6k FF Noise Banding

I know this topic has been done to death and I know that the pocket cameras as well as this camera have been plagued with this issue since the beginning. I just would like to try and determine if some cameras have a more severe case of this problem than others and if mine is one of them.

My video is definitely under exposed for 800 ISO. The sensor was calibrated before shooting this but the camera doesn't have the newest firmware. The banding is pretty extreme and pretty much impossible to get rid of with noise reduction. Link Below:

I still need to do more testing on my own, but this video (not my video) below made me question my own camera. While I know just watching this video doesn't tell the whole story, but based on my findings with my own camera I would be surprised if mine fared as well in similar lighting scenarios.

Import your footage in resolve with color science set to Davinci YRGB Color Managed.
Do nothing else, I think all your problems will be gone.

So the cure is don’t lift what you didn’t light for. That's what you see in the movie you like and hopefully the fix for your camera as well.

Shoot at ISO 400, except you really need to go to the 2nd gain stage, then use 1250. If light is not enough for 400 / 1250, this camera seems to run into more issues than others.

Differences between individual cameras happen to any model, even Alexa's, so imo the only way to know would be to test against other BMCC 6K's yourself.

Aren't you using the proxy files?

Thank you all for your replies.

Import your footage in resolve with color science set to Davinci YRGB Color Managed.
Do nothing else, I think all your problems will be gone.

So the cure is don’t lift what you didn’t light for. That's what you see in the movie you like and hopefully the fix for your camera as well.

Yeah it crushes the black levels back down. I do work in a Color Managed space but I prefer to do it through CST's to allow more flexibility. So the image you're seeing is before the conversion and you're correct, it does crush the blacks down to a level where you don't see the banding. This was definitely an extreme case that I was shooting as sometimes when I don't have lighting available and am shooting in front of a window I'll sometimes favor the exposure of the window more and lightly lift the indoor exposure. Depending on what I'm shooting, don't mind the extra noise that is introduced, and I actually like the noise quality of this camera, but unfortunately when that banding occurs its not an option to show the noise at all.

Shoot at ISO 400, except you really need to go to the 2nd gain stage, then use 1250. If light is not enough for 400 / 1250, this camera seems to run into more issues than others.

Differences between individual cameras happen to any model, even Alexa's, so imo the only way to know would be to test against other BMCC 6K's yourself.

Yeah I have to experiment more with 1250 ISO, and yes I think you're correct. The only way to really get my answers is test it against another BMCC 6k.

Aren't you using the proxy files?

No, unfortunately this is the Braw file. The image does indeed look like it's behaving as a proxy would with less image information.

Can you upload that clip? I must see it on my monitor. The only thing I see is youtube compression.

Can you upload that clip? I must see it on my monitor. The only thing I see is youtube compression.

Here you go:

https://we.tl/t-IKvMmSA1el

Can you try the same situation with exactly the same settings, but keeping the window out of the frame?
I've seen such effects even with an Arri Alexa, but with much more contrasty Venetian blinds in the frame.
And then, you are starving that poor camera of light. No video device can shoot darkness.

Finally, what you sent is not BRAW.

Indeed it is starved of light. I will be experimenting with it more to push it to its limits. Shooting into an open window against a dark interior seems to have a higher chance of banding. The concern isn’t the amount of noise but the awful banding that occurs. That’s truly the unfortunate issue that seems to arise more often with this camera specifically.

João wasn’t asking for me to upload the Braw file. He was asking for me to send him the file not uploaded to YouTube. The file I uploaded is a high res ProRes export from the Braw. It looks pretty much identical to the Braw file from what I can see. Is there anything specific that the Braw file would answer that this file doesn’t?

Is there anything specific that the Braw file would answer that this file doesn’t?

Your camera settings

Lexicon just posted a link in the facts and findings thread between a mavo lf and the 6 k. There is a shot in a dark bedroom. The hardly lit wall protection of the bed is enough to trigger sensor smearing.

I know this topic has been done to death and I know that the pocket cameras as well as this camera have been plagued with this issue since the beginning. I just would like to try and determine if some cameras have a more severe case of this problem than others and if mine is one of them.

My video is definitely under exposed for 800 ISO. The sensor was calibrated before shooting this but the camera doesn't have the newest firmware. The banding is pretty extreme and pretty much impossible to get rid of with noise reduction. Link Below:

I still need to do more testing on my own, but this video (not my video) below made me question my own camera. While I know just watching this video doesn't tell the whole story, but based on my findings with my own camera I would be surprised if mine fared as well in similar lighting scenarios.

Look at the blacks in each clip. Compare them to the black surround of you tube. That’s your reference.

In the good example you posted, the black of the grade is the same as the black of YouTube’s border.

Then look at the black on your example. It’s grey.

I think you need to have them both black for the comparison to be true.

JB

Hello. That file is not a braw file. That is a digested One. Eheh

That banding is light on your lens. Try that same setup with a different lens.

Was your glass clean?

I'd rather assume sensor smearing, that's why I asked for a shot without the window in the frame.

This is a normal thing for the pocket 6k pro and the cinema camera 6k, it's worse on the cinema 6k but basically it's cmos smearing.

I sent some underexposed footage to Blackmagic and they confirmed it's normal and it happens when there's a bright source and dark/underexposed part of the image it smears the pixels. This happens on Panasonic full frame cameras too, guessing they use the same sensor. Basically try to not starve the sensor of light and you shouldn't have problems especially when graded.

As I already mentioned, even an Arri Alexa can show this under extreme conditions. It's a CMOS issue.

Thanks, Gilridge

Thanks, Uli.

Smearing. Well, well...

Here's a video where you can see it. Not banding at all. Smearing!

Watch it 2160p.

Thank you for all the feedback everyone. And thank you for taking the time to discuss. It really does seem like it is CMOS Smearing then. Glad to know the proper term for it.