Video playback issues shot with 4K M.265 Dlog-M

[flynsign]

Shot an amazing sunset yesterday but my M2P footage shot in hi res 4k HDR using the h.265 in Dlog-M was extremely disappointing as it looks NOTHING like what I was seeing on my screen or the actual colors in the sky for that matter - colors were WAY muted. My player was the latest version of VLC which plays 265 files with no problems. The cached file on my Crystalsky t looked pretty decent but I wanted to view it in the full 4k so I pulled the micro SD card from my Mavic to play the native file. My computer is plenty powerful enough and in fact played the full 4k just fine but the colors were extremely lack-luster. Any ideas what the weak link might be?

 

[Meta4]

Shot an amazing sunset yesterday but my M2P footage shot in hi res 4k HDR using the h.265 in Dlog-M
... but the colors were extremely lack-luster. Any ideas what the weak link might be?

That's D-Log for you.
You need to post process to make it look good.

 

[sparkorc]

You will find D-log footage the colours are always muted, your footage will need colour grading to get the colours back I use adobe premiere pro cc or you could use Davinchi Resolve which you can get for free, but be warned both programs have a sharp learning curve but there are youtube tutorials on both programs, if you dont want to use this route you can try one of the other built in settings in the camera which wont require any correction in post.

 

[flynsign]

I figured that was the case but don't shoot enough videos to justify the cost of Premiere Pro - any suggestions for an alternative editing program that can handle h.265 files shot in DLOG-M?

 

[sparkorc]

Davici Resolve has a free version

DaVinci Resolve 15 | Blackmagic Design

Its at the bottom of the page

 

[flynsign]

Thanks for the link - heading there now!

 

[CanadaDrone]

D-Log is the (rough) video equivalent of shooting a RAW photograph. They are specifically designed to be processed after the fact, but in return you get the most malleable possible file with the most processing leeway. If you want a quick & dirty solution, buy or download a standard LUT - it won't be perfect for every situation but it might get you to a really good starting point with just a few clicks. The Film Poets have good LUTs for dirt cheap and if you don't like it, it's free.

If you have a recent iPad, LumaFusion ($20 one-time purchase) is a phenomenal and fully featured video editing app that can handle 4K/H265 and has full LUT support.

Otherwise I suggest DaVinci Resolve which is free unless you need certain premium features, but is otherwise the best software you are going to find for free.

 

[flynsign]

Wouldn't Davinci Resolve 'free' come bundled with LUTs, and if so, are they not accurate enough to what you're wanting to accomplish while editing?

 

[BD0G]

Its a good idea to use the Official DJI DLOG-M Lut for your Mavic 2 first and then you can apply a lut over that if you need more adjustment.

Davinci, Premiere Pro , etc will support the LUTs that are found in the links associated with this video.

 

[scott5689]

Davinci free also has some luts available i tend to not use them tho i just attempt to colour grade myself plenty of youtube tutorials out their for it and its free

 

[flynsign]

Downloaded the DJI Lut per suggestion, but no way to open/import it into DaVinci Resolve, grrrr

 

[davemgood]

Shot an amazing sunset yesterday but my M2P footage shot in hi res 4k HDR using the h.265 in Dlog-M was extremely disappointing as it looks NOTHING like what I was seeing on my screen or the actual colors in the sky for that matter - colors were WAY muted. My player was the latest version of VLC which plays 265 files with no problems. The cached file on my Crystalsky t looked pretty decent but I wanted to view it in the full 4k so I pulled the micro SD card from my Mavic to play the native file. My computer is plenty powerful enough and in fact played the full 4k just fine but the colors were extremely lack-luster. Any ideas what the weak link might be?

Here's what is happening: Imagine the pallet of colors for the average color graphic (still or video) is within a circle of 5 inches around. That would be the normal setting.

Now, enable Dlog-M. Imagine the pallet of colors for Dlog-M is 8 inches around, however the screen is only going to show only those colors within3 inches around. That is why the colors in Dlog-M are muted. The screen cannot show an 8 inch pallet of color, only 5 inches of it.

What a LUT does is bridge that difference, revealing the larger pallet of Dlog-M colors on a standard screen with a more limited pallet of colors.

I hope that helps. My analogy is limited.

Dave

 

[flynsign]

Just the opposite - the screen looks great and the same for either color setting. It’s the video playback that looks much different.

 

[BD0G]

Here is the method that Davinci recommends plus 35 free LUTs one can download and experiment with.
How to Use LUTs in DaVinci Resolve — Plus 35 Free LUTs!

 

[davemgood]

Just the opposite - the screen looks great and the same for either color setting. It’s the video playback that looks much different.

It looks great in the RC if you have a LUT, other wise it looks like Dlog-M looks like with out a LUT.