D Log M (with Auto ISO) Superior to D Log

[AKA_Goodfella]

I recently upgraded from my Mavic 3 pro to the Mavic 4 Pro.

One of the main reasons was to have finally D Log on all 3 lenses. This would mean so much easier grading all 3 lenses in post.

It seems however that D LOG M (with Auto ISO) is superior to regular D LOG in terms of Dynamic Range, testing have been done by Gerald Undone, its even better then the new ProRES competitor ALL I. I was really surprised by all this.

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[Ralph thompson]

auto iso will give you nightmares in post, stick to manual everything. d log m adds compression to highlights and expands shadows so has the potential to produce a better finished job, but from personal experience, working with log in post is not easy. It takes quite a lot of skill, experience and practice. Also I wouldn’t depend on LUTs to do the grading and colour correction, they can be damaging. Great video. Edit - the video is dated April, subsequent reviews have said the M4P uses quad bayer sensor DJI Mavic 4 Pro Review – 100 Megapixels Just a Big Number?

 

[akdrone]

auto iso will give you nightmares in post, stick to manual everything. d log m adds compression to highlights and expands shadows so has the potential to produce a better finished job, but from personal experience, working with log in post is not easy. It takes quite a lot of skill, experience and practice. Also I wouldn’t depend on LUTs to do the grading and colour correction, they can be damaging. Great video. Edit - the video is dated April, subsequent reviews have said the M4P uses quad bayer sensor DJI Mavic 4 Pro Review – 100 Megapixels Just a Big Number?

I'm going to attach a link at the end (current end) of this thread for you to check out. You may end up reevaluating your statement that LUT's can be damaging.

 

[akdrone]

I'd suggest everyone look at this video for a different perspective.

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[TheGroove]

While I haven't had a chance to test yet (my M4P is still stuck in customs going on a month now with no signs of it being released) it sounds like D Log M is the only way to enable dual ISO. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though as I would like to understand this better but if that's the case I would use this mode in low light situations.

 

[GadgetGuy]

auto iso will give you nightmares in post, stick to manual everything. d log m adds compression to highlights and expands shadows so has the potential to produce a better finished job, but from personal experience, working with log in post is not easy. It takes quite a lot of skill, experience and practice. Also I wouldn’t depend on LUTs to do the grading and colour correction, they can be damaging. Great video. Edit - the video is dated April, subsequent reviews have said the M4P uses quad bayer sensor DJI Mavic 4 Pro Review – 100 Megapixels Just a Big Number?

Does the fact that the M4P is a quad Bayer sensor in any way invalidate their findings that Auto ISO or Autoexposure in D Log M produces superior results over D Log? Anything flawed in their testing methodology that would invalidate their conclusions?

They also provide a link to DJI's free LUT for D Log M, and their original files upon which they based their conclusions, so one can evaluate the differences oneself.

Do you now still disagree with their findings?

 

[Filmarik]

I recently upgraded from my Mavic 3 pro to the Mavic 4 Pro.

One of the main reasons was to have finally D Log on all 3 lenses. This would mean so much easier grading all 3 lenses in post.

It seems however that D LOG M (with Auto ISO) is superior to regular D LOG in terms of Dynamic Range, testing have been done by Gerald Undone, its even better then the new ProRES competitor ALL I. I was really surprised by all this.

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Does not any auto setting give exposure jumps as the light changes based on where the camera is pointing? That is usually a major headache in post and without correcting the "final" video looks terrible. What am I missing?

 

[AKA_Goodfella]

Does not any auto setting give exposure jumps as the light changes based on where the camera is pointing? That is usually a major headache in post and without correcting the "final" video looks terrible. What am I missing?

Have you actually watched the video? Because if you did you would see that they assign Lock Exposure to one of the buttons to prevent this.

 

[Filmarik]

Have you actually watched the video? Because if you did you would see that they assign Lock Exposure to one of the buttons to prevent this.

I have watched it. But I do not understand how the Auto ISO settings works then? Isn't the purpose of setting it to auto to allow camera to change its value based upon amount of ambient light? If you lock the exposure, the ISO gets locked at value present at the time of locking, and Auto ISO effectively does not work until you unlock the exposure again. Then it starts drifting in incremental steps of 10 based upon amount of ambient light. So what is the purpose (and benefit) of having ISO set to Auto when you lock it to set value by locking exposure? You can not have it both way, can you?

 

[akdrone]

QUESTIONS: 1. If you use Auto Exp there is no way to lock White Balance so that's not something I'd do often. 2. Can DJI move from 400ISO to something between that and 800? I think that's all that we can do but does DJI have the ability to do it more smoothly? A full stop change would seem unusable so I have to believe they can do it in ⅓ stops or something. I haven't tested this enough but have used in Pro mode a bit since I can lock WB as I recall.

 

[Filmarik]

QUESTIONS: 1. If you use Auto Exp there is no way to lock White Balance so that's not something I'd do often. 2. Can DJI move from 400ISO to something between that and 800? I think that's all that we can do but does DJI have the ability to do it more smoothly? A full stop change would seem unusable so I have to believe they can do it in ⅓ stops or something. I haven't tested this enough but have used in Pro mode a bit since I can lock WB as I recall.

I do not have M4P but on my M3P I can set ISO to Auto and Shutter speed and Aperture to Manual and WB to whatever value I choose. When ISO is set to Auto (the rest in Manual) and the Exposure is NOT locked, ISO value drifts in very small increments of 10 based upon ambient light to keep the exposure value constant. Maybe it changes completely gradually (?) but on the screen the value jumps in small increments of 10.

 

[GadgetGuy]

QUESTIONS: 1. If you use Auto Exp there is no way to lock White Balance so that's not something I'd do often. 2. Can DJI move from 400ISO to something between that and 800? I think that's all that we can do but does DJI have the ability to do it more smoothly? A full stop change would seem unusable so I have to believe they can do it in ⅓ stops or something. I haven't tested this enough but have used in Pro mode a bit since I can lock WB as I recall.

Mavic 4 Pro can now use 1/3 stops for manual ISO settings, instead of full stops, but Auto ISO is in increments of 10, so it is even more precise.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I do not have M4P but on my M3P I can set ISO to Auto and Shutter speed and Aperture to Manual and WB to whatever value I choose. When ISO is set to Auto (the rest in Manual) and the Exposure is NOT locked, ISO value drifts in very small increments of 10 based upon ambient light to keep the exposure value constant. Maybe it changes completely gradually (?) but on the screen the value jumps in small increments of 10.

I agree. It does seem to contradict the purpose of Auto ISO if you then lock exposure.

 

[Filmarik]

I agree. It does seem to contradict the purpose of Auto ISO if you then lock exposure.

Exactly. Something is amiss here...

 

[Wave Shot Media]

I agree. It does seem to contradict the purpose of Auto ISO if you then lock exposure.

I think the idea is to set to auto iso, then lock. This enables you to take the best shot possible. If you completely change the angle of the drone or face another direction. Then you unlock, and relock again to make sure auto iso adjusts to the new scene. Otherwise, don’t do any exposure locks if you are planning to go from super dark shadows to a very bright facing the sunset or something of that nature. It all depends on your frame and the light you are capturing

 

[GadgetGuy]

I think the idea is to set to auto iso, then lock. This enables you to take the best shot possible. If you completely change the angle of the drone or face another direction. Then you unlock, and relock again to make sure auto iso adjusts to the new scene. Otherwise, don’t do any exposure locks if you are planning to go from super dark shadows to a very bright facing the sunset or something of that nature. It all depends on your frame and the light you are capturing

If you lock exposure, there is no benefit to having previously selected Auto ISO, other than deciding which ISO to use throughout. You might as well have selected any single manual ISO to start, which is exactly what you have done, when you lock exposure after having chosen Auto ISO.

 

[akdrone]

If you lock exposure, there is no benefit to having previously selected Auto ISO, other than deciding which ISO to use throughout. You might as well have selected any single manual ISO to start, which is exactly what you have done, when you lock exposure after having chosen Auto ISO.

Exactly so. This is another form of shooting auto but just ensuring that it’s the ISO that changes. Most serious shooters don’t shoot auto and I won’t bother going into that, but I rarely shoot auto for all the obvious reasons. The idea of using the log M with auto settings is very interesting to me and I understand that I may get more dynamic range but from my perspective, it’s of limited use and probably entirely appropriate for a scene that does not require a locked in exposure, which for me is most scenes. If I go from a dark area to a light area and it requires an auto exposure, I will do it but more typically I will shoot the two scenes at separate exposures and have some kind of a transition or hard cut between them. It’s always interesting to learn something new and I plan to explore this concept

 

[Filmarik]

I think the idea is to set to auto iso, then lock. This enables you to take the best shot possible. If you completely change the angle of the drone or face another direction. Then you unlock, and relock again to make sure auto iso adjusts to the new scene. Otherwise, don’t do any exposure locks if you are planning to go from super dark shadows to a very bright facing the sunset or something of that nature. It all depends on your frame and the light you are capturing

This discussion started vith video on YT reporting that some sort of "magic" is happening with implementation if dual gain when shooting video in D-Log M mode, Auto ISO and locking exposure. This "magic" method makes this it allegedly even superior to proper D-Log where the "magic" is apparently not happening. So I was perplexed by this video and questioned the logic of shooting in Auto ISO and then locking exposure which in effect locks the ISO and prevents it from floating. I received no answer.

 

[GadgetGuy]

This discussion started about some sort of "magic" DJI does with the dual gain in conjuction with Auto ISO when shooting video in D-Log M. That this "magic" makes this method apparently even superior to proper D-Log where the "magic" is apparently not implemented. This "miraculous" method requires also locking the exposure. So I was questioning the logic of this and asked a question like what is the point of shooting in Auto ISO and then locking exposure which in effect locks the ISO and prevents it to float thus responding to changing light. I received no answer.

You received agreement from me. LOL!

 

[Filmarik]

You received agreement from me. LOL!

Yes, thank you for the that but I was hoping to hear from the author of that YT video or his supporters/admirers on this forum to offer some explanation how this suppose to improve dynamic range and provide other benefits to video quality. But only silence so far from that end..