iaremrsir

Ahh so these are in camera settings rather than the characteristics of the actual curve. The black level is probably like it sounds, it changes where black is recorded. In the case of S-Log, it'd allow you to change the recorded black from 90/1023 to 0, or whatever you like really. The knee is likely the knee that is used in many Rec. 709 profiles that allows it to keep more data in the highlights. It would act at the very top of the range and essentially "bend" the curve down to keep more range or clip at a lower point. This depends on if the knee is applied before or after the signal is already clipped from the gamma transform. The higher the value, the sharper the bend is. Not sure on what the black gamma would be. It'd be best to look up the user manual for the camera these settings are for know if there are exact units they are giving you versus an arbitrary scale.
And I must say, it would be a lot easier to leave the values at default. It would also make it much easier in post to do color transforms when needed. But I do share your desire for understanding everything you possibly can about a camera haha 

The maximum gain we can have on the EMCCD register is 40x at 0°C (threshold of diminishing return) which is about a 5.3 stop boost. The problem with going that far is that we'd likely end up getting more noise in the midtones since we'd have to use more of the low gain signal. We would technically extend our dynamic range by a stop and get better SNR in the deep shadows, but that gives way to noise in the middle. So at default it'd be a 4.3 stop boost on the EMCCD at normal operating temperature. And we'd be able to get around 14.8 stops (based on well cap and read noise RMS) without any highlight reconstruction. You'll be able to see pretty far into the dark with this sensor (it is designed with surveillance in mind after all). There's also the EMCCD only mode, where we could use high gain and get around the same dynamic range as the current D16, but cleaner.
My main thing with this is that we haven't had any FPN. So on a sensor with 14+ stops (without HR) that doesn't have FPN 
I also forgot to mention that the sensor can switch to "Normal mode" (11+ EV DR) instead of the intra-scene switchable gain to achieve 60fps at 1080p.

The maximum gain we can have on the EMCCD register is 40x at 0°C (threshold of diminishing return) which is about a 5.3 stop boost. The problem with going that far is that we'd likely end up getting more noise in the midtones since we'd have to use more of the low gain signal. We would technically extend our dynamic range by a stop and get better SNR in the deep shadows, but that gives way to noise in the middle. So at default it'd be a 4.3 stop boost on the EMCCD at normal operating temperature. And we'd be able to get around 14.8 stops (based on well cap and read noise RMS) without any highlight reconstruction. You'll be able to see pretty far into the dark with this sensor (it is designed with surveillance in mind after all). There's also the EMCCD only mode, where we could use high gain and get around the same dynamic range as the current D16, but cleaner.
My main thing with this is that we haven't had any FPN. So on a sensor with 14+ stops (without HR) that doesn't have FPN 
I also forgot to mention that the sensor can switch to "Normal mode" (11+ EV DR) instead of the intra-scene switchable gain to achieve 60fps at 1080p.

Since it's based off of the 5.5 micron design, without the EMCCD we'd see a base ISO of 200. But since the sensor has what they call "intra-scene switchable gain" (this happens in the analog realm, not digital like the ALEXA and BMDs), we would likely see a base ISO of ~1600 when using the intra-scene mode. In determining this, I'd basically have to find the operating point of the sensor to see what would give the most even distribution of dynamic range vs noise vs sensitivity.
I agree QuantumFilm looks really good spec wise, but based on what they have built into the sensor, I think I'd want to change a few things because I'm a control freak with these kinds of things haha It's a shame that they aren't doing S16, S35 sized sensors. I think we'd actually try CMOS if it were QuantumFilm sensors.

Since it's based off of the 5.5 micron design, without the EMCCD we'd see a base ISO of 200. But since the sensor has what they call "intra-scene switchable gain" (this happens in the analog realm, not digital like the ALEXA and BMDs), we would likely see a base ISO of ~1600 when using the intra-scene mode. In determining this, I'd basically have to find the operating point of the sensor to see what would give the most even distribution of dynamic range vs noise vs sensitivity.
I agree QuantumFilm looks really good spec wise, but based on what they have built into the sensor, I think I'd want to change a few things because I'm a control freak with these kinds of things haha It's a shame that they aren't doing S16, S35 sized sensors. I think we'd actually try CMOS if it were QuantumFilm sensors.

That is, in fact, the sensor I'm talking about  the KAE-02150. So, so nice. If you read up on EMCCDs, you'll see the higher the gain, the lower the amount of noise. It works by varying voltages in a special gain register and the electrons collide with each other and a phenomenon called impact ionization happens. More electrons are created! And electrons are our signal! So more gain = more electrons = more signal = less noise

That is, in fact, the sensor I'm talking about  the KAE-02150. So, so nice. If you read up on EMCCDs, you'll see the higher the gain, the lower the amount of noise. It works by varying voltages in a special gain register and the electrons collide with each other and a phenomenon called impact ionization happens. More electrons are created! And electrons are our signal! So more gain = more electrons = more signal = less noise

I developed the color science and did all my tests with the camera on Windows. There's the free HFS explorer tool, or you can buy HFS drivers for Windows for 20 USD.
If we were to make other cameras, I think a D35 and a D16 mk II based on EMCCDs would be my preference.
The D16 mk II would hopefully be based on the KAE-02150. So 30fps, 14+ EV of DR without any of the highlight reconstruction. That's without any noise reduction in the circuitry of the sensor or in the software, so it'd keep the same mojo of the D16.
The D35 is more of a dream camera for me. Nothing like it currently exists. I actually made a list a while ago and posted on our user group that Joe was actually on board with had the funding been there to pursue it. It'd basically be an EMCCD version of our sensor, but double the dimensions and resolution horizontally and increase the dimension vertically enough to achieve 16:9.

I developed the color science and did all my tests with the camera on Windows. There's the free HFS explorer tool, or you can buy HFS drivers for Windows for 20 USD.
If we were to make other cameras, I think a D35 and a D16 mk II based on EMCCDs would be my preference.
The D16 mk II would hopefully be based on the KAE-02150. So 30fps, 14+ EV of DR without any of the highlight reconstruction. That's without any noise reduction in the circuitry of the sensor or in the software, so it'd keep the same mojo of the D16.
The D35 is more of a dream camera for me. Nothing like it currently exists. I actually made a list a while ago and posted on our user group that Joe was actually on board with had the funding been there to pursue it. It'd basically be an EMCCD version of our sensor, but double the dimensions and resolution horizontally and increase the dimension vertically enough to achieve 16:9.

I developed the color science and did all my tests with the camera on Windows. There's the free HFS explorer tool, or you can buy HFS drivers for Windows for 20 USD.
If we were to make other cameras, I think a D35 and a D16 mk II based on EMCCDs would be my preference.
The D16 mk II would hopefully be based on the KAE-02150. So 30fps, 14+ EV of DR without any of the highlight reconstruction. That's without any noise reduction in the circuitry of the sensor or in the software, so it'd keep the same mojo of the D16.
The D35 is more of a dream camera for me. Nothing like it currently exists. I actually made a list a while ago and posted on our user group that Joe was actually on board with had the funding been there to pursue it. It'd basically be an EMCCD version of our sensor, but double the dimensions and resolution horizontally and increase the dimension vertically enough to achieve 16:9.

I developed the color science and did all my tests with the camera on Windows. There's the free HFS explorer tool, or you can buy HFS drivers for Windows for 20 USD.
If we were to make other cameras, I think a D35 and a D16 mk II based on EMCCDs would be my preference.
The D16 mk II would hopefully be based on the KAE-02150. So 30fps, 14+ EV of DR without any of the highlight reconstruction. That's without any noise reduction in the circuitry of the sensor or in the software, so it'd keep the same mojo of the D16.
The D35 is more of a dream camera for me. Nothing like it currently exists. I actually made a list a while ago and posted on our user group that Joe was actually on board with had the funding been there to pursue it. It'd basically be an EMCCD version of our sensor, but double the dimensions and resolution horizontally and increase the dimension vertically enough to achieve 16:9.

Thanks for posting this @Mattias Burling. It's nice to see that users are happy with the changes we've made. 

Quickly tested the ISO800 and Im very happy.
I was very satisfied shooting ISO 200 and 400. 
One gets used to it. I shoot a lot of film and my leica M8 likes ISO160 but its not a problem. After a while you learn to live with in, both in daylight and nighttime. I get why people want A7s ISO capability, but if they just took the time to learn it wouldn't be such an issue like some make it out to be.
Even the BMPC4K was usable in very low light at ISO400. One just had to watch out for the FPN.
I underexposed the Digital Bolex at ISO800 and pushed the footage in post. Of course I got a lot of noise, but pretty close to the amount from the BMPCC.
And unlike the BMPC and, from what Ive heard, the Micro, NO FPN.
Plus, this is with zero NR and Im trying to see the noise. With a simple curve adjustment I could get usable footage without Neat Video.
 
A bonus is the new Color Matrix, its awesome. This is 100% not graded, straight from the camera. Looks very accurate to my eye. No magenta bias like before so no need to switch to BMDFilm Gamma. 
Will shoot something more interesting soon.
And again, please note, the test was to see noise, so expect noise.
 

I get around 500-550 MB/s with my 840 EVO and 850 EVO drives. As long as those are connected to a SATA III port or you have them in RAID, you'll be fine. The big bottlenecks will be CPU, GPU, and RAM. For 4K I recommend a minimum of 32GB of high speed RAM (1600 MHz or faster), ideally 64GB. For your GPU the GTX 1070 is a good starting point. It's inexpensive and has 8GB of RAM which is a great help for 4K. CPU will need to be the highest end i7 CPU or a Xeon to edit smoothly. Of course this all depends on what your delivery format is. I can get 18fps with a 1080p timeline using 4.6K raw footage on a 3 year old overclocked CPU. But that drops drastically if I use a UHD timeline. Are you looking to build your own PC or buy a complete system from a company like Dell or HP?

The Blackmagic Video Assist as well as the newer Atomos Flame and Inferno series. We're working on making the HDMI recording functionality more compatible with recorders.
False color works on the raw data to let you know when your first channel clips. Because the D16 doesn't do any internal highlight recovery or noise reduction, we thought it'd be good to know this. This means that you have anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of a stop more highlight range in the raw file than you'd get over HDMI. So In raw at 800 ISO you're gonna see close to six stops of overexposure range, but in the HDMI you're gonna see around 5 1/3.
I will ask about being able to separate the LCD from HDMI.
Our goal is to make the current camera as best as it can be before we start trying to sell people a new one.

Yeah, it is. The sensor is from the same family as the D16's. Never had the pleasure of shooting with one, but it makes some very nice images.
This music video by one of the artists I follow was shot on the ikonoskop as well.
 

The Blackmagic Video Assist as well as the newer Atomos Flame and Inferno series. We're working on making the HDMI recording functionality more compatible with recorders.
False color works on the raw data to let you know when your first channel clips. Because the D16 doesn't do any internal highlight recovery or noise reduction, we thought it'd be good to know this. This means that you have anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of a stop more highlight range in the raw file than you'd get over HDMI. So In raw at 800 ISO you're gonna see close to six stops of overexposure range, but in the HDMI you're gonna see around 5 1/3.
I will ask about being able to separate the LCD from HDMI.
Our goal is to make the current camera as best as it can be before we start trying to sell people a new one.

The Blackmagic Video Assist as well as the newer Atomos Flame and Inferno series. We're working on making the HDMI recording functionality more compatible with recorders.
False color works on the raw data to let you know when your first channel clips. Because the D16 doesn't do any internal highlight recovery or noise reduction, we thought it'd be good to know this. This means that you have anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of a stop more highlight range in the raw file than you'd get over HDMI. So In raw at 800 ISO you're gonna see close to six stops of overexposure range, but in the HDMI you're gonna see around 5 1/3.
I will ask about being able to separate the LCD from HDMI.
Our goal is to make the current camera as best as it can be before we start trying to sell people a new one.

The Blackmagic Video Assist as well as the newer Atomos Flame and Inferno series. We're working on making the HDMI recording functionality more compatible with recorders.
False color works on the raw data to let you know when your first channel clips. Because the D16 doesn't do any internal highlight recovery or noise reduction, we thought it'd be good to know this. This means that you have anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of a stop more highlight range in the raw file than you'd get over HDMI. So In raw at 800 ISO you're gonna see close to six stops of overexposure range, but in the HDMI you're gonna see around 5 1/3.
I will ask about being able to separate the LCD from HDMI.
Our goal is to make the current camera as best as it can be before we start trying to sell people a new one.

Premiere defaults to sRGB which is brighter than BT.709. Adobe also has a default curve it uses before conversion to sRGB if I remember correctly.
BMD Film also has a relatively low middle gray point and black point at 392 and 36 respectively on a 10b scale. So BMD Film's middle gray is actually lower than sRGB and BT.709.
Also, because each program uses different methods to do color conversions, you'll find that each program can produce a different results. Adobe uses the DNG SDK while Resolve uses libraw which is based on dcraw.
DNGs are not like ARRIRAW, Sony RAW, or REDCODE. All of those have specific SDKs and using those are the only way you can process those raw files. In order to use a different method, you'd have to reverse engineer the formats. But since the DNG/TIFF is an open standard it's not hard for programmers to put together their own processing pipeline.
It just comes down to programmers using different methods to process the same data.