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H264 Conversion For Colour Management
Hey Guys!
So, I’m late, but I’m planning on taking the plunge into DSLR video this weekend for the 24 Hour Film Challenge in Toronto.
There is one thing I’ve been scratching my head over however and I was hoping that you guys would provide me with some clarity.
The dominance of h264 in the dslr market is apparent, and I
will be using a Canon EOS 60D which seems to offers videos in h264. Now I’ve heard that applying colour corrections and effects on h264 files don’t give you the best results, and that working off of a codec such as cineform, dnxhd, or pro res would be the better solution because of their more capable colour space.Now, I just want to figure out what I should do for the most efficient workflow. If its over kill to convert, or even pointless, I won’t but if I will have added benefits in the realm of colour correction then I’ll definitely do it.
As always,
Thanks for the help guys -
5 Replies
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Rule #1 about h.264 video, NEVER EDIT in that format.ALWAYS convert to a proper editing format first.
**Hindsight is always 1080p**
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Thank you Zane.
I do understand that, but my worry is converting for no reason and losing quality.
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If you choose a good proper editing codec it it will pressure what’s there and not degrade it at all.
If your using Final Cut convert to ProRes.
**Hindsight is always 1080p**
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To add:
Converting does not automatically mean losing quality. If you transcode to a lossless codec like ProRes, Cineform or DNxHD all picture information is preserved.
The only thing that might change in the transcoding process is gamma, but that can be tweaked in post with no effort and no loss in picture quality.
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Thank you guys for all the great info. You really gotta love a community of people that are so helpful.
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