Hi,
I recently picked up a used C200. The first thing I noticed was that the blue antireflective coating on the EVF was mostly scratched off -- this isn't a huge issue for me as I rarely use it, so I've started to shoot some 8bit mp4 footage; however, I'm noticing a lot of noise on my images especially in lowlight.
I’m attaching some stills to show what I’m talking about:
This is a C-Log 3 image with the canon C-Log 3 to Rec.709 LUT applied. ISO 800.
For reference, here's the same image with no LUT. The noise is still visible, just not as noticeably.
Another graded image at ISO 800. The grain seems to present as chunks of red/green -- notice in the lower left:
And ungraded:
Now, I read that Log profiles are not meant for low-contrast low light settings, and if shooting 8bit then the WIDE DR profile is more suitable (can anyone tell me if I'm wrong?).
Here's a super low light shot on the WIDE DR profile at ISO 8000. Obviously, at such high ISO's grain is expected, but I'm just wondering if this looks normal to everyone for the settings?
Finally, I've captured some less grainy shots: Here's an image shot on the WIDE DR profile, which I then over exposed by a stop, while pulling the ISO down to 160:
The result is much better, however, I'm concerned because zoomed in, the green/red grain pattern is STILL present, just less accentuated than on the harsher grades for the C-Log 3 images I shot:
Here's a zoomed image from the above shot -- is this level of noise and compression normal for the 8bit MP4 codec?
To sum up: I previously used a C100 mark I, which I would routinely shoot under-exposed to preserve highlights and then lift in the grade -- it was certainly noisy in the shadows, but to my eye it was a less intrusive monochromatic grain that felt pleasing. In contrast, when I underexpose and pull up the image with the C200, the grain seems to present in harsh blocks of red/green.
So: I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable than myself can tell me if I have something wrong with my camera (Is it possible that sun damage from the lack of Anti-reflective coating on the EVF has addled the sensor?), or if the C200 just doesn't handle underexposing very well and whether I'm also just grading the 8bit files too hard.
Thanks!
Ben