Yeah I've played around with supertone some more and I don't like how dark it pushes the blacks. Too much contrast for my taste. V-Log is very weak with the internal codec so I'm sticking with Cinelike V for now but I've been playing around with boosting master pedastal to keep the blacks from going pure black.

[@jerrydorsey5951]

And you didn't at least color grade them to show the end result? Smh 🤦🏽‍♂️👎🏽

I don't want yo colorgrade anithing.