Sony in-camera Film Emulations ~ a few of starting point recipes

I'm learning that Sony camera can be rather sophisticated and feature rich. Exploring in-camera color grading and film simulations I _finally_ realized this and have started exploring some of the possibilities Sony offers with “Picture Profiles".  This feature started with certain models, A6300, A7II, A7RII, and A7S as well as somewhere in the RX100 series. 

 

Processed RAW with
Fuji Classic Negative .pp3 settings.
I'll posted in-camera processed
Picture Profile jpg samples later.

 

The color grading/film sim opportunities are nearly endless and I can understand why some people might be a little grumpy that something isn't the way they might want factory supplied and straight out of the box.  It feels to me as if Sony gives a solid platform to build from, rather than sticking to just a specific set of solutions.  I know that understanding/building things isn't for everyone, but...

My basic nature is one of curiosity.  I'm curious about many things.  When the Hive Mind agrees that something isn't possible or say things like "Sonys color science is awful", I'm of the manner to ask why such a thing might be so?  It's probably a bad habit I've developed over the years from writing research documents and precise, pointed, carefully considered white papers.

That's one way that I look at things.  Another way I see things is much more practical.  When faced with a problem, I like poking around to see if I can't come up with a solution and try to benefit from others prior work.  

This, for me, is a key. I come from a time when the internet was yet to be birthed and researchers and engineers were working in the spirit of knowledge sharing.  We could build solutions quickly based on prior works, particularly when openly shared.  There were no limits.  Literally.

Et voila!  This is the spirit in which I share what I've learned and what I'm sorting out.

Problem: Find visually pleasing color grades and film simulations for my Sony camera(s) that I can use when I'm on the road.  I never carry the Big Computer with me, so any heavy lifting from an image processing perspective is left for later after I return home.

Solution: Borrow and/or create from scratch various setting implemented in Sony Picture Profiles.  Choose a Picture Profile and shoot RAW+jpg.  Share in-camera color graded/film sim'd/processed jpgs while on the road.  Work on RAW files after I get home (if I feel the desire or need).

The following are a set of recipes that I'm taking with me on our next Road Trip.

Note: The following Sony Picture Profile settings assume AWB (Automatic White Balance).

Beginning with something that I stumbled on recently and can vouch for as being pretty darned nice for portraiture...

Canon skin tones (from rami6a5 • May 8, 2021)

Picture Profile -

Black level: -15

Gamma: ITU709

Black Gamma: Narrow +4

Knee: Manual, Point:75%, Slope:0 

Colour Mode: ITU709Matrix

Saturation: +3

Colour Phase: -4

Colour Dept: R-3, G-7, B-4, C-6, M-7, Y-5

Detail: Level +7

 -------------------------------------------

Fuji Classic Chrome (borrowed from Reddit)

Picture Profile -

Black level: -2

Gamma: Still

Black Gamma: Middle -2

Knee: Auto, Max Point 100%, Sensitivity Mid

Colour Mode: Still

Saturation: -2

Colour Phase: +1

Colour Dept: R+2, G+2, B-2, C+1, M 0, Y 0

Detail: Level -3

Camera setting on A6300 (not needed with Full Frame Sony cameras)

EV -0.3 

 -------------------------------------------

Fuji Classic Negative (borrowed from Reddit - but could use better corrections)

Picture Profile -

Black level:0

Gamma: Still

Black Gamma: Middle -4

Knee: Auto, Max Point 85%, Slope: +2

Colour Mode: Pro

Saturation: -1

Colour Phase: 0

Colour Dept: R+1, G+2, B+2, C 0, M 0, Y-1

Detail: Level -3

Camera setting on A6300 (not needed with Full Frame Sony cameras)

EV -0.3 

 -------------------------------------------

Fuji Pro Negative High Contrast (hand rolled)

Picture Profile -

Black level: -6

Gamma: Still

Black Gamma: Middle -6

Knee: Auto, Max Point 100%, Sensitivity Mid

Colour Mode: Still

Saturation: -1

Colour Phase: +6

Colour Dept: R 0, G+7, B+6, C+2, M+2, Y+1

Detail: Level -4

Camera setting on A6300 (not needed with Full Frame Sony cameras)

EV -0.3 

 -------------------------------------------

Hasselblad "Natural Colors" (hand rolled ~ the Holy Grail?  Who knows?)

Black level:0

Gamma: Still

Black Gamma: Wide0

Knee: Auto, Point 100%, Sensitivity Mid

Colour Mode: Cinema

Saturation: -1

Colour Phase: +1

Colour Dept: R+1, G+2, B+2, C+2, M 0, Y-2

Detail: Level 0

Camera setting on A6300 (not needed with Full Frame Sony cameras)

EV -0.3  

----------------------------------------

These are offered as starting points. There's nothing magic about them, so modifications to taste will be essential.  There's a lot to learn about what the various settings mean and how they interact.  This knowledge can be then applied to creating new color grades and film sims.

For my current state of work I've found the above Picture Profile settings to be good on an A6300. They may be subtly different on Full Frame.  I say this because with the A6300, the in-camera jpg processing tends to process images between +0.3EV and +0.5EV brighter than my Full Frame cameras and the colors can subtly shift.

Also note that colors can subtly shift by manually changing the White Balance and then adding back colors in different directions by using the White Balance Color Filter settings (ie: right click on a White Balance to open the filters settings).  This can be of particular benefit with the Fuji "Classic Chrome" Picture Profile.  If we drop the Kelvin temperature a couple hundred degrees and then dial back in a bit of warmth, there's a richness that easily matches anything Fuji ships from the factory.  Or so I've found (and as has been reported by others, too).

OK.  That's it for now.  I'm going to see what I can learn about raising mid-tones and rounding off (very gently, mind you) highlights in Picture Profiles so I can add in-camera black and white jpgs to my recipe list.

I'll post a few OOC jpgs from the above recipe list later.  I'm about to get really busy, but I'll do it when things calm down.

============================

------------ [Addendum 18 May 2024] ----------------

Sony Style Classic Negative (hand rolled)

Picture Profile -

Black level: -2

Gamma: Still

Black Gamma: Middle -5

Knee: Auto, Max Point 85%, Slope: +2 <- to crush the highlights (film-like???)

Colour Mode: S-Gamut3.Cine

Saturation: +14

Colour Phase: +5

Colour Dept: R+1, G+2, B+4, C+4, M+1, Y 0

Detail: Level -3

Camera setting on A6300 (not needed with Full Frame Sony cameras)

EV -0.3