Disclaimer first:
I'm no professional colorist. This is just me sharing some tests and results with you guys and starting a discussion, as I kinda received quite a lot of questions (for my standards) on my last video. Also I'm not trying to bash either of these products. Both are really good LUTs for the BMPCC 4K, that give you great but different results and I'll continue using them both, depending on the project.
That said I used the P4K2Alexa LUT on my recent project, where we had to shoot in various difficult lighting situations without controlled lights. In this video I'm sharing some of the shots I got and also compare them to the Buttery Natural LUT. I filmed in ISOs of 400, 800, 1250 and 3200. I know Juan recommends filming in ISO 800 but in reality, when you don't have controlled lighting, it's nearly impossible to follow that rule. I'm still satisfied with the overall results, though.
As for the comparison, here are my thoughts:
For the Buttery LUT I mainly used the +1 contrast version here, as for my taste the normal version is too soft and flat. For the P4K2Alexa I mostly used the WDR Highlights version, which softens the Highlights but still lets the colors pop. I find myself using the WDR RollOff version, when I have close ups of the skin or want to soften the highlights even further.
The Buttery Natural LUT definitely give you a more natural look straight from the get-go and don't need much adjustment in post. Because of this they would also be very suitable if you wanna bake it straight into the footage, when you have to give it to other editors. The P4k2Alexa LUT is more stylized and warmer looking, which will will not be to everyones taste. Also they darken up the image a lil bit compared to Buttery. You can easily correct and adjust that in post, though but it will take longer, especially if the lighting conditions weren't ideal. The biggest benefit is getting the most dynamic range out of your BMPCC 4K (especially if you're using the powergrade in DaVinci) by changing between the different versions. Secondly they will give you the most pleasing skintones that I have seen yet out of the camera.
Hope this was helpful for some people. Whatever you use, both will give you a nice image in my opinion. I would be interested in what you guys think. Which one do you prefer and what`s your take on them? Do you got a better alternative? We all wanna get the best out of our camera, so let's have a discussion. Peace :)
This is the little project I was talking about: https://youtu.be/QzK89epxJX0
Camera: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (BMPCC 4K)
Codec: BRAW 5:1
ISO: 400, 800, 1250 & 3200
Lens: Sigma Art 18-35mm
Adapter: Metabones Ultra
Filter: Tiffen Black Pro Mist 1/4; Variable ND
Instagram: @yannick.alaska - https://www.instagram.com/yannick.alaska
#bmpcc4k #butteryluts #p4k2alexa
