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FCPX Color Issues
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I did some testing and tried importing several different codecs into FCPX and only optimized the one that was straight from the 5d. All showed the same bright image. Codecs AIC, ProRes 422. I transcoded these in MPEG Streamclip which showed a dark image. I did no adjustments. So FCPX is showing a brighter gamma than the file actually is. I then opened the original camera file in MPEG Streamclip, Compressor 4 and Quicktime 10 and 7. Both Streamclip and Compressor showed an underexposed image but QT showed a bright well exposed image. This is a QT issue and the way FCPX is adjusting images is going to be an issue for color grading unless there is a way to change viewer gamma. It would be nice if you could calibrate the viewer in FCPX.
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More info I found on DVX forum-
As related by Apple support to user
It has to do with your color profiles. i was using a calibrated profile I made with my x-rite Colormunki(which i use for Cs5 and lightroom work) and this does not play well with the new colorsync/FCP-X relationship. Once I changed my color setting back to the default LED Cinema Display in *system pref / display / color* it fixed my problem. I have sent The FCP-X engineers my .icc profile so they can try to fix this problem in a future update. but for now the work-around is using a profile calibrated by apples own methods, not 3rd party.
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YES, I have this exact same issue. I dont have any solution, Can someone help me here?
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Wow, that’s really messed up! I’m going to guess that you have the automatic color balance turned on and FCP X is trying to “fix” it. Make sure this is turned OFF in your import preferences.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
I just tryed, with both on and off, in import settings, (analyse Colour balance), then tryed turning on and off the color balance in the video inspector, on both of those and it didn’t change anything, there was a slight difference , but hardly noticeable.
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I am experiencing the same issue. File looks great in FCPX, and it I export to quicktime it still looks great. As soon as I send it to compressor is appears dark.
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Mark-
I still haven’t got to the bottom of this but I have read that QT ignores gamma and color profiles and attempts to adjust the image to look good on your screen. It may not be doing exactly that but the jist of it is that QT is altering the color and density. Is FCPX utilizing QT in it’s viewer somehow? What OS are you on? I was told by Apple that there were some QT issues related to gamma and Snow Leopard. It does make color grading impossible and Compressor is worthless for adjusting the contrast and density. I am trying to find time to get in to meet with a Final Cut expert at the Mac store. You try to explain this over the phone or in emails and people think you’re nuts. -
I found the solution!
Once you select your filter output settings if you look in the inspector there is an icon (4th over) that when clicked reveals the VIDEO, AUDIO, and COLOR Tabs. In the color tabs you can make corrections. Hope this helps.
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My apologies. After additional experimentation this is still not offering the solution as files adjusted to look correct in compressor look washed out when uploaded to YouTube for example. Also even the corrections in the video tab in compressor never look quite as good as the original and lack color saturation.
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Re what Apple told me about potential color issues with QT10 and Snow Leopard:
QT7 has the ability to set some preferences and I noticed in the general preference window the following option-“Enable Final Cut Studio color compatibility. When enabled, video is not displayed using ColorSync. Source colors are read with 2.2 gamma and are displayed in a color space with 1.8 gamma”.
Could this be an indication that QT10 is adjusting display in FCPX? Is there a way to disable QT10 and have FCPX us QT7?
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