So I graded the cat this morning to see what I could pull from the K-3’s video. One of the lessons that I’ve learned with the Panasonic GH2 is that if you want to grade the shot in post then it’s best to shoot flat, turning down sharpness, saturation, and contrast in camera, and then adding it back in (with more control and on color calibrated monitors) in post. So that’s what I’ve done here with the K-3. Watch:
Some observations:
- Overall the K-3 file looks quite nice here and grades pretty readily.
- I underexposed the shot on purpose in the hopes of not blowing out the white fur. As a result, the darks are a bit crushed; the camera appears to have less exposure range with video.
- The whiskers and the fur sharpen up quite nicely.
- I really like the FA43.
Overall, it’s a promising performance. The K-3 seems to be doing ok with close up work. I’ve been less enamored with subjects at a greater distance, but there’s more testing to do there before coming to any conclusions.