X5R Optimal Settings?

[Louis Vieira]

We recently got a X5R and I am having trouble finding any info on preferred settings for operation. Has anyone found a solid color profile and custom setting for shooting with?

I also heard Philip Bloom discuss the Mavic 4K was rubbish due to a weak bitrate. Obviously it's a different setup then the Inspire/X5R but are there any quirky settings to be aware of with this one? For example people say shooting 1080 with the FS5 is ideal because it's 10Bit where as the 4K is only 8bit.

Thanks! Looking forward to shooting more with this camera.

-Louis

 

[x5yo]

Go as raw/flat as possible with the settings, expose correctly, get you shutter speeds right etc, focus right,and the magic should happen at the post process stage.
That's the WHOLE point of the X5R. Its requiring you to put the final magic in.

With the X5, I found it was more benefical to get as close as possible to the final image straight from the camera because of the crappy codec and bitrate.
It just didn't like to be pushed and puled around as much as I expected.

With the X5R you have that extra power waiting to be extracted. So just get the basics right and you should have everything else there.

 

[Michael Moran]

I'd like to hear more more on setting and focus calibration. I shoot stills, and the results have been really soft and mushy -- not at all what I expected. I'm going to test against the Panasonic DMC-GH4.

 

[2nd2non]

For video with the X5R, just shoot with normal, manual settings if using the RAW to SSD. This has been discussed by several on this forum and has worked well.
Style: none
Color: none
White balance: set manually
Exposure control: manually set aperture to keep within mid range for max clarity/sharpness. Set shutter to 180deg shutter rule if desired for motion blur. ISO low for daylight. Use ND filter to achieve these setting if bright.

Adjust as needed to meet the shot- ie. Close up shot may require lowest aperture.

 

[2nd2non]

I'd like to hear more more on setting and focus calibration. I shoot stills, and the results have been really soft and mushy -- not at all what I expected. I'm going to test against the Panasonic DMC-GH4.

what lens and aperture setting? How did you set focus?

 

[Michael Moran]

Thanks! I've been doing all of what you write about shooting video, plus I've tested out different ISO's. The images seem to get sharper at higher ISO's -- 400 looks better than 100. I shoot aperture priority and set it at f11 for daylight work and more wide open for night shots. I need to study more about the best aperture for these lenses (I have an Olympus 25mm as well as the 15mm that came with the drone). I've been surprised that I can shoot stills at much slower shutter speeds than I anticipated. I'm used to shooting from helicopters at 1/500, but I've used the Inspire 1 successfully at 1/4 second, which is sort of shocking. I think the one mistake I've made is not being more careful with focus calibration. My biggest mistake so far was when I rushed and didn't re-calibrate the focus after calibrating at the same site the day before but changing lenses.

I still suspect the sensor, though. The results remind me of the first Canon 5D, which was just as soft as this -- totally inadequate to the job. I'm going to run some tests this weekend against the DMC-GH4 and my 5D Mk III to see if it's a sensor issue, and I'll also concentrate on the camera calibration. It's frustrating that the manual is so limited and that the video "tutorials" are basically useless ads for the product. The Inspire 1 itself is a dream -- exactly what I need for my work.

 

[2nd2non]

I don't have the Oly 25mm, but do know the Oly 12 and 15mm are sharpest in the mid range.
See this video for some real world test results

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[Michael Moran]

Thanks! You've been really helpful and have put me on the right track. Your video let to others, like the one below. I'm still going to do the sensor test, but I'll be able to do it with a carefully calibrated camera at optimum aperture (which seems to be f4 > f5.6 from what I've seen on these videos).

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