Sony FX6 to Resolve problem

Apologies if this has been discussed before. I could not find a related thread.

I am shooting on Sony FX6 cameras in CineEI, MLUT turned on.

I am importing into Resolve 19.1.2 build 3. Color management is DaVinci YRGB Color Manged, automatic color management turned off, Color Processing Mode set to Wide Gamut Intermediate, output Rec.709 gamma 2.2. Camera RAW Setting is Sony RAW, Full-Res Resolve, decode using camera metadata

In Resolve the brightness/exposure is at times way off what it looked like on the camera LCD or any attached monitor. Some shots, especially when shot at The high ISO ratin, are between 2 and 4 stops underexposed. I can adjust this in the inspector, but the adjustment isn’t visible in the Source Tape mode of the Cut page.The result is that I can barely use the Source Tape mode to pull selects.

Am I doing something wrong with the settings or is this a flaw in the Sony Raw implementation in Resolve? More importantly, why is there any difference in the way the images are displayed in the camera and in Resolve???

Your account isn't altogether clear, and I don't know what LUT "MLUT" is, but if you were recording log but were using a display LUT for monitoring, then the clips are not going to resemble what you saw on the monitor if you don't apply the same monitoring LUT in Resolve -- or by using some form of color management which should bring you closer to what you observed on set.

The FX6 doesn't, AFAIK, record raw internally. You recorded externally?

In any event, trying using Davinci YRGB and apply an appropriate LUT, or set up color management. And see what happens.

Color management is DaVinci YRGB Color Manged, automatic color management turned off, Color Processing Mode set to Wide Gamut Intermediate, output Rec.709 gamma 2.2. Camera RAW Setting is Sony RAW, Full-Res Resolve, decode using camera metadata...

- Use Decode Using: Clip

- Exposure will be set to either base sensitivity (800 or 12800), or the EI-compensated value based on the camera's left-side L/M/H switch setting. The EI values for each of those are automatically recorded and applied in Resolve. The EI values for the L/M/H switch positions are set in the FX6 Main Menu>Shooting>Exposure Index<H>, <M>, or <L>. For each of those, you can program it for an EI/ISO. Edit/Add: Note there are separate L/M/H EI values for low-range base sensitivity and high-range base sensitivity.

- Those EI compensation values are applied to the FX6 viewfinder in Cine EI mode if MLUT is on. They are also recorded in the MXF file and automatically read and applied by Resolve.

- If the Resolve image looks too dark, The exposure slider in the Color Page's RAW pane is probably 200 or something. That doesn't mean the camera shot at 200 ISO. In Cine EI mode it can only shoot at 800 or 12,800 ISO. Rather it implies you had the L/M/H switch and associated parameter at 200, which Resolve automatically applied. You can change the EI aka Exposure setting in Resolve for a single clip or multiple clips at a time.

- Resolve automatically applies that because you enabled MLUT on the camera and set the L/M/H switch to a given setting to compensate the exposure. The assumption is you want to see in Resolve what you saw in the camera, so it shows that by default. However you can set the exposure in Resolve to whatever you want, but in Cine EI two native ISO settings will be 800 and 12,800.

- On the Camera RAW pane of Resolve's Color Page You also have RAW-like control over white balance (Color Temp) and Tint. I believe that Sony XAVC-I is the only non-RAW codec for which Resolve has that capability.

Edit/Add: If you want to examine the EI setting you shot, import the clip to Sony's free Catalyst Browse utility. The Metadata pane will show lots of info including both ISO and EI setting. Note in the attached graphic I had EI set equal to ISO.

Your account isn't altogether clear, and I don't know what LUT "MLUT" is, but if you were recording log but were using a display LUT for monitoring, then the clips are not going to resemble what you saw on the monitor if you don't apply the same monitoring LUT in Resolve -- or by using some form of color management which should bring you closer to what you observed on set.

The FX6 doesn't, AFAIK, record raw internally. You recorded externally?

In any event, trying using Davinci YRGB and apply an appropriate LUT, or set up color management. And see what happens.

Thanks for the reply John. MLUT is Sony's term for the display LUT in-camera (I assume it stands for "Display LUT"). Yes, I expect images to look slightly different on a Resolve system, but not 2 or 4 stops!
You are right, the FX6 does not record RAW, but Resolve interprets it as RAW, with all the RAW controls active. It' something between Sony and Blackmagic I guess.

In that case, try adjustments of the raw controls, per the post above. I have no experience of Sony "raw" (which isn't actually raw?), but that would be the place to start is exposure if way off. It could be incorrect or random defaults in the raw settings.

Color management is DaVinci YRGB Color Manged, automatic color management turned off, Color Processing Mode set to Wide Gamut Intermediate, output Rec.709 gamma 2.2. Camera RAW Setting is Sony RAW, Full-Res Resolve, decode using camera metadata...

- Use Decode Using: Clip

- Exposure will be set to either base sensitivity (800 or 12800), or the EI-compensated value based on the camera's left-side L/M/H switch setting. The EI values for each of those are automatically recorded and applied in Resolve. The EI values for the L/M/H switch positions are set in the FX6 Main Menu>Shooting>Exposure Index<H>, <M>, or <L>. For each of those, you can program it for an EI/ISO. Edit/Add: Note there are separate L/M/H EI values for low-range base sensitivity and high-range base sensitivity.

- Those EI compensation values are applied to the FX6 viewfinder in Cine EI mode if MLUT is on. They are also recorded in the MXF file and automatically read and applied by Resolve.

- If the Resolve image looks too dark, The exposure slider in the Color Page's RAW pane is probably 200 or something. That doesn't mean the camera shot at 200 ISO. In Cine EI mode it can only shoot at 800 or 12,800 ISO. Rather it implies you had the L/M/H switch and associated parameter at 200, which Resolve automatically applied. You can change the EI aka Exposure setting in Resolve for a single clip or multiple clips at a time.

- Resolve automatically applies that because you enabled MLUT on the camera and set the L/M/H switch to a given setting to compensate the exposure. The assumption is you want to see in Resolve what you saw in the camera, so it shows that by default. However you can set the exposure in Resolve to whatever you want, but in Cine EI two native ISO settings will be 800 and 12,800.

- On the Camera RAW pane of Resolve's Color Page You also have RAW-like control over white balance (Color Temp) and Tint. I believe that Sony XAVC-I is the only non-RAW codec for which Resolve has that capability.

Edit/Add: If you want to examine the EI setting you shot, import the clip to Sony's free Catalyst Browse utility. The Metadata pane will show lots of info including both ISO and EI setting. Note in the attached graphic I had EI set equal to ISO.

Joe, thanks for the detailed response!

"Decode: Using Clip"
– I assume you mean in the image tab of the inspector (there is no option for Clip in the Camera RAW page of the project settings)?

Exposure setting: On the FX6, the L/M/H switch and settings are greyed out when shooting in CineEI mode. I'm aware that changing the ISO only affects the display, not the recorded image (there's only 800 and 12800 available for recording).

"Those EI compensation values are applied to the FX6 viewfinder in Cine EI mode if MLUT is on. They are also recorded in the MXF file and automatically read and applied by Resolve."
– Somewhere there is where my mistake must be. The Resolve Inspector (on the Image tab) does not reflect the camera settings. A clip that was shot at 12600 shows up at 800. I can change it manually with the inspector but that's not how it should be, right? The same clip shows the correct 12800 in Sony's "Catalyst Browse" software under ISO Sensitivity.

Yes, EI was always set to the Base ISO sensitivity.

Hey,
I seem to be having the exact same problem with my FX3 Footage that I shot at 12800 ISO, did you ever find a way to fix that? I couldn't find any way in resolve to indicate which clips should be treated at 12800 ISO or any way to have it understand it on its own.

I've attached some picture of the differences from the camera monitor to my coputer for reference. The only things I've added are CSTs from the right color and gamma to davinci intermediate and then to Rec709-A which should be the ideal thing for my mac. And the image is drastically different... Cleary more than can be simply explained by monitor quality... AND it's a problem that I don't get when shooting at 800 ISO...

I'm sure it's something pretty simple but I've really been struggling to find it.

Would appreciate any help!

AC