1080 vs 4K - No 4K Playback Device

[EricJT]

If my final M2P video footage is going to be in 1080p resolution, as I don't have any 4K monitors or TV's, does it make any sense to shoot in 4K and down render to 1080p in Davinci Resolve 16?

Or is it just better to shoot in 1080p?

Any difference in the final video quality between the two approaches?

I understand if I have the raw 4K footage then in the future I when I get a 4K monitor/TV, I will have my past higher resolution footage.

 

[chuck1026]

If my final M2P video footage is going to be in 1080p resolution, as I don't have any 4K monitors or TV's, does it make any sense to shoot in 4K and down render to 1080p in Davinci Resolve 16?

Or is it just better to shoot in 1080p?

Any difference in the final video quality between the two approaches?

I understand if I have the raw 4K footage then in the future I when I get a 4K monitor/TV, I will have my past higher resolution footage.

4K lets you use the extra pixels to push in during post production if you plan on the final product being 1080.... That's the advantage.

 

[Camino Ken]

I am not a post processing expert but I believe that either approach will be virtually the same. One issue is editing and rendering 4K does take a fairly capable computer.

i always shoot in 4K for several reasons. First, as you stated, you can reduce it down in resolution if you need. Second, if I get the perfect shot that I might want to use in the future I will have the max resolution. Third, you can digitally zoom in post and keep full HD resolution. And last, the cost of shooting in 4K is only the storage space, which is relatively cheap.

Hopefully, some of the video/photography experts will chime in soon.

 

[EricJT]

I am not a post processing expert but I believe that either approach will be virtually the same. One issue is editing and rendering 4K does take a fairly capable computer.

i always shoot in 4K for several reasons. First, as you stated, you can reduce it down in resolution if you need. Second, if I get the perfect shot that I might want to use in the future I will have the max resolution. Third, you can digitally zoom in post and keep full HD resolution. And last, the cost of shooting in 4K is only the storage space, which is relatively cheap.

Hopefully, some of the video/photography experts will chime in soon.

Thanks to the responders so far.....

My desktop PC is not an issue.....i9900k, 64GB DRAM, RTX 2070 GPU and a LOT of storage space (HD's - long term storage, SSD's & PCIe NVMe's - editing).

Good points on long term retention, max resolution and zoom in HD editing.

Other than having to do the down conversion to 1080p in DR16, I think shooting in 4K to begin with makes sense.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

With a PC like that, if you do photography/video, it's kind if funny that you don't have a 4K monitor now, so I wouldn't be surprised if you get one soon. And when you do, you won't regret it.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I think shooting in 4K to begin with makes sense.

Who knows, one day you might want that footage in 4K, you might upgrade your TV / other monitor, or some film maker might ask if they can use some of your footage in a doco etc.
Keeping all the original unedited footage in a special folder on your hard drive, or on an external hard drive makes sense.

 

[Ohio Snake]

My laptop is 4K OLED. 4K viewing works great.

 

[Johnmcl7]

I don't have any 4K playback devices and don't plan on having any soon as I prefer my monitors to run without scaling but I still record in 4K to give me the most options when editing the video and there's not much in the way of downsides using the 4K mode.

 

[lookout]

Downscaling is always an option. Upscaling is just butchered.