RED Exposure Latitude Tests

Hi all

I've got a new article up about the RED :

http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/aadams/story/red_build_20_torture_tests/

I did over/under exposure latitude tests and discovered some very interesting things, not just about its dynamic range (improved under tungsten, incidentally) but some very interesting things about how it responds to color.

Let me know if the data leads you to the same conclusions I reached.
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Art Adams | Director of Photography
4 1 5 . 7 6 0 . 5 1 6 7
showreel -> www.artadams.net
trade writing -> art.provideocoalition.com
ICG, SOC, NWU

Nice article, although I think that using your test results I'd still prefer to under-rate the camera a bit, especially in tungsten lighting.

Also, at the end you mention a note about Geoff's findings with "the Silicon Imaging Phantom," which I take to mean either the SI-2K or the Vision Research Phantom HD. Might want to clear that one up.

Mitch Gross
Applications Specialist
Abel Cine Tech

>> Also, at the end you mention a note about Geoff's findings with "the Silicon Imaging Phantom," which I >>take to mean either the SI-2K or the Vision Research Phantom HD. Might want to clear that one up.

Thanks, Mitch. Cleaning... finished the article while in pre-pro on two spots, so under a little time pressure...

>>Nice article, although I think that using your test results I'd still prefer to under-rate the camera a bit, >>especially in tungsten lighting.

Me too. I'm not recommending 320 on the RED, just saying that I think I figured out how they came to that conclusion. If you look strictly at the point where the noise decreases dramatically, 320 makes sense.
But, like many film stocks whose ratings always felt like they were a little faster than they should have been (Fuji and non-recent Kodak high-speed stocks come to mind), it feels like a good idea to overexpose a bit. Unlike film, though, there's no smooth and easy shoulder to exploit: overexpose a half stop and it comes right off the top.

Also, as the colors are less saturated and the blue channel sees green under tungsten light, it still makes sense to use blue lights or blue filters. It's less necessary, but it does make a difference.

My new saying about the RED is this : "There's accurate, and there's pretty. The RED is pretty."

Art Adams | Director of Photography
4 1 5 . 7 6 0 . 5 1 6 7
showreel -> www.artadams.net
trade writing -> art.provideocoalition.com
ICG, SOC, NWU

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