@euggie2000 The patch parameters in the Flow Motion 100Mbps MJPEG patch were optimized to maintain high bitrates even in low light conditions, which makes it very good at minimizing banding in areas of dimly lit gradients. One of the best tools for evaluating MJPEG image quality is JPEGsnoop:
http://jpegsnoop.en.softonic.com/
The GH2 records a JPG screenshot file along with each MJPEG MOV file. If you drag the JPG into JPEGsnoop, it will reveal the Quantization Tables used to compress the macroblocks in the file. Here's the luminance table the GH2 used to encode the low light sample video screenshot below, which was recorded with an average bitrate of 88Mbps:
02 02 02 02 07 05 11 11
02 02 02 02 05 09 11 11
02 02 05 05 05 09 16 14
02 05 05 07 11 14 20 20
02 05 07 11 14 16 11 23
09 07 11 14 16 20 16 20
05 14 18 16 20 23 20 18
14 16 18 18 23 23 20 20
The most important numbers in this table are in the upper left corner, and are used in quantizing the most prominent details in the image. Smaller numbers produce higher quality details, but require higher bitrates to encode. For comparison, here's the luminance quantization table Photoshop used to encode the same JPG at its Maximum quality setting:
02 02 03 04 05 06 08 11
02 02 02 04 05 07 09 11
03 02 03 05 07 09 11 12
04 04 05 07 09 11 12 12
05 05 07 09 11 12 12 12
06 07 09 11 12 12 12 12
08 09 11 12 12 12 12 12
11 11 12 12 12 12 12 12
These tables are very similar, indicating that the 100Mbps MJPEG patch can produce videos in low light that are comparable to maximum-quality Photoshop JPEG's.
@kenoah in low light banding is either absent or very low compared to AVCHD mode.
@driftwood frames were 1920x1080, these pictures are the screenshots.. Which Quantum mjpeg settings do you recommend to adjust? I am curious if it's possible to raise DR, is there any way to get some kind of the effect in the Nostalgy mode. RED cameras shots show the better shadow details, is it because of the auto hdr shooting?
@Euggie2000 are you saying in low light situations mjpeg has no banding?
Try some of the Quantum mjpeg settings but adjust the frame sizes back to 1920 x 1080 and 720 x 1280. See if you can get further improvements than the 100M setting you used.
@Frame I can confirm - the MJPEG doesn't suffer of banding problem, as opposed to AVCHD. I've attached two sample screenshots (ISO 320, F0.95, intentional out of focus). I know, these are jpegs, but anyway. First one (Driftwood, GOP1, 174mbits/s) has concentric bands around the picture on the wall, and the second (MJPEG. 100mbits/s) one just doesn't have this problem at all. I think this is all about compression methods of the two very different formats. Previously I was really disappointed that even best available hack doesn't fix the banding issue that I face everytime when I shoot in the darker places with the smooth/gradient background. After I tried the Mjpeg mode I was really surprised in a good way. So here's the workaround for me. If I need to shoot in such environment as in the samples I'd use MJPEG, otherwise - AVCDH would be the choise, most of the time.
Having the SLR-Magic 0,95 Lens for some days, I get problems with banding because of soft backgrounds and gradients. The 1920x1080 MJPEG Patch shows lesser banding compared to to the best AVCHD-Patch. I guess, it is because of higher noise. Almost no blocking/mudding in darker areas with MJPEG!! A BIG MUST: Having the ability to record 16bit PCM in 48.000kHz, or at least AC3. Quicktime player shows 16.000kHz sampling frequency in my MJPEG recordings. So audio is not usable. See: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/492/eoshd-crusade-on-mjpeg-hacks/p2 All the best, Frame
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