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A
AdrianBarac
Participant
June 24, 2023
Answered

Nikon Z7 clips have crushed blacks in Premiere - but not in FCPX or Resolve

  • June 24, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 335 views

Hi all.

I'm having a strange problem with clips from a Nikon Z7 (H264 MOVs, not log)

 

The levels - most notably the blacks are crushed when importing the clips to Prem (or AE or AME), viewing in Quicktime Player or VLC.

You can see this in the first screenshot.

 

I flagged this with the client who uses FCPX, and they didn't have this issue.

So I tried the same clips in Resolve, and WTF... the levels are correct!

You can see this in the second screenshot.

 

Any idea what's going on here?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer R Neil Haugen

    That looks like the files were tagged/written as Full Range, not Legal ... could you check by using the free utility MediaInfo app, then dragging/dropping one of the files onto that applet's desktop icon?

     

    Then go into the "Tree View" and check for the range.

     

    If they are Full, then ... there's a Lumetri preset that is Full to Legal ... use that on the clips, you won't lose any data, they'll just be displayed correctly.

     

    "Full" and "legal" are a legacy thing, by the way. It does NOT affect how many levels are written to the file, only how they are coded in the file. Same data in both, no advantage to recording in full. Both files will display correctly 0-255 (8 bit values) or the similar 10-bit values, on properly setup systems.

     

    And several camera makers are allowing people to set the range which then simply mucks up the post processing. As the apps and displays expect that YUV (Y/Cb-Cr) video is encoded 'legal' and only 12-bit RGB files are recorded full.

     

    As someone who works both in Resolve and Pr, Resolve should be set to "auto" and will work with either file arrangement. It can also be set to one or the other among the many options.

     

    Neil

    3 replies

    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil Haugen
    Legend
    July 19, 2024

    The entire full/legal thing is a "legacy" issue, but it's been in the standards for the full time of digital media. Like fractional framerates and interlaced formats, it would be nice to see it ended. Not expecting so.

     

    It shouldn't make any difference whatever as to the data encoded ... you can encode the same number of levels in both full and legal, it's just how theyre written/encoded. And marketers have found that they can sound like THEIR camera can give you more data! ... by using "Full" ... when it actually doesn't.

     

    As someone who works for/with/teaches pro colorists, this gets a lot of eyerolling by those really tech-savvy people ... 

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil HaugenCorrect answer
    Legend
    June 27, 2023

    That looks like the files were tagged/written as Full Range, not Legal ... could you check by using the free utility MediaInfo app, then dragging/dropping one of the files onto that applet's desktop icon?

     

    Then go into the "Tree View" and check for the range.

     

    If they are Full, then ... there's a Lumetri preset that is Full to Legal ... use that on the clips, you won't lose any data, they'll just be displayed correctly.

     

    "Full" and "legal" are a legacy thing, by the way. It does NOT affect how many levels are written to the file, only how they are coded in the file. Same data in both, no advantage to recording in full. Both files will display correctly 0-255 (8 bit values) or the similar 10-bit values, on properly setup systems.

     

    And several camera makers are allowing people to set the range which then simply mucks up the post processing. As the apps and displays expect that YUV (Y/Cb-Cr) video is encoded 'legal' and only 12-bit RGB files are recorded full.

     

    As someone who works both in Resolve and Pr, Resolve should be set to "auto" and will work with either file arrangement. It can also be set to one or the other among the many options.

     

    Neil

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
    A
    AdrianBaracAuthor
    Participant
    June 28, 2023

    Neil, this is exactly the answer I was hoping for, and you're spot on.

    Thank you so much for the perfect reply. 

      Kartika Rawat
      Community Manager
      Kartika RawatCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      June 27, 2023

      Hi AdrianBarac!

      This looks strange. Could you share some sample files with us to test? You can upload them here and share the download link with us: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/creative-cloud/help/share.html

       

      Let us know. Happy to help.

      Thanks,

      Kartika

       

       

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