"Cinema" Picture Style for Canon Video

Shooting video with a DSLR, I'm confined to essentially shoting JPEG (there is a video "RAW" possible with additional software installed in the camera, but it's really, really, really a hassle to work with).

Shooting JPEG is a lot more confining than RAW, but I found a commercial Picture Style called "Cinema" that is easily installed in Canon cameras and then selectable from the Picture Style menu. Cinema gives me a flatter, much more natural look that preserves highlights immensely better than the built-in Picture Styles. It's so much better that I use it even when shooting RAW stills as a nice place to start (especially if I'm combining video with still).

Here is a side-by-side comparison, no kind of adjustment or manipulation. The lighting was electronic flash bounced in a large shoot-through umbrella. The woman has no makeup, this was a straight record-photo headshot.


Cinema is not free--it costs $7.99 for the download. Here is the website: http://www.cineplus.ch​/cinema.html

With such different color renditions, I have to ask: Which is most faithful to her skin tones as you perceived them by eye?

There is a lot of red in the Portrait, Neutral and Faithful shots - was it there by eye? If I had to choose based on nothing but what we see, I'd select Standard or Cinema, but they're so different!

By comparison to photo raw, our typical video codecs don't have nearly as much ability to be pushed one direction or another in post processing, but, there is quite a bit that's easily applied with tools like the Lumetri color corrector/grading now standard in Premiere CC. The other approach is to install a super flat profile, with the intention to grade. I use both approaches - best in-camera color and super flat, depending on whether the project seems to justify post color work.

SailingAway wrote in post #18199314
With such different color renditions, I have to ask: Which is most faithful to her skin tones as you perceived them by eye?

There is a lot of red in the Portrait, Neutral and Faithful shots - was it there by eye? If I had to choose based on nothing but what we see, I'd select Standard or Cinema, but they're so different!

By comparison to photo raw, our typical video codecs don't have nearly as much ability to be pushed one direction or another in post processing, but, there is quite a bit that's easily applied with tools like the Lumetri color corrector/grading now standard in Premiere CC. The other approach is to install a super flat profile, with the intention to grade. I use both approaches - best in-camera color and super flat, depending on whether the project seems to justify post color work.

Cinema is most accurate. Cinema is inherently flatter than the built-in Picture Styles. If post-processing is intended, the camera can be set to flattest contrast and sharpness, but even if not Cinema still holds shadow and highlight detail better than the built-in styles and can look good without post processing.

RDKirk wrote in post #18199656
Cinema is most accurate...

Wow! That's some really poor performance in representing people of color using the Portrait, Neutral, or Faithful Picture Styles! Accuracy of skin tones is huge, in my opinion.

RD, thanks for sharing this test. We serve racially diverse students at my college - will have to do some testing. Most of our cams are true camcorders, but we do have a couple 7D dSLRs.

The picture styles of almost every camera are set with caucasian skin in mind. It doesn't surprise me that you'd get a stronger look from this custom preset.
Is auto lighting optimizer factoring in to this example, as well? It tends to bring up dark faces to levels more appropriate for lighter-colored faces.