SIGMA FP: CinemaDNG vs. BRAW Deep Dive

[@Another-Layer]

Thank you for this awesome comparison. I own the FP and BM 4k but I’ve never done this comparison. I love both cameras. I’ve noticed the cinemadng is for sure denser and richer than the braw. I never worry about file size because I work off the ssd and never copy the dng to my hard drive. I color grade then transcode to something editor friendly then format the ssd to get rid of the dngs. I have a few Samsung t5’s so if I need to preserve the dng’s I just set the drive aside temporarily. I concur with you, the dng’s can see deep into the shadows. There’s so much information recorded in the dng’s. Thanks again for your comparison.

[@DynamicPhil84]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Stay tuned because I have another Sigma FP video dropping soon where I go more in-depth into the different bit depth options for the cdng files! Some interesting results, especially when dealing with shadow recovery.

[@titusachema5415]

CinemaDNG for sure... thanks for the video

[@DynamicPhil84]

Really wish more companies would offer it as a recording option these days.

[@ButterGroove]

Solid comparison, thank you! What about costs of the blackmagic recorder vs. ssd drive?

[@DynamicPhil84]

Thanks! Considering that you need to invest in an SSD to properly record to the BM Video Assist anyways, recording CDNG directly to SSD ends up being cheaper overall.

[@zarrokus]

DaVinci Resolve supports compressed CDNG. You can use SlimRAW (or smthng else) for lossless compression of CDNG. The downside is a slight increase in CPU usage when working with lossless compressed CDNG. Once a year I have a project where I need to record about 40-50 hours of video. I shoot UHD 25 fps 12 bit CDNG on an external SSD, then use SlimRAW to copy the material with simultaneous lossless compression to working drives. In my case, when shooting on a chromakey, the compression reaches 60-70%, in this form the material takes up space comparable to BRAW 3:1, so there is little point in shooting on an external BRAW recorder.

[@DynamicPhil84]

Sounds like you have a very unique workflow! I do wish CDNG 12bit files were a bit more manageable as the time required to convert files to compressed lossless must be fairly time consuming. I don't like wasting time converting and will always stick with the pure raw files if I can manage the storage. Thankfully I've never had to film anywhere near that much content at any one time!

[@anotherintrospekt6596]

Yes DNG is impressive

[@DynamicPhil84]

It continues to surprise me with the latitude in the image! I'd say it holds up even against 16 bit Red RAW.